Randy Holmes-Farley
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Don't dose what you cannot test for
That's a common mantra that many reefers espouse, but does it really make any sense?
Reefers successfully dose all sorts of different things without measurements to back up the specific dose. Should they stop?
Here are some scenarios to ponder the question.
1. Many materials we dose simply cannot be monitored by reefers. At best, we monitor the appearance of the tank. Fatty acids such as selcon, any type of vitamin supplement, probiotics, antibiotics, algaecides, garlic, particulate calcium carbonate,
2. Some materials we dose can only be monitored for overdose by tank observation or by a surrogate measure. These types may include amino acids (surrogate might be nitrate) and any type of organic carbon dosing (nitrate may or may not be a useful surrogate).
3. Some materials we dose are often successfully used without measurement-based intervention. These include limewater/kalkwasser dosing (replacing all evaporated water), and many types of trace element cocktails or individual supplements based on a dose per day or per week, etc.. While one might argue that better results might be obtained with careful measurement and adjusted dosing (assuming one is able to), I do not see any clear evidence that folks following directions for good quality commercial supplements are causing more harm than benefit even when not measuring the resulting concentrations.
Anyway, next time you read or are thinking to write "Don't dose what you cannot test for" you might consider all the caveats that you may already agree with, and temper the generality of the statement.
Just food for thought...
Happy reefing.
That's a common mantra that many reefers espouse, but does it really make any sense?
Reefers successfully dose all sorts of different things without measurements to back up the specific dose. Should they stop?
Here are some scenarios to ponder the question.
1. Many materials we dose simply cannot be monitored by reefers. At best, we monitor the appearance of the tank. Fatty acids such as selcon, any type of vitamin supplement, probiotics, antibiotