dosing reef?
- Thread starter jjh
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The Ng Thing
Non-member
Test all of your water parameters: Alk, pH, Ca, Mg, Salt. Since your not doing stony corals Ca & Mg aren't that big of a deal. Alkalinity and pH will probably be the ones you'd have to moniter and dose accordingly. After you test your water then you should begin dosing to bring them to an ideal level. I'd post your water parameters and then we can work from there in terms of what to dose, how much, and what your ideal levels should be (there will be some different opinions on each of these that you should evaluate and decide what is best for you)
As far as feeding, if your doing mushrooms, zoas, and leathers I don't really think additional feeding is necessary as long as you have fish and are keeping them fed. All of the mentioned corals will feed from whatever is free floating in the water column. There are a bunch of products out there (Kent comes to mind) that focus on filter feeding organisms. Personally, I've never used them and have kept a successful tank. They seem like gimmicks to me but that is just my opinion. I don't have any proof to say they are good or bad.
As far as feeding, if your doing mushrooms, zoas, and leathers I don't really think additional feeding is necessary as long as you have fish and are keeping them fed. All of the mentioned corals will feed from whatever is free floating in the water column. There are a bunch of products out there (Kent comes to mind) that focus on filter feeding organisms. Personally, I've never used them and have kept a successful tank. They seem like gimmicks to me but that is just my opinion. I don't have any proof to say they are good or bad.
pallobi
Neal
Honestly, i would.jus make sure to do regular water changes... if ur not doin sps, u really dont have to.worry too much about anything other than that imo, as the wc's will take care of the rest... typically, only sps tanks need any dosing, or "special" attention... jmo, im sure more will chime in tomorrow 
*edit* or NG will chime in the exact same time as me lol... but NG has some great info there as well
*edit* or NG will chime in the exact same time as me lol... but NG has some great info there as well
pallobi
Neal
Alk, calcium, and magnesium, are always good kits to have when doin any sort of reef... imo... alk is a critical parameter that many over look... its not so much where it at, but more so, the ability to keep it stable imo...
A good phosphate test is always good to have on hand as well...
A good phosphate test is always good to have on hand as well...
The Ng Thing
Non-member
(Pallobi) I always write paragraphs and then when I post someone replies the exact same thing in less than a sentence, so this time I was short!
(jjh) I was creepin on some of the other posts and noticed you were interested in buying frogspawns and candy cane corals. If you do end up getting them, then Ca will become an important parameter because they use it to build their skeletons. In that case you may need to dose Ca. But what Pallobi says is true, most of the time water changes will replenish all that you need. The only way to know is to test your parameters, before a water change, after a water change, and sometime inbetween water changes.
Edit, See what I mean! I write all this and theres like 5 posts lol
(jjh) I was creepin on some of the other posts and noticed you were interested in buying frogspawns and candy cane corals. If you do end up getting them, then Ca will become an important parameter because they use it to build their skeletons. In that case you may need to dose Ca. But what Pallobi says is true, most of the time water changes will replenish all that you need. The only way to know is to test your parameters, before a water change, after a water change, and sometime inbetween water changes.
Edit, See what I mean! I write all this and theres like 5 posts lol
The Ng Thing
Non-member
Mg isn't that important unless you are doing SPS. You could hold off on getting the kit for now, but i would still check it from time to time just to be safe.
Phosphates are a different story and another can of worms. If you have an algae problem then it is good to test it. If your using tap water, which you shouldn't, then I would recommend testing for phosphates and switching to RO. There more phosphates you have, the more likely you are to have algae problems. Ideally you want them to be 0 but thats never the case.
Phosphates are a different story and another can of worms. If you have an algae problem then it is good to test it. If your using tap water, which you shouldn't
, then I would recommend testing for phosphates and switching to RO. There more phosphates you have, the more likely you are to have algae problems. Ideally you want them to be 0 but thats never the case.
