Chemical additives

[missys60reef]

I've been told by so many different people what to put in and it seems like an awful lot to be putting in weekly. Is this right?

Mon-Sun
1 capful of calcium A and B
1 capful of Strontium
1 capful of Coral Accel

Mon/Wed/Fri
1 capful of Zoo Plankton
1 capful of Phyto Plankton
1 capful of Coral Vite
1 capful of Micro Vert

Is that normal? Is it good or bad for the tank? I have no idea. It almost seems like a gimmic for the stores to make more money. lol

[Ninong]

I've been told by so many different people what to put in and it seems like an awful lot to be putting in weekly. Is this right?

Mon-Sun
1 capful of calcium A and B

It's impossible to answer your question without knowing the size of your aquarium and the brand name of the two-component supplement you are using to maintain calcium and alkalinity levels.

I assume your tank is 60 gallons but that's just a guess. Using a two-component product, such as B-ionic or C-Balance, is one method of maintaining calcium and alkalinity. Those products should be dosed daily in equal parts. How much depends on the size of your aquarium and on its calcium demand. Its calcium demand will rise as your corals and coralline algae grow. Just follow the manufacturer's directions. Start out on the low side and then test your calcium and alkalinity levels about once a week to monitor where you are. Adjust your daily dosage accordingly. You should maintain calcium between 425-450 ppm and alkalinity between 10-12 dKH. You don't want your calcium to drop below 375 ppm or rise above 500 ppm. You don't want your alkalinity to fall below 8 dKH or rise above 14 dKH.

1 capful of Strontium

Completely unnecessary UNLESS you have tested for strontium and found it depleted. Natural seawater levels of strontium range from 8-9 ppm. There is no need to maintain this element at levels higher than that. In fact, excess strontium is toxic.

1 capful of Coral Accel

Whatever this is, it's unnecessary.

Mon/Wed/Fri
1 capful of Zoo Plankton
1 capful of Phyto Plankton
1 capful of Coral Vite
1 capful of Micro Vert

All of these are no doubt "food." There are many ways to feed your aquarium. What you choose is up to you but I'm not impressed with any of the products mentioned.

Why are you feeding zooplankton and phytoplankton? What exactly are you feeding? Do you have a lot of SPS that require zooplankton? What are you feeding with the phytoplankton? If it's dead phytoplankton (which is what it sounds like), then it's not nearly as good as live phytoplankton.

The "Coral Vite" is just a food additive or vitamin supplement, based on what I gather from the name. Not something I would bother with but that's up to you.

What is "Micro Vert" and what does it feed in your tank?

Is that normal? Is it good or bad for the tank? I have no idea. It almost seems like a gimmic for the stores to make more money. lol

It is the job of the LFS employees to sell you as much as possible. If you're willing, they will sell you one of each item on their shelves. It is NOT their job to talk you out of buying anything. That's not how they make their money.



P.S. -- I believe you mentioned in another thread something about a problem with nuisance algae. Could be that you are adding too much "food" to your tank and all you're really feeding is this algae.

[missys60reef]

Thanks for you reply, that really helps I was thinking it was probably a gimmic. I can't believe stores would actually do that!!! They were telling me how important strontium is to add blah blah blah. Oh my gosh! This is awesome! I'm now going to cut my monthly chemical prices in half it sounds like! Geez, I may be able to afford a bigger tank even!!!!

It is a 60 gallon. The brand of calcium additives and everything else too, is Kent Marine. Is that a good brand, or should I switch to something different So, calcium is pretty much the only thing I should add to the tank besides daily feeding and every two day feedings of zoo plankton or something else as well??? What type of zoo plankton or other nutrients is good to use? I believe the stuff I'm using now is dead.

How do you test the calcium and alkalinity levels? I'm no chemist to say the least. I bought some tests, but I can never get an accurate, or even readable result. I know I'm doing something wrong, I even have trouble doing the ammonia test! Is it worth taking some water to a store to be tested or can I even trust them??? They may tell me to add more chemicals!!!! Haha!!!

Thanks for your help!

[Ninong]

I was thinking it was probably a gimmic. I can't believe stores would actually do that!!!

Yes, I know. It's shocking!

The brand of calcium additives and everything else too, is Kent Marine. Is that a good brand, or should I switch to something different

I use Kalkwasser instead of a two-component additive but I have used both C-Balance and B-Ionic in the past. I'm sure the Kent stuff is basically the same.

So, calcium is pretty much the only thing I should add to the tank

You're adding both calcium and alkalinity right now with your two-component product. Other methods would be to drip Kalkwasser or to install a calcium reactor. The calcium reactor is the best solution but it's kinda expensive. The calcium reactor has the advantage of maintaining all of your elements. When using other methods, you will want to check your magnesium levels ever few months to see if they are falling. If so, you will need to add magnesium -- magnesium chloride is best for this purpose.

besides daily feeding and every two day feedings of zoo plankton or something else as well??? What type of zoo plankton or other nutrients is good to use? I believe the stuff I'm using now is dead.

The best phytoplankton is live phytoplankton. Something like D.T.'s live phytoplankton is good. As far as zooplankton is concerned, unless you grow your own rotifers, you have to buy a dead product. I like Cyclop-eeze. It's a dead aquacultured decapod copepod. I used it in the freeze dried form but the frozen form is better. There are other products that are good substitutes for zooplankton, such as the smaller sizes of Golden Pearls and oyster eggs.

