Iodine, Strontium, Mg, additives experiment

scarybo

scarybo

Member
I am relatively new to reef tanks. The best advice I received when I started is "dont add anything to your tank that you can't test for levels. As a result I avoided adding any additives to my tank. The tank was fine without them. Everything was growing and looked great.
Recently I had a little extra time and some fun money. I decided to get some Salifert test kits and test levels for Strontium, Iodine, and Mg. They all tested a low. I decide to add suppliments for them while testing bi-weekly. Over the course of several weeks I brought all the levels to where they should be. I continued supplimenting to keep them at these levels while testing weekly. I noticed all my sps growing better and showing better color. Corraline algae is growing like crazy in a nice purple color.
Does this mean I think everyone should add suppliments. NO!!. I found you have to test regularly, because it is very easy to overdose. Overdosing can be very bad because these are potent additives. Also the tests are very complicated and time consuming. To verify my results, I conducted several of the test in triplicate. Supplimenting your tank can probably help your tank, but I dont think it is something you can maintain correctly long term.
Just wanted to share my experience with others and get their opinions.
 
scarybo

scarybo

Member
Esv B-ionic for Alk/Calcium
Esv Strontium
Esv Iodine
Esv Magnesium
Kalk
The directions on the bottles are (in my opinion) useless without testing. You need to test before you start to find out where you are. You need to test almost daily when you start your initial doses to find out how your tanks reacts. Once you reach a baseline, I was able to reduce testing down to weekly. You want to take your time in moving your levels up. First lesson I learned in keeping reef tanks..
"NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS FAST"
As I stated earlier, I wouldnt recommend this for everyone unless you are prepared to commit the time and effort. If not..It can go bad (severe Algae is just an example).
 
rook

rook

Member
Be carefull still, despite testing. The test kits for strontium and iodine are both very difficult to use and read, and known to be inacurate. Randy-Holmes-Farly suggests to not dose strontium at all. I tested my strontium and Iodine and discussed it with him and he advised me to not dose either.
He has written many articles regarding the chemistry in our tanks, recently writing one regarding magnesium.
If you check this LINK , you will fine just a small number of articles he has written or suggests for chemical processes in our tanks. Before proceeding I suggest you read those articles. Then, if you are like me and found them to be difficult, email him for advise for your specific circumstance.
From what I gathered, although there is some small benefits for dosing these items, overdosing can be very detrimental and without high grade and accurate tests perform by someone who really understands them.
 
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