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frank180reef
Well-Known Member
I have started raising and feeding baby brine for my lps, I do wonder if it is helpful at all
I am guessing my gonioporas appreciate it as they seem to extend more..............
I am guessing my gonioporas appreciate it as they seem to extend more..............
afboundguy
Acan's are inedible candy
If you're not going to be keeping any SPS and just LPS/Softies water changes should be enough if you do them weekly with a good salt mix that isn't lacking in calcium/alk/mag. If you use something cheap like Instant Ocean you might need to supplement...
I agree that mag isn't really improtant to a certain extent. If you end up dosing alk and calcium you'll waste a lot of calcium trying to keep it in range if the mag isn't up to par. It's worth the money to supplement mag especially since it's not that expensive. You can use epsom salt which is dirt cheap and would be more than enough for the size of the OP's tank. Only word of caution with epsom salt is the need to do weekly water changes because epsom salt is mag sulfate (or something like that) and if you don't keep up on the water changes the sulfur can build up but that would probably take months if not longer for that to happen...
Only problem with phosphate tests are unless you have a very expensive test kit (like a low range Hanna one that goes for about $250) you won't get very accurate results. Most of the cheaper kits where you drop solution into a vial aren't practical. Once you use the vial once you don't get a true test when you reuse the vial. So unless you use a new vial each time you won't get true results. And the cheaper kits aren't really that accurate to begin with... If you have visible problem algae you have a phosphate problem. If you don't over feed and do regular water changes/top off with 0 TDS RO/DI and no visible problem algae ...
Another problem with phosphate test kits is if you have visible problem algae you will get a lower reading because the algae will be sucking up the phosphates in the water and giving you a false reading...
As mentioned I'd hold off on a phosphate kit unless you want to drop $100-$200 on a quality kit to get real results and as I mentioned above you can still get false readings... Alk, calcium and mag is what you would need...
As far as what to feed your LPS simple answer is what you feed your fish. I usually do an extra cube of brine or mysis shrimp every few days when I normally feed the fish. When I do pellets when I'm super lazy I don't spot feed the LPS but they get some that the fish miss...
Get an enriched brine shrimp. I usually use the one that has the spirulina algae with it as well...
I agree that mag isn't really improtant to a certain extent. If you end up dosing alk and calcium you'll waste a lot of calcium trying to keep it in range if the mag isn't up to par. It's worth the money to supplement mag especially since it's not that expensive. You can use epsom salt which is dirt cheap and would be more than enough for the size of the OP's tank. Only word of caution with epsom salt is the need to do weekly water changes because epsom salt is mag sulfate (or something like that) and if you don't keep up on the water changes the sulfur can build up but that would probably take months if not longer for that to happen...
Phosphates are a different story and another can of worms. If you have an algae problem then it is good to test it. If your using tap water, which you shouldn't
Only problem with phosphate tests are unless you have a very expensive test kit (like a low range Hanna one that goes for about $250) you won't get very accurate results. Most of the cheaper kits where you drop solution into a vial aren't practical. Once you use the vial once you don't get a true test when you reuse the vial. So unless you use a new vial each time you won't get true results. And the cheaper kits aren't really that accurate to begin with... If you have visible problem algae you have a phosphate problem. If you don't over feed and do regular water changes/top off with 0 TDS RO/DI and no visible problem algae ...
Another problem with phosphate test kits is if you have visible problem algae you will get a lower reading because the algae will be sucking up the phosphates in the water and giving you a false reading...
As mentioned I'd hold off on a phosphate kit unless you want to drop $100-$200 on a quality kit to get real results and as I mentioned above you can still get false readings... Alk, calcium and mag is what you would need...
As far as what to feed your LPS simple answer is what you feed your fish. I usually do an extra cube of brine or mysis shrimp every few days when I normally feed the fish. When I do pellets when I'm super lazy I don't spot feed the LPS but they get some that the fish miss...
Get an enriched brine shrimp. I usually use the one that has the spirulina algae with it as well...
