Skim
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2014
- Location
- Brantford, Ontario
Found this at a Coral Farming site and thought I would pass it on as it is some good advice for Newbies that wants to or has been told has to buy.
Calcium Supplements - When does your tank really need calcium?
I can't tell you how many times I've spoken to someone who was talked into getting a calcium reactor for their softies tank that has one or two LPS in it. Even more so are those who were conned into buying two-part solutions (look in the money savings section to make these cheaply by the way) because their tanks had a few corals that needed calcium. The truth is that tanks without a predominant amount of corals that require calcium do not need any supplementation at all. The amount of calcium that the majority of tanks need can be replenished with weekly water changes. In my display I haven't changed the water in going on three months now (ew), and I have a cap in the back that grows at a rate of about 1/8" a week.
Having a deep sand bed, which is a good idea in and of itself, will also help to maintain calcium and alkalinity levels in a moderately stocked reef tank. Only when a reef tank is very well stocked with LPS should calcium supplementation be considered, and even then levels for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium should be tested beforehand. The target levels are 400-450 for calcium, 7-11dkh alkalinity, and 1200-1350 magnesium, the magnesium levels are ideally 3x the calcium levels. Moderately to well-stocked SPS tanks will also need calcium supplementation, but again test the levels beforehand and make sure what needs to be added. Other than these last two scenarios, you don't need to worry about calcium needs, as long as your levels are tested every so often.
Additives - Adding things into your tank that you can't test for can be dangerous.
Unless you've got an insane system or the lowest quality reef salt that money can buy then chances are very good that your tank will get all of its trace elements from weekly or biweekly water changes. Dosing any additives that you can't test for is very dangerous: you can overdose your tank, possibly resulting in a crash. Iodine is the most popular of the "you need to dose this" reef store item pitches. Never dose iodine, it's unsafe and easier to leave it up to your water changes. Keep up with your routine water changes, use something other than a zoo animal grade reef salt and you'll never have to worry about supplementing additives.
Calcium Supplements - When does your tank really need calcium?
I can't tell you how many times I've spoken to someone who was talked into getting a calcium reactor for their softies tank that has one or two LPS in it. Even more so are those who were conned into buying two-part solutions (look in the money savings section to make these cheaply by the way) because their tanks had a few corals that needed calcium. The truth is that tanks without a predominant amount of corals that require calcium do not need any supplementation at all. The amount of calcium that the majority of tanks need can be replenished with weekly water changes. In my display I haven't changed the water in going on three months now (ew), and I have a cap in the back that grows at a rate of about 1/8" a week.
Having a deep sand bed, which is a good idea in and of itself, will also help to maintain calcium and alkalinity levels in a moderately stocked reef tank. Only when a reef tank is very well stocked with LPS should calcium supplementation be considered, and even then levels for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium should be tested beforehand. The target levels are 400-450 for calcium, 7-11dkh alkalinity, and 1200-1350 magnesium, the magnesium levels are ideally 3x the calcium levels. Moderately to well-stocked SPS tanks will also need calcium supplementation, but again test the levels beforehand and make sure what needs to be added. Other than these last two scenarios, you don't need to worry about calcium needs, as long as your levels are tested every so often.
Additives - Adding things into your tank that you can't test for can be dangerous.
Unless you've got an insane system or the lowest quality reef salt that money can buy then chances are very good that your tank will get all of its trace elements from weekly or biweekly water changes. Dosing any additives that you can't test for is very dangerous: you can overdose your tank, possibly resulting in a crash. Iodine is the most popular of the "you need to dose this" reef store item pitches. Never dose iodine, it's unsafe and easier to leave it up to your water changes. Keep up with your routine water changes, use something other than a zoo animal grade reef salt and you'll never have to worry about supplementing additives.
