Are you dosing trace elements in your tank?

spsick · Mar 18, 2026

I add 80ml TM elements A- & K+ to each gallon of Randy’s 2 part and have been doing so for 5+ years. I have many large acropora colonies and ICP tests always come back in line aside from Strontium being low so I also add 1ppm/month, likely need more but I err on the side of caution.

Since started dosing these and bi-annual ICP I have only lost 1 coral and I attribute that to a tank transfer. Correlation does not mean causation but overall my success seems to be better.

AlexandraDreadlocksPanda · Mar 18, 2026

I use Tropic Marin Elements A- & K+, mix my Ca and Alk to one of Randy’s recipes, then add a 1L bottle of A- to Alkalinity and K+ to Calcium. I don’t tweak levels any further at the moment, purely down to the wildly different results I’ve had from sending a FM & Triton ICP off at the same time, and don’t want to change anything based on bad data… Have got a Zelements ICP - MS to send off, so may tweak a little based on that if there’s any glaring issues…

BryanM · Mar 18, 2026

Gumbies R Us said:
Alright, so this is a question I have had for a while. I have never once dosed trace elements, nor have I really considered dosing them before. Maybe it is because I don't fully understand trace elements, or fully understand their importance? However, I do see some people dosing them, and their tanks look incredible. My question for all of you is, are you dosing trace elements? Do you find that something more reefers should do, or do you not find it important to dose trace elements?

I dose, recently switched to moonshiners. I hate water changes, so it is my only option ;)

X-37B · Mar 18, 2026

I have dosed dsr ez trace for 8+ years now in my ato. I feed heavy and have not seen anything visual from dosing it.
I dose 2.5 ml per gallon of rodi.
Dsr ez trace has 6 elements.
Magnesium
Potassium
Sulfate
Boron
Iodine
Manganese
Icp tests over the years shows it keeps the above elements in the suggested range.
I stopped dosing it around 2 months ago in my 150 to test its ability to keep said elements in check.
I can test for
Magnesium and Potassium.
Potassium fell from 420 to 390
Magnesium fell from 1300 to 1260
I brought both back to 420 and 1320 respectivley.
Nothing unusual was noted visually
From that I know if I keep mag and potassium in range the other 4 elements are never out of range

MegabiteOG · Mar 18, 2026

TM A and K in my 2-part dosing. Corals seem happy.

rtparty · Mar 18, 2026

The NYOS 2 part I use has you add trace elements and I currently run on the low end of their recommendations.

My 250 ran the BRS/TM hybrid and I found it to be great.

dvgyfresh · Mar 18, 2026

AFR only , all about the kiss method. I’ll randomly do a 5G water change once every 2 months to clean out sponge filter/filter sock.

rayadog · Mar 18, 2026

rtparty said:
The NYOS 2 part I use has you add trace elements and I currently run on the low end of their recommendations.

Sometimes it begs the questions, is it by manufacturer’s recommended dose? This would definitely get into the weeds.. but just consider there’s more behind the statement when someone says they dose; over dosing, recommended dosing and low dosing? But I also concede that it’s frequent to recommend a range based on tank biome.

I personally rarely meet but rather under dose the recommendations when I add.

X-37B · Mar 18, 2026

rayadog said:
Sometimes it begs the questions, is it by manufacturer’s recommended dose? This would definitely get into the weeds.. but just consider there’s more behind the statement when someone says they dose; over dosing, recommended dosing and low dosing? But I also concede that it’s frequent to recommend a range based on tank biome.

I personally rarely meet but rather under dose the recommendations when I add.

When I dose anything I start low and adjust as needed. There is no way to tell where your at without icp testing. I use icp once a year and go from there.
Dsr recommends starting at 0.5ml per 100 liters, 26g's, with a max of 6ml per 100 liters daily.
My ato adds around 2 g's a day so dosing 2.5ml per g of rodi equals 5ml a day. I have never needed more in my systems so far and I run 6 systems currently.
My 150 will turn 2 next month.

BryanM · Mar 18, 2026

X-37B said:
When I dose anything I start low and adjust as needed. There is no way to tell where your at without icp testing. I use icp once a year and go from there.
Dsr recommends starting at 0.5ml per 100 liters, 26g's, with a max of 6ml per 100 liters daily.
My ato adds around 2 g's a day so dosing 2.5ml per g of rodi equals 5ml a day. I have never needed more in my systems so far and I run 6 systems currently.
My 150 will turn 2 next month.

6!!!!

You have to be retired :) There's no way I could do that.

X-37B · Mar 18, 2026

BryanM said:
6!!!!

You have to be retired :) There's no way I could do that.

I am, lol

Science/G · Mar 18, 2026

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
See any tank change from the strontium dosing change?

The problem that I have sometimes is patience. Being a science teacher, I should know better. What I ended up doing was increasing the intensity of my LEDs and T5s a bit , while at the same time, I increased my potassium levels where they needed to be, and began to dose strontium. Too many variables being tested at once.

The reef tank looks good. Getting good polyp extension and nice color on my SPS, but I can't tell whether it was the lighting the potassium or the strontium that's made the difference..

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 18, 2026

Science/G said:
The problem that I have sometimes is patience. Being a science teacher, I should know better. What I ended up doing was increasing the intensity of my LEDs and T5s a bit , while at the same time, I increased my potassium levels where they needed to be, and began to dose strontium. Too many variables being tested at once. The reef tank looks good. Getting good polyp extension and nice color on my SPS, but I can't tell whether it was the lighting the potassium or the strontium that's made the difference..

lol, ok. :)

Billgasser · Mar 18, 2026

#RandyHolmes
What trace elements or non-trace elements do you feel have significance and should be tested and dosed? There seems to be some have not been shown to increase growth or coloration.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 18, 2026

Billgasser said:
#RandyHolmes
What trace elements or non-trace elements do you feel have significance and should be tested and dosed? There seems to be some have not been shown to increase growth or coloration.

I detail that exact question here, and the article linked from it:

Randy's Elements to Dose

In a previous article I discussed my thoughts on trace elements https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/randys-thoughts-on-trace-elements.951/ This article expands on that discussion by providing specific guidance for all elements one might dose. First...

www.reef2reef.com

WhatCouldGoWrong71 · Mar 18, 2026

Heavy SPS which is also a very high demand system. For example I have pretty much maxed out my Kamoer FX STP, CARX users, I’m at nearly 100 ml/min at >36 dKH. I do AWC with at least 10% sometimes I do 20% for a while. I use Fritz Blue, which I think is very weak in some elements. I tend to go through a ton of BR and BA, I attribute that to the salt. With my consumption so high I know I’m going through trace. I tried RMS first and I wasn’t a fan. I did A&K for a long while. And while that works great, it didn’t give me results like below. While those results aren’t great I am consistent like that monthly. After talking with Chris Wood and researching Captiv8, that program and Chris himself, I align better with and my tank looks better also.

wjdobbs321 · Mar 19, 2026

Only AFR for now (from powder).... about to switch up.... either to AFR liquid or Red Seas 4 part....

Maho.B · Mar 20, 2026

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Just to make sure we understand correctly, the corals grew faster and looked better when dosing the TM A and K compared to when not doing so?

Yes correct.