Advice on Dosing

[mothergoose22]

Howdy! I’m looking for some advice on dosing my reef tank.

I recently set up an Innovative Marine 170, and my goal is to build an SPS-dominant reef. As I research different supplementation methods, I keep seeing incredible tanks running a different methods, and I’m having a hard time deciding which to choose.

Right now, I’m considering starting with kalkwasser and potentially adding a calcium reactor in the future as demand increases. On the other hand, I’m also looking at a complete dosing system such as Modern Reef 4-Part.

My main question is this: Can an SPS-dominant reef achieve the same growth, coloration, and overall results using kalkwasser and a calcium reactor as it can with a system like Modern Reef 4-Part? Or are there advantages to one approach over the other that become noticeable in a mature SPS reef?

I’d love to hear from reefers who have experience with both methods and what led them to choose one over the other.

 

[exnisstech]

I've not use either of those but I've been happy with all for reef on my SPS tank. It's the only thing I dose. Tank has been ruining on AFR for almost 3 years. I think im getting good growth but its my first SPS tank so I have nothing to compare it to.

 

[mothergoose22]

Looks awesome!

I’ve considered all for reef as well but I thought I heard for a bigger system it gets rather expensive to dos. Compared to other methods that is. I am a newb and could be wrong however haha.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The kalk and the reactor are both fine choices, but may need a trace element supplement such as Tropic Marin A and K.

 

[exnisstech]

Looks awesome!

I’ve considered all for reef as well but I thought I heard for a bigger system it gets rather expensive to dos. Compared to other methods that is. I am a newb and could be wrong however haha.

TBH I've never compared costs of different methods. I like simple and AFR is easy and works for me so I roll with it.

 

[mothergoose22]

Looks awesome!

I’ve considered all for reef as well but I thought I heard for a bigger system it gets rather expensive to dos. Compared to other methods that is. I am a newb and could be wrong however haha.

TBH I've never compared costs of different methods. I like simple and AFR is easy and works for me so I roll with it.

Ya I think I would fall into that same category. That’s one of the main draws to the modern reef method or similar.

But what keeps me going back to kalkwasser is the on going cost of dosing

 

[mothergoose22]

The kalk and the reactor are both fine choices, but may need a trace element supplement such as Tropic Marin A and K.

Is icp testing recommended with tropic marin A and K?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I have always done AFR and loved it!

 

[exnisstech]

Ya I think I would fall into that same category. That’s one of the main draws to the modern reef method or similar.

But what keeps me going back to kalkwasser is the on going cost of dosing

Ya I gave up even keeping track of hobby expenses years ago. The amount of money I have tied up in tanks is stupid but I figure after working full time for 49 years I deserve to be stupid with my hobby spending if it brings me pleasure lol.
Im not sure how well kalk works on a full blown SPS tank but the tank below ran for almost 6 years on kalk and weekly WCs using IO purple salt mix.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Is icp testing recommended with tropic marin A and K?

It's fine to do it, but it is certainly not necessary.

 

[Fish Fan]

You may find this live stream event tonight helpful:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/live-with-dr-randy-holmes-farley-coming-june-25th-at-7pm-est-tell-us-what-you-want-to-talk-about.1161279/

Good luck!

 

[BrianTMUSA]

Is icp testing recommended with tropic marin A and K?

Good Moring, yes even with using A & K elements you should practice using ICP test. I personally recommend using Tropic Marin ICP once a month and Tropic Marin ICP Plus every three months.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Good Moring, yes even with using A & K elements you should practice using ICP test. I personally recommend using Tropic Marin ICP once a month and Tropic Marin ICP Plus every three months.

Did you ever see a clear problem when dosing A and K at the recommended dose?

 

[BrianTMUSA]

Good Moring, yes even with using A & K elements you should practice using ICP test. I personally recommend using Tropic Marin ICP once a month and Tropic Marin ICP Plus every three months.

Did you ever see a clear problem when dosing A and K at the recommended dose?

Not necessarily, however the demand can change and that is why we still recommend using the ICP test to ensure accuracy.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Not necessarily, however the demand can change and that is why we still recommend using the ICP test to ensure accuracy.

OK, but I will point out that a company recommending regular use of its products has a potential built in bias.

 

[BrianTMUSA]

Not necessarily, however the demand can change and that is why we still recommend using the ICP test to ensure accuracy.

OK, but I will point out that a company recommending regular use of its products has a potential built in bias.

I completely agree with that statement. However I’ve personally worked in this industry for a very long time before coming to Tropic Marine and my personal experience was to always recommend ICP test no matter the brand. This allows for the most accurate way of testing and dosing. I personally am not a fan of assumptions when it comes to aquarium chemistry. Again this is only my suggestion and recommendation for you.

I am more then willingly my to talk through it more in depth if you want to reach out directly to me.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I completely agree with that statement. However I’ve personally worked in this industry for a very long time before coming to Tropic Marine and my personal experience was to always recommend ICP test no matter the brand. This allows for the most accurate way of testing and dosing. I personally am not a fan of assumptions when it comes to aquarium chemistry. Again this is only my suggestion and recommendation for you.

I am more then willingly my to talk through it more in depth if you want to reach out directly to me.

I agree that there's nothing wrong with getting data from a good quality ICP test (except cost).

But I also do not give recommendations for folks to do things that I have never seen be a benefit. Regular testing by ICP to see if TM A and K are causing problems seem to me to fall into that category. perhaps we can just agree to disagree on that need.

For me personally, I use AFR, not A and K, but I do not intend to do regular ICP testing. I ran one test by Oceamo last year, and will run another some time in the future to see if all processes are running reasonably on track, but do not believe regular testing is justified.

 

[BrianTMUSA]

I completely agree with that statement. However I’ve personally worked in this industry for a very long time before coming to Tropic Marine and my personal experience was to always recommend ICP test no matter the brand. This allows for the most accurate way of testing and dosing. I personally am not a fan of assumptions when it comes to aquarium chemistry. Again this is only my suggestion and recommendation for you.

I am more then willingly my to talk through it more in depth if you want to reach out directly to me.

I agree that there's nothing wrong with getting data from a good quality ICP testing (except cost).

But I also do not give recommendations for folks to do things that I have never seen be a benefit. Regular testing by ICP to see if TM A and K are causing problems seem to me to fall into that category. perhaps we can just agree to disagree on that need.

For me personally, I use AFR, not A and K, but I do not intend to do regular ICP testing. I ran one test by Oceamo last year, and will run another some time in the future to see if all processes are running reasonably on track, but do not believe regular testing is justified.

No worries at all, but hey if you ever have any questions feel free to reach out to me.