Are Reef Plus and Essential Elements similar?
- Thread starter turfgrass
- Start date
Greg Hiller
BRS Moderator
I saw the title and I was about to say the same thing, but Nigel beat me to it. Yeah they are the same thing, snake oils (my opinion).
Some people swear by various trace element supplements, and they may work for them, or it may just be coincidence that they are doing everything else right, and their tank is doing well in spite of adding the snake oil, impossible to know really. Myself I have to be able to read the label and have its contents, and concentrations make sense. I also usually won't add anything that I cannot test for to determine that it is being consumed so I can determine at which rate it should be added.
It always makes me laugh out loud when I read the stuff on the side of the labels of any Mark Weiss product. Black powder, etc. etc. Don't get me wrong, there are likely some additives that could be added to a tank that might help corals (aspartic acid as Randy H-F has mentioned), and some of the additives might contain them, but how are you ever going to know? and who has tested these products in a meaningful way? No one.
Here's the text from one of them (there are some better ones, but I think they might have removed some of the best ones from the labels because some scientists died laughing in the aisle of the pet stores [wife's sued]), it does just about everything you could ask for:
Marc Weiss Reef Vital DNA #122
Enhanced Reef Life Energizer. With continued use, colorful Coralline algae grown can 'choke out' and overtake hair, green, brown, blue and red algaes such as slime and bubble algaes. Increases dosage to cycle new aquariums, acclimate new fishes, corals and marine life, and enhance their reproduction.
*Enhances growth and provides pigmentation priming of coralline algaes, anemones, sea mushrooms, sponges, tunicates, feather dusters, live rock and related organisms.
*Interferes with the ability of Cryptocaryon (Ich) to adhere to fishes skin
*Corals "open up"
*Live rock organisms proliferate with increased color
*Adhesion to substrate is accelerated
*Reduces nuisance algaes
*Breaks down organic wastes, ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and phosphates
*Promotes coral polyp regeneration and reproduction
*Aids damaged corals
*Creates an ongoing biological cycle
Some people swear by various trace element supplements, and they may work for them, or it may just be coincidence that they are doing everything else right, and their tank is doing well in spite of adding the snake oil, impossible to know really. Myself I have to be able to read the label and have its contents, and concentrations make sense. I also usually won't add anything that I cannot test for to determine that it is being consumed so I can determine at which rate it should be added.
It always makes me laugh out loud when I read the stuff on the side of the labels of any Mark Weiss product. Black powder, etc. etc. Don't get me wrong, there are likely some additives that could be added to a tank that might help corals (aspartic acid as Randy H-F has mentioned), and some of the additives might contain them, but how are you ever going to know? and who has tested these products in a meaningful way? No one.
Here's the text from one of them (there are some better ones, but I think they might have removed some of the best ones from the labels because some scientists died laughing in the aisle of the pet stores [wife's sued]), it does just about everything you could ask for:
Marc Weiss Reef Vital DNA #122
Enhanced Reef Life Energizer. With continued use, colorful Coralline algae grown can 'choke out' and overtake hair, green, brown, blue and red algaes such as slime and bubble algaes. Increases dosage to cycle new aquariums, acclimate new fishes, corals and marine life, and enhance their reproduction.
*Enhances growth and provides pigmentation priming of coralline algaes, anemones, sea mushrooms, sponges, tunicates, feather dusters, live rock and related organisms.
*Interferes with the ability of Cryptocaryon (Ich) to adhere to fishes skin
*Corals "open up"
*Live rock organisms proliferate with increased color
*Adhesion to substrate is accelerated
*Reduces nuisance algaes
*Breaks down organic wastes, ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and phosphates
*Promotes coral polyp regeneration and reproduction
*Aids damaged corals
*Creates an ongoing biological cycle
OP
OP
turfgrass
Non-member
Reason I ask...is was told be Leroy at Garf.org to add some Reef Plus, because I was having a problem with a blue lobophyton. I received it from them last week and it seemed fine. After a couple of days it started to rot and peel. I took the frag out and it broke from the stalk. I cleaned the frag off and glued it back to the plug. The rot started all over again and the cap is hanging by a thread. So, when I got a hold of him he mentioned to run it under water for 45 seconds twice in one hour. Then add some Reef Plus. I didn't have reef plus so I added essential and coral vite. I also did a water change earlier this morning. Everything else in the tank is fine. My xenia show no signs of stress.
Hope the lobo doesn't die..one of my favorites.
Hope the lobo doesn't die..one of my favorites.
Greg Hiller
BRS Moderator
Turfgrass,
Anything is possible, but I doubt that you are going to be able to save this coral. I'm not sure I'd take too much advice from the guys at Garf. With a coral of this type my suggestion would be to cut away ALL dead or dying tissue and put it in a moderate flow area. Make sure your calcium and alkalinity levels are good, and that nothing is disturbing the coral.
Anything is possible, but I doubt that you are going to be able to save this coral. I'm not sure I'd take too much advice from the guys at Garf. With a coral of this type my suggestion would be to cut away ALL dead or dying tissue and put it in a moderate flow area. Make sure your calcium and alkalinity levels are good, and that nothing is disturbing the coral.
