Reef Discussion

mscott

Member
Jan 2, 2012
1,416
271
Wheelers Hill
red sea reef foundation
Hey guys i baught myself one of these abc additive containers and was just wondering how much i shoud dose today, should i double dose to build up the ammount in the water or half dose to let it slowly build up??
cheers
 

mscott

Member
Jan 2, 2012
1,416
271
Wheelers Hill
ph is about 7.5-8 a tad low, ammo-0 nitrate 0 nitrite 0.
As for the rest of it i dont have the test kits for as they were way too expencive, but i dare say they are much lower than they should be
 

tonyf

Member
Oct 21, 2011
233
43
Bexley, Sydney
Hi, I am only new at this so take my advice with a grain of salt, but one thing that stuck with me I remember reading somewhere was "never dose anything you can't test for" kinda makes sense. So I would try and wait till you can get the test kits then at least it will be easier to to tell how much to dose, because you kinda don't want to get it wrong.
If I am correct the A,B,C is the main 3 Calc, Alk and MG and would be really hard to guess the amount.
Only my 2c worth.
 

NiCd

Lead Moderator
Jul 29, 2011
4,296
1,586
Sydney
Tony hit the nail on the head, go out and get yourself the reef foundations test kit to go along with it all and then dose to suit, Calcium can brought brought straight up but you will have to increase you alk at a max rate of 1dkh a day
 

mscott

Member
Jan 2, 2012
1,416
271
Wheelers Hill
the abc+, the one i baught is Ca, Sr, KH, Mg, K and Br.
Well getting the test kits is going to take a long time. Being a student i dont realy have $120 to throw at a test kit in one day, let alone one month.
So to combine staying safe and adding the correct nutrients to the tank ill dose half as much half the time, so only 1g of the powder every fortnight, that should keep the tank stable untill i can get my hands on the test kits
 

NiCd

Lead Moderator
Jul 29, 2011
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Sydney
just do larger water changes until you get the test kits, your likey to do more damage than good otherwise
 

MTG

Moderator
Jul 10, 2011
10,664
2,149
Gold Coast
Dosing blinde will result in deaths, you never know what your levels are untill you test, do not dose untill you have the test kits, I had issues with abc, couldn't keep the alk up so had to add as an extra so dont expect it to be the only product you will need later on!
 

mscott

Member
Jan 2, 2012
1,416
271
Wheelers Hill
But wouldnt it be more benificial to have the trace elements in there, even if so minimal. The pampflet in the box says to dose daily, so doseing half once a fortnight, would be just enough to keep the elements in the water, but not in such concentrated forms which is required (acording to the pamphlet) or deathly.
As going without the elements could also result in deaths.
 

NiCd

Lead Moderator
Jul 29, 2011
4,296
1,586
Sydney
there is thriving SPS tanks going without trace eliment additons for a number of years, your colours may not be all they can be but excess causes the flesh to melt away
 

MTG

Moderator
Jul 10, 2011
10,664
2,149
Gold Coast
water changes will add back most trace elements :D
i have found tanks to be alot more stable without dosing lots of additives
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
Looking at your new TJ, you have minimal corals in the tank so you will not be using up any appreciable amounts of calcium, alkalinity or magnesium - any that is used would more than be covered by your regular water changes.

As others have said, it is risky adding these supplements if you don't know the current levels in your tank. More than likely they are already at acceptable levels and you will just be wasting your money by using the supplements. In hindsight, you probably would have been better spending your money on Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium test kits and used some relatively cheap supplements as described by Randy Holmes-Farley (refer http://www.thereefuge.com/threads/maintaining-calcium-alkalinity-and-magnesium-randys-recipe.376/).

Any chance of swapping the supplements for some test kits? If not, you could perhaps get your water tested at the LFS - at least then you would know what you are dealing with.

But, as mentioned, your tank will not be using appreciable quantities of these elements for some time so please don't be in a rush to throw bottled stuff in your tank :)
 

mscott

Member
Jan 2, 2012
1,416
271
Wheelers Hill
I was realy more thinking on the lines of my anemonie more than the coral, my tank has been around no where near long enough for it to be classed as old enough for the anemonie, so i was thinking the suplements are going to help him more than the others.
I thaught of going to the lfs to get it tested but the nearest one that does saltwater tests is a 3 hr trip away (public transport), so its realy no use untill i can get the kits myself.
My assumption was to get the red sea test kits that are associated with these producuts to get the most accurate reasults, or can i just go off and get the cheeper ATI Reef master test kits.
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
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Hobart, Tasmania
The API Reef would be fine to start with - do you have any test kits now? I find these phosphate kits are next to useless as it is almost impossible to identify the correct colour.
 

Synodontis

Member
Aug 1, 2011
1,979
968
Melton, Victoria
Hi, I am only new at this so take my advice with a grain of salt, but one thing that stuck with me I remember reading somewhere was "never dose anything you can't test for" kinda makes sense. So I would try and wait till you can get the test kits then at least it will be easier to to tell how much to dose, because you kinda don't want to get it wrong.
If I am correct the A,B,C is the main 3 Calc, Alk and MG and would be really hard to guess the amount.
Only my 2c worth.
You might be new to this tonyf, but with advice like that your on the right track :)

I'm with the guy's mscott, I would hold off dosing until you can test your levels. Any chance of getting your LFS to test what you can't test for?
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
OK, so the API Reef Master kit has Calcium, kH, Nitrate & Phosphate - you already have nitrate and the phosphate is difficult to get an accurate result so this kit would not be good value. I would suggest you just get a Calcium and Alkalinity kit for now, and then a Magnesium - I like the Salifert kits.
 

mscott

Member
Jan 2, 2012
1,416
271
Wheelers Hill
ok will do, i know i can get calcium by the same brand i alredy have, but i have never seen an alk or magnesium apart from the red sea ones, but i shall look