jamestown478
Reefing newb
I am new to corals and while checking out my local fish store I seen that there are a bunch of "additives" that they sell like coral accel and so on. Is any of this stuff any good or is it just a waste of money?
new to corals
- Thread starter jamestown478
- Start date
Sir Alex
Dragon the eel (below)
If you get salt with nutrients in it like instant ocean reef crystals then you don't need that. Corals get most of what they need from photosynthesis.
little_fish
Moderator
90% of tanks dont need those additives. Just doing regular water changes is more than enough.
The rule for additives, is dont dose for you what dont test for. Over doses are common and be quite deadly.
If all your testing does show that your chronically low, on say calcium, even with regular water changes, then dose. Otherwise its needless.
The rule for additives, is dont dose for you what dont test for. Over doses are common and be quite deadly.
If all your testing does show that your chronically low, on say calcium, even with regular water changes, then dose. Otherwise its needless.
Smitty
Reef pro
Don't waste your money on that stuff...like mentioned, all you need are water changes.
jamestown478
Reefing newb
ok, when I bought my tank "kit" from the fish store it came with a 2 bottle nano reef a and b ion and buffer system made by KENTs. That stuff any good?
little_fish
Moderator
i highly doubt you will need it, but without knowing more about those products, i cant tell when they might be useful, if at all.
jamestown478
Reefing newb
this is the stuff that came with the tank:
Kent Marine Nano Reef Parts A & B | Products
Kent Marine Nano Reef Parts A & B | Products
little_fish
Moderator
Your salt (as long as its a reef salt, which the vast majority are) will have all of that stuff in the proper levels, so i dont think you would ever need that.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
For most corals, you won't need to add anything. Later on down the road, if you start to keep more sensitive corals, dosing may become a necessity. But for the most part, water changes take care of most things, as others have said.
SeaBee
Ha Ha Thats Funny!
If your tank and you are new at this then they gave you that A and B for a reason; most new people dont test their water. That A and B is calcium and ph buffer, so if you stop using it then you really need to be testing. These guys are assuming you mix your own water, but if you buy it, like lots of new poeple do, then you may not know what the salt mix is. If you buy your water you need to ask what they use for the mix, ie; the brand and type.
Not all of those products are snake oil, but it is confusing and a bit redundant. I watch what they do at the stores, the ones with a healthy reef. You need to add calcuim, and other minerals to the water once you add corals to your system, and when you're new, you need to test for Calcium, and Magnesium and dose to maintain certain levels. After a few weeks of testing, and dosing, you get a "feel" for what your tank needs. I can walk over and pour in Magnesium to tank, once a week, and not check the Mg. at all, why? After 2 yrs. of doing it, I know, half a paper coffee cup a week is what my tank uses, and I will test the Mg. about once a month now just to see, it's the same pretty much.
As you advance in this hobby you'll gravitate towards what you like, I like cool colored stuff, zoas, sps are cool, and Duncans I like, sps needs and established tank, like a yr old to be ok. You can start with stuff like zoas and hammer, leathers. You will need a good light if you want sps and some other lps.
But you need to test your water parameters and get stable, calcium, magnesium, salinity, ph, and temperature.
You need to be careful with your 10g tank, it will react very quickly to what you dose with.
I dose with Koral Color, wich has trace elements, and also Fuel, which is a food for corals with fatty acids, but thats a food, not a water element. If you want zoanthids, they seem to like Mg, so get a test kit for that.
Not all of those products are snake oil, but it is confusing and a bit redundant. I watch what they do at the stores, the ones with a healthy reef. You need to add calcuim, and other minerals to the water once you add corals to your system, and when you're new, you need to test for Calcium, and Magnesium and dose to maintain certain levels. After a few weeks of testing, and dosing, you get a "feel" for what your tank needs. I can walk over and pour in Magnesium to tank, once a week, and not check the Mg. at all, why? After 2 yrs. of doing it, I know, half a paper coffee cup a week is what my tank uses, and I will test the Mg. about once a month now just to see, it's the same pretty much.
As you advance in this hobby you'll gravitate towards what you like, I like cool colored stuff, zoas, sps are cool, and Duncans I like, sps needs and established tank, like a yr old to be ok. You can start with stuff like zoas and hammer, leathers. You will need a good light if you want sps and some other lps.
But you need to test your water parameters and get stable, calcium, magnesium, salinity, ph, and temperature.
You need to be careful with your 10g tank, it will react very quickly to what you dose with.
I dose with Koral Color, wich has trace elements, and also Fuel, which is a food for corals with fatty acids, but thats a food, not a water element. If you want zoanthids, they seem to like Mg, so get a test kit for that.
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little_fish
Moderator
You absolutely should not be adding anything unless your test say that you need it!!!!
Please do not randomly dump stuff in your tank without having a reason to.
Seabee has lots of corals the use up the Mag between water changes, so he adds it. But the corals that you are going to be adding to your tank at the start arent going to be drawing out those nutrients faster than a water change can replenish them.
I have lots of fast growing corals in my tank, but my regular water changes prevent me from needing to add anything. I test my tank biweekly and i know i dont need to add anything.
