So I have been completely unhappy with the growth rate of my coral for a while now. I've been dosing all for reef for about a year and I finally decided to pull the trigger on kalkwasser. Can anybody recommend a decent continuous duty dosing pump that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
Dosing pump for kalk
- Thread starter Dmac
- Start date
From the research I've done, it seems like a continuous duty pump is the best way to go if you're not mixing it up in your ATO. No3 is 10ppm and po4 is .19. just to give a little bit of history, my NO3 and PO4 levels have only been as high as they are for a few months. The longest time my tank always ran undetectable levels. Regardless of what my levels are at, my growth has always been slow and in some cases almost non-existent.
The reason I asked about NO3 & PO4 is that corals can’t grow at ultra low levels.
I might recommend a dosing pump like one of the Kamoer models. Available from ~$50 to $150. That $150 model is more stout & wifi.
I might recommend a dosing pump like one of the Kamoer models. Available from ~$50 to $150. That $150 model is more stout & wifi.
That magnesium swing is worrisome!
I would suggest you take a water sample by your LFS and have them check it, just to be sure. Ask for a complete panel, to confirm where your parameters are. That will also provide an independent base line for your calibration(s).
Other than that-
Depending on species and placement, it looks like your corals should be growing. Unless a parameter measurement is off? Back when your nutrients were bottomed out, lack of growth is understandable.
I would suggest you take a water sample by your LFS and have them check it, just to be sure. Ask for a complete panel, to confirm where your parameters are. That will also provide an independent base line for your calibration(s).
Other than that-
Depending on species and placement, it looks like your corals should be growing. Unless a parameter measurement is off? Back when your nutrients were bottomed out, lack of growth is understandable.
That simply isn't true. Look at the ZEOvit method, that is ULS and they grow very well. Where did you hear that misinformation?
…misinformation?
Ok, so…
Corals naturally obtain nutrition from a variety of sources, including their symbiotic algae, capture of prey/plankton, trapping bacteria in their mucous and absorption of compounds from the surrounding water. The zooxanthellae do not provide complete nutrient requirements. Our aquariums typically do not provide adequate populations of plankton either. The growth of bacteria and the zooxanthellae will slow and eventually stall below minimum nutrient levels. The coral also begin to fade.
Running an ULN system, including Zeovit, still requires minimal nutrient levels. Below a certain threshold the diffusion gradient is too low for nutrients to move into the coral. Anyone that has run an ULN system knows it. They see it when the coral begin to become pale. The Zeovit system uses carbon dosing to drive inorganic nutrients to low levels. So, what do they do? They dose nutrients, including organic amino acids, bacteria and foods. Korallen-Zucht specifies this in their guidelines. The test kits available can only measure inorganic forms of compounds, including nitrogen as nitrate & phosphorous as phosphate. So low levels doesn’t mean it’s not there. Just that it isn’t in an inorganic form.
To answer your question, it’s not misinformation. It’s fact! Coral can’t grow on “ultra low levels” as I stated. Or, to quote Korallen-Zucht on their own Zeovit system -
“Most aquarists look at the Korallen-Zucht ZEOvit system like a two step process. The first stage is using the ZEOvit reactor with ZEOlites, ZEObak, ZEOfood and ZEOStart (the basic four) to create an ultra low nutrient environment. The second step is to develop ideal coloration, health and growth using some of their additives based on amino acids, minerals, foods and other additives.”
In a nutshell, Zeovit drives down inorganic nutrients, using carbon dosing, and then replaces those nutrients with predominantly organic forms.
You said and I quote "The reason I asked about NO3 & PO4 is that corals can’t grow at ultra low levels." So, that is why I mentioned misinformation as that is simply not true (I based my answer solely on your reply to PO4/NO3). What you posted above is true on naturally obtained nutrition, I agree 100%. I do not agree with "The reason I asked about NO3 & PO4 is that corals can’t grow at ultra low levels." I get bright pink, bright red, bright blues, and so on, I do know some people have more pastel colors with ZEOvit, as this is the reason they will add other KZ products to their tanks. Nutrients is a broad word and covers a lot, but when most of us talk about that we think only of NO3 and PO4, as to my reply to your reply. ULN is most thought of as probiotic or bacteria-driven systems since we are reducing the level of P04 and NO3's. I know some people argue that isn't true, look at Shane, he likes to run dirty tanks, he only runs a skimmer and will not run anything else mechanical, he likes his tanks less clean, and who can argue with his success, he is one of the best acros guys I know. But if you go by what many think, in increased level SPS tend to show suppressed calcification and/or reduced growth with lower levels it will lower zooxanthellae thus allowing better pigmentation. But, I am not going to argue with some of the amazing tanks I have seen over the last 30 years that run higher levels of PO4 and NO3's, again Shane is an animal and his tanks around some of the best.…misinformation?