How do you test the calcium and alkalinity levels?

You have to purchase test kits. I use LaMotte but Salifert is also pretty good. You will need a calcium test kit and an alkalinity test kit. These are not cheap. You will also need a magnesium test kit. You should also test for nitrate on a regular basis. All of those are individual test kits. Avoid the cheapy brands, they're worthless.

Is it worth taking some water to a store to be tested or can I even trust them???

That depends on the individual store. Not all LFS are bad but so many are that they ruin it for the decent ones. None of the LFS within 60 miles of my house will test anything for you. One of them does have a pH probe so that if you bring a sample of your tankwater, they will allow you to dip the pH probe in your jar of tankwater to get a reading.

[missys60reef]

Wow, you have been a tremendous help!!!! Thank you so much!!! I'm now on my way to take $150 worth of these rotten chemicals back to the store.

A couple questions on the calcium reactor... First off, what is a calcium reactor? What does it do? Where can I find one? What brands are good? Once I get one will it do everything for me, or what do I have to do to maintain it? So with a calcium reactor I would not have to add magnesium? Will it read alkalinity and calcium levels automatically for me? So pretty much I can just walk over to it and look and it will have the levels displayed in front of me? Is there such a thing that does that? It'd be so nice not to have to test and have something accurate sitting right there anytime I want to know.

And lastly, is there a test for magnesium?

Thank you so much again for all of your help

[Ninong]

First off, what is a calcium reactor? What does it do? Where can I find one? What brands are good?

A calcium reactor is a chamber containing calcium carbonate media (usually aragonite). Tankwater is pumped through this chamber and carbon dioxide is injected into the chamber. The carbon dioxide lowers the pH, resulting in the gradual dissolution of the aragonite media. The effluent that is discharged from the calcium reactor replenishes calcium and all of the other elements and trace elements because they are all contained in aragonite. It also maintains alkalinity.

You can find them at virtually any online vendor. Check some of our sponsors. You will also need a CO2 tank, regulator and needle valve. Total setup costs will start at around $600. There are several good brands.

Or, you may choose to go with another method for maintenance of calcium and alkalinity. Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley discusses these options here.

Once I get one will it do everything for me, or what do I have to do to maintain it? So with a calcium reactor I would not have to add magnesium?

A calcium reactor would maintain magnesium, too. It's a piece of equipment like a protein skimmer. It and it's pump, will require regular cleaning, etc. but not all that often. The aragonite media has to be replenished as it dissolves, usually every several months.

Will it read alkalinity and calcium levels automatically for me?

No.

So pretty much I can just walk over to it and look and it will have the levels displayed in front of me?

No.

Is there such a thing that does that?

Yes, but they cost thousands of dollars and are usually reserved for extremely expensive aquaria -- tanks in the over $100,000 range.

It'd be so nice not to have to test and have something accurate sitting right there anytime I want to know.

There are some extremely expensive pieces of equipment that can measure most water parameters for you but they cost too much for home aquarium use.

And lastly, is there a test for magnesium?

I use Salifert's magnesium test kit.

[smidoid]

Do you think we need a calc reactor then Ninong? Or does Kalkwasser suffice if we have an aragonite substrate?

[Ninong]

Do you think we need a calc reactor then Ninong? Or does Kalkwasser suffice if we have an aragonite substrate?

A calcium reactor is nice to have. Not everyone has one.

Kalkwasser works fine except that it's labor intensive. Kalkwasser also keeps phosphate in check. You may have to add magnesium every few months unless you do frequent regular water changes. Kalkwasser does nothing to maintain magnesium. It only maintains calcium and alkalinity.

The aragonite substrate in your aquarium doesn't do much compared to a calcium reactor because very little aragonite is dissolved and it can be argued that what little is dissolved is immediately redeposited. This is a controversial topic. Remember, aragonite doesn't dissolve at all until the pH drops to at least 7.6 or less. Even if the pH is low enough deep in the sand bed to allow some dissolution, there is some question as to what happens next, chemically speaking.

[zhenya]

A calcium reactor is nice to have. Not everyone has one.

Kalkwasser works fine except that it's labor intensive. Kalkwasser also keeps phosphate in check.

Speaking of phosphate, calcium reactor may contribute to the input of phosphate to the tank. Pretty much all of the media that is dissolved in the reactor will release some phosphate (as PH drops in the reactor). Testing efluent of the reactor can tell the story pretty clearly. Some people use separate chamber to house some phosphate binders and run effluent through this chamber before it enters the tank/sump.
There is an interesting thread discussing this here with some input from RHF.
On a smaller tank, depending on what corals you are keeping of course, I personally would chose Kalkwasser to supplement Clacium and Alkalinity. Mg can be added when needed by using one of the Mg additives that Ninong mentioned. Just my opinion, of course.

[missys60reef]

Wow, thank you for all of your help! S I should probably lean more towards a kalkwasser? What does a kalkwasser do?

[Ninong]

Wow, thank you for all of your help! S I should probably lean more towards a kalkwasser? What does a kalkwasser do?

That question was answered already in post #6 in this thread: "Or, you may choose to go with another method for maintenance of calcium and alkalinity. Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley discusses these options here."

Just follow the link and read the article. It will answer all of your questions.

[missys60reef]

Awesome thnx so much guys I really appreciate the help!