Please do not randomly dump stuff in your tank without having a reason to.
Seabee has lots of corals the use up the Mag between water changes, so he adds it. But the corals that you are going to be adding to your tank at the start arent going to be drawing out those nutrients faster than a water change can replenish them.
I have lots of fast growing corals in my tank, but my regular water changes prevent me from needing to add anything. I test my tank biweekly and i know i dont need to add anything.
SeaBee
Ha Ha Thats Funny!
But you need to test your water parameters and get stable, calcium, magnesium, salinity, ph, and temperature.
You did see that line, right Little Fish??
You did see that line, right Little Fish??
little_fish
Moderator
I did see that, but these are the lines that jumped out at me and i wanted to clarify.
The first is very misleading, it sounds like he doesnt need to be testing as long as he is adding that stuff.
The second is also misleading. Adding corals doesnt mean you need to add other stuff. It means you might have to add stuff, and you should be testing to know if you need it.
SeaBee
Ha Ha Thats Funny!
Sooo, Corals dont absorb minerals from the water??
little_fish
Moderator
They do, but with water changes 90% of people replace those minerals before the coral use them up.
SeaBee
Ha Ha Thats Funny!
What if they buy thier water at Petsmart or Petco??
Bifferwine
I am a girl
That water is still made with a synthetic sea salt, which contains essential elements. Any salt you buy that is made for the marine aquarium hobby will have those elements in it.
little_fish
Moderator
I just check both of their sites, and while their salts arent the highest quality they are formulated for reefs.
But i go back to my original statement - test your water. If you need to dose, your tests will tell you so! But dont assume that just because you have corals, you need to dose.
But i go back to my original statement - test your water. If you need to dose, your tests will tell you so! But dont assume that just because you have corals, you need to dose.
SeaBee
Ha Ha Thats Funny!
I think its fair to say that at those stores the water is made by kids, and the water levels go all over. And they don't use quality salt. I know a manger at the chain, and they dont.
Even if they get water at a good lfe, you need to test the fresh with a dts meter, we have a very well esablished store in our area, large salt stuff. Anyway, thier water went way out on dts, and all these people hit the boards with complaints, well they forgot to change thier filters, and kept on selling the water, it was bad.
If I wanst clear enough, Im sorry, but you need to test the water wherever you get it, even your own ro at home, has a meter on it. And your salt mix needs to reflect what you do in your tank. Basic instant Ocean has nothing in it for a reef tank. Reef crystals is moving in the right direction. As for all the bottles on the shelf, dont add them unless you test for it, is that clearer???
Even if they get water at a good lfe, you need to test the fresh with a dts meter, we have a very well esablished store in our area, large salt stuff. Anyway, thier water went way out on dts, and all these people hit the boards with complaints, well they forgot to change thier filters, and kept on selling the water, it was bad.
If I wanst clear enough, Im sorry, but you need to test the water wherever you get it, even your own ro at home, has a meter on it. And your salt mix needs to reflect what you do in your tank. Basic instant Ocean has nothing in it for a reef tank. Reef crystals is moving in the right direction. As for all the bottles on the shelf, dont add them unless you test for it, is that clearer???
Bifferwine
I am a girl
It doesn't matter who the water is made by. If the salinity is correct (which everyone should be checking before they put it in their tank), then the other things in the salt will be in the correct balance as well.
You are right that not all salts are created equal. Hannah is simply saying that everyone needs to test for those things before they add them. Regardless of what salt you use, you should test for calcium and magnesium before you add them to your tank.
You keep saying DTS meter. I think you mean to say TDS meter.
Basic Instant Ocean has enough stuff in it to keep most easy corals. I wouldn't try to keep SPS with Instant Ocean, but it's a very popular salt, and it's a salt that a lot of new people to the hobby use because it's probably the most widely available salt. It's not a bad salt.
For your average mixed reef tank, Instant Ocean is fine, and it doesn't matter who mixed the salt up -- a kid at Petco, or you at home, if the salinity is correct, it is fine to use.
Your story about TDS is exactly what Hannah is saying -- test your water before you use it, and test it before you add anything to it. It is as simple as that, and there's no need to argue about something so basic and non-controversial.
You are right that not all salts are created equal. Hannah is simply saying that everyone needs to test for those things before they add them. Regardless of what salt you use, you should test for calcium and magnesium before you add them to your tank.
You keep saying DTS meter. I think you mean to say TDS meter.
Basic Instant Ocean has enough stuff in it to keep most easy corals. I wouldn't try to keep SPS with Instant Ocean, but it's a very popular salt, and it's a salt that a lot of new people to the hobby use because it's probably the most widely available salt. It's not a bad salt.
For your average mixed reef tank, Instant Ocean is fine, and it doesn't matter who mixed the salt up -- a kid at Petco, or you at home, if the salinity is correct, it is fine to use.
Your story about TDS is exactly what Hannah is saying -- test your water before you use it, and test it before you add anything to it. It is as simple as that, and there's no need to argue about something so basic and non-controversial.
