Coral Species Dosing/PAR Chart Guide?

[Frigideus]

As I re-enter the hobby, I am currently trying to plan out what kind of things I would put in my tank.

When I look at corals on certain sites like LiveAquaria, they have a brief spreadsheet about the needs of each coral, such as their lighting and flow requirements, and their supplement requirements. However, I'm wondering if there is a broader resource, since I know they do not have every coral I would like to add to my tank.

For example, here are the quick stats for one of the Duncans they sell:

Would it be safe for me to assume that other corals in the dendrophylliid family need the same supplements? Or would there be some varieties that may need other elements?


If so, where can I track down this information? I want to make sure I'm giving all of my corals what they need to survive, and I'm scared I'm gonna end up missing an element for one of them.

 

[Fish Fan]

See if these guys have a video (or blog) about whatever corals you're interested. Their info is great, and the videos are well done. I also have ordered from their coral farm before.

Tidal Gardens

Welcome to Tidal Gardens on YouTube. This channel is about all things saltwater with an emphasis on reef aquariums and propagating coral in icy cold Copley, OH. I love underwater videography and showing the incredible beauty of the coral reefs.

www.youtube.com

 

[Frigideus]

See if these guys have a video (or blog) about whatever corals you're interested. Their info is great, and the videos are well done. I also have ordered from their coral farm before.

Tidal Gardens

Welcome to Tidal Gardens on YouTube. This channel is about all things saltwater with an emphasis on reef aquariums and propagating coral in icy cold Copley, OH. I love underwater videography and showing the incredible beauty of the coral reefs.

www.youtube.com

I actually just visited the tidalgardens site, and they have a ton of great information, still with the exception of the dosing requirements. As much as I wish they would have the dosing requirements there, this is still a huge step of information for me and I will likely have some corals shipped from them too.

Will begin skimming their YT channel and see if I can find the information there.

 

[ReefQuestCorals]

I really like listening to Victor and Ryan talks on BRStv. Here is a good video to watch, its long but great conversation

 

[ReefQuestCorals]

Also here is one with Lou Ekus that goes further into parameters and nutrients along with some great tips

 

[ReefQuestCorals]

Here is a chart to maybe help you understand parameter ranges to be in. We all have our own ranges we like to keep out tanks at, especially when it comes to alkalinity. I like to keep my system in the 8-9 dKH range which I feel is a great point to start for someone newer, and allows for more room for adjustments if something was to happen. Find a range that works for your tank and keep it there. Stability is key

 

[Fish Fan]

@ReefQuestCorals is spot on here, in my opinion. WWC is also excellent for info and livestock. BRSTV is also great info, though some here on R2R give them a hard time.

You don't have to dose different things for various species of corals. As hobbyists, we tend to group corals into three or four groups (softies, Large Polyp Stoney (LPS), Small Polyp Stony (SPS) and Non Photosynthetic Stoney (NPS), though NPS need specialized feeding). You can run your tank at levels appropriate for the group of corals you want to keep. < I hope that makes sense

 

[Frigideus]

@ReefQuestCorals is spot on here, in my opinion. WWC is also excellent for info and livestock. BRSTV is also great info, though some here on R2R give them a hard time.

You don't have to dose different things for various species of corals. As hobbyists, we tend to group corals into three or four groups (softies, Large Polyp Stoney (LPS), Small Polyp Stony (SPS) and Non Photosynthetic Stoney (NPS), though NPS need specialized feeding). You can run your tank at levels appropriate for the group of corals you want to keep. < I hope that makes sense

This makes sense! However, I've seen people keep mixed reef tanks on here with enough success, so I wanted to try that! I was planning on start with soft corals/LPS corals and then working my way into SPS corals once I become more adept at keeping things running. Thankfully, water parameters seem pretty consistent between most corals that I've seen since they all come out of the ocean anyways. As for dosing a mixed reef, I would assume dosing one supplement doesn't really harm the corals that don't need it, so all I would need to do is just make sure I am using all the appropriate elements, but I'd love more insight on this matter!

 

[Fish Fan]

This makes sense! However, I've seen people keep mixed reef tanks on here with enough success, so I wanted to try that! I was planning on start with soft corals/LPS corals and then working my way into SPS corals once I become more adept at keeping things running. Thankfully, water parameters seem pretty consistent between most corals that I've seen since they all come out of the ocean anyways. As for dosing a mixed reef, I would assume dosing one supplement doesn't really harm the corals that don't need it, so all I would need to do is just make sure I am using all the appropriate elements, but I'd love more insight on this matter!

A mixed reef tank is indeed harder to pull off because you have to consider the care of each type of coral. That includes lighting, flow and water parameters. But as far as dosing or where to maintain your water parameters, most corals need basically the same conditions. When you move into LPS and SPS corals, you need to keep track of your alkalinity, calcium and magnesium more than you would for soft corals. Starting with softies and the easier LPS is a good plan, then move into the SPS corals when your tank is a little more mature.

 

[X-37B]

Over the years these parameters are what I run and they will grow anything if you can keep the values stable.
That said you can keep a system at any of the values listed in table one if you keep them stable.
Pick the range you want and focus on keeping them stable. Have a plan to adjust when values get out of range.
IMO, if you know how to keep your parameters in range reefing is simple.
My ranges:
Temp 77-80
Sg 1.026-1.027
Alk 7-8
Ca 420-500
Mag 1300-1400
Po4<0.1
No3<5

The key to succes is to have a plan that's built around whatever parameters you follow.

 

[Frigideus]

Over the years these parameters are what I run and they will grow anything if you can keep the values stable.
That said you can keep a system at any of the values listed in table one if you keep them stable.
Pick the range you want and focus on keeping them stable. Have a plan to adjust when values get out of range.
IMO, if you know how to keep your parameters in range reefing is simple.
My ranges:
Temp 77-80
Sg 1.026-1.027
Alk 7-8
Ca 420-500
Mag 1300-1400
Po4<0.1
No3<5

The key to succes is to have a plan that's built around whatever parameters you follow.

This is super helpful!

I have one question though, do you regulate Strontium/Iodine/Trace elements? It seems like some sites mention these elements, but I don't see a lot of information on them.

And if you do, how would you measure something like trace elements?

 

[X-37B]

This is super helpful!

I have one question though, do you regulate Strontium/Iodine/Trace elements? It seems like some sites mention these elements, but I don't see a lot of information on them.

And if you do, how would you measure something like trace elements?

I dose dsr ez trace. I add it to my ato. Simple and I use icp test to verify levels.
I dose strontium by hand but recently stopped as icp indicated a level of 24. I target 10.
With the ez trace all six ingredients are in range on icp test.
I only dose 6ml a day in my 150 to maintain the levels.
As a reference I only do 5% WC's per month.