Ok, so…
Corals naturally obtain nutrition from a variety of sources, including their symbiotic algae, capture of prey/plankton, trapping bacteria in their mucous and absorption of compounds from the surrounding water. The zooxanthellae do not provide complete nutrient requirements. Our aquariums typically do not provide adequate populations of plankton either. The growth of bacteria and the zooxanthellae will slow and eventually stall below minimum nutrient levels. The coral also begin to fade.
Running an ULN system, including Zeovit, still requires minimal nutrient levels. Below a certain threshold the diffusion gradient is too low for nutrients to move into the coral. Anyone that has run an ULN system knows it. They see it when the coral begin to become pale. The Zeovit system uses carbon dosing to drive inorganic nutrients to low levels. So, what do they do? They dose nutrients, including organic amino acids, bacteria and foods. Korallen-Zucht specifies this in their guidelines. The test kits available can only measure inorganic forms of compounds, including nitrogen as nitrate & phosphorous as phosphate. So low levels doesn’t mean it’s not there. Just that it isn’t in an inorganic form.
To answer your question, it’s not misinformation. It’s fact! Coral can’t grow on “ultra low levels” as I stated. Or, to quote Korallen-Zucht on their own Zeovit system -
“Most aquarists look at the Korallen-Zucht ZEOvit system like a two step process. The first stage is using the ZEOvit reactor with ZEOlites, ZEObak, ZEOfood and ZEOStart (the basic four) to create an ultra low nutrient environment. The second step is to develop ideal coloration, health and growth using some of their additives based on amino acids, minerals, foods and other additives.”
In a nutshell, Zeovit drives down inorganic nutrients, using carbon dosing, and then replaces those nutrients with predominantly organic forms.
I run my PO4 and NO3 around .02-.03 and .02-.05. I run the basic 4 bak/food/start/lith only (mulm is feeding the coral), and I do not run carbon, b/c to do it properly you need to change it far too often as it absorbs everything quickly and then can't absorb any more and that can happen as soon as a day or 2, once it is "full" then its useless, I know I am losing some of the value from carbon i.e. cultivates bacteria. From time to time I will run Coral Snow or Coral Vitalizer but very little. By reefeing standards that is very low, as you mentioned above they can not grow in ultra low levels. There are major issues with those of us that run ULS with swings in alk, etc. it can cause STN pretty quickly, so you have to stay on top of your systems, ULN are not for the "lazy reefer". 7-8KH, 425-450ppm Cal, and 1250-1350 Mag have worked out the best for me in ULS systems.
There are many ways to run ZEOvit, lots of "extras" you can buy to help with colors. I do dose iodine from time to time also, as I find if vital for colors, but again I am still running ULN with very low NO3 and PO4. Many do add aminos and trace elements, I do this by more frequent water changes, so I guess I am "cheating" a little bit, as most ZEOvit users do NOT do a lot of water changes. It is near impossible to test for all trace elements unless you are sending off water samples often and that is a cost I do not like to pay for, and I don't even pay retail for them. I will do it every 6-8 months or if I see something with colors, etc. I will send one off. Aminos tend to darken acros, many think that is due to nitrogen limitations. Since there are well over 100 different types of zeolith's I have only used ZEOvit brand as it has been proven to work. The reason the whole ULS was founded was to mimic the low nutrient conditions found in the more shallow waters where Acros tend to have the best coloration, I heard this directly from Thomas many, many times.
So, I think we are both right in what we are saying, I was replying only to the statement of PO4 and NO3's. There are many ways to have a successful tank, ULN is only 1 of them, but there are a lot more!
Just a few photos from the corals/colors I grow with VERY low PO4 and NO3.
Happy reefing!
