What to dose?

[db366]

Alright so I have really picked up my game over the past month and a half (since right before thanksgiving) keeping up my tank. I want to start dosing to try to promote growth. All of my parameters are spot on, I do a 10 gallon water change weekly, it happens either on the 6,7,or 8th day of the week depending on my day off.

Parameters:
N03 - 0
po4 - >1
Calcium - 480 (tested right before my weekly water change)
Alk - 8 dkh
PH - 8
Salinity -1.025
I still haven't picked up a Mag test kit.

What if anything do people does to help with growth. I have seen all the hoopla about fuel and the algae growth that came with it, but what else is out there?

Also I have been using phosban just because when I bought my tank it came with a large tub of it, I recently picked up a GFO/Carbon reactor and a pound of GFO, whats better? I am not having a phosphate issue so should I even bother switching? Does GFO have any benefits over phosban?

 

[jimknutson]

I use fuel. It works fine. It will point out and amplify algae at first. Just skim well.

 

[lilrobb]

db366;719857 wrote: I do a 10 gallon water change weekly, it happens either on the 6,7,or <span style="color: Red">8th</span> day of the week depending on my day off.

That's when I do my water changes too...

 

[db366]

Haha, it made since in my head, i guess I should have said I do a water change every 6, 7, or 8 days depending. heh.

 

[rdnelson]

I don't have the knowledge to contribute a lot but I can fill you in on my experience. My corals did OK. I thought that the growth I was seeing was normal. Then, I had my water tested at a trusted LFS and was told my Mag was a bit low. I started testing for it and ended up dosing using the Epson Salt method. I usually need to dose 7 ml. every other week. Since I started doing that, every coral but one has exploded. Of course, I don't have a ton so water changes keep up with all the other stuff but just getting the mag up where it was supposed to be has help them extract what they need.

 

[ichthyoid]

I suggest that you never dose anything without measuring it, before and after.

FWIW-
Here is a great reference article on magnesium by Randy Holmes-Farley. I will summarize from the article the importance of magnesium here-

Effect of Magnesium on the Calcium/Alkalinity Balance in Aquaria

How does magnesium impact the http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-04/rhf/feature/index.htm">balance of calcium and alkalinity</a>23 in reef aquaria? In order to answer that question, one has to have a basic understanding of the calcium and carbonate systems in seawater. These systems have been discussed in detail in a variety of previous articles, so I won't go into them here in great detail. In short, calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is [IMG]http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/3/chemistry">supersaturated in seawater</a>,24 meaning that given enough time calcium ions will interact with carbonate ions and precipitate as calcium carbonate. If you push the concentration of either too high, CaCO3 will start to precipitate. [B]Magnesium interferes with this process, permitting both calcium and carbonate to be elevated above where they would be in the absence of magnesium[/B].

also-

"It is known that many marine bacteria do require magnesium, but in some cases, just a little magnesium is adequate.8-10 On first principles, all autotrophs (organisms that get all of their energy from photosynthesis, including all algae) must get their required magnesium from the water column. How high the magnesium concentration needs to before they become limited by magnesium, however, is not known".

Here is the link for the entire article-

[IMG]http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/10/chemistry">http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/10/chemistry</a>

 

[rdnelson]

That is the article that pushed me overe the top and made me spend the money on the Mag test kit. I watched it for a couple of weeks to confirm what I was seeing than read an article on how to dose with Epsom salt. Since I had the epsom salt in the house already it was nothing to make up a small batch. As I said, 4 - 7 ml every other week seems to keep it in line. But yes, I test before I dose.

 

[winkkle]

I never dose, use a high quality salt, do a wc every 2 weeks and everything is happy and growing. I believe in the less you do to your tank, besides water changes, the better off itll be and the less risk of it crashing.

 

[miami dolfan]

winkkle;720259 wrote: I believe in the less you do to your tank, besides water changes, the better off itll be and the less risk of it crashing.

When I lived in Miami I was constantly messing with my tank. Some livestock would die and I would have to replace either coral or fish. The 4 months I was busy packing to move to GA I didn't have time to mess with it. Everything flourished. The coral looked spectacular and was growing, the fish looked healthy and all was doing great. So I am one of the believers that the less you do to your tank, the better.

 

[crobattt]

Miami Dolfan;720267 wrote: When I lived in Miami I was constantly messing with my tank. Some livestock would die and I would have to replace either coral or fish. The 4 months I was busy packing to move to GA I didn't have time to mess with it. Everything flourished. The coral looked spectacular and was growing, the fish looked healthy and all was doing great. So I am one of the believers that the less you do to your tank, the better.

I actually agree here. Especially with fish it seems, the less you do in the tank the better. I try not to put my hands in the tank at all when possible

 

[gnashty]

jimknutson;719861 wrote: I use fuel. It works fine. It will point out and amplify algae at first. Just skim well.

I stopped dosing fuel for this very reason. I had a heavy hand with it though

 

[db366]

Pretty much I am looking for something like fuel that is made to boost growth and color. Not really concerned about dozing my parameters, they all seem to be in check right now.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk

 

[dakota9]

winkkle;720259 wrote: I never dose, use a high quality salt, do a wc every 2 weeks and everything is happy and growing. I believe in the less you do to your tank, besides water changes, the better off itll be and the less risk of it crashing.

Why is this so difficult for many of us to understand?

Agreed!

 

[rdnelson]

I agree with the "Less is More" philosophy. But, as with most things, there are no set rules. For whatever reason, my mag remains a bit low if I don't do anything. Yes, the corals still grow and don't die but they don't thrive. With a very minor dosing regiment, everything does much better. I guess what I am saying is it is best to "Massage" your tank than it is to hit it with a baseball bat.

 

[ichthyoid]

Of course, I failed to mention that you cannot measure vodka, Fuel or other forms of carbon dosing. I use calcium acetate and always add amino acids with vitamins too, but have been doing it a while.

All the more reason to go slow and follow directions. Same applies to GFO or biopellets, although I don't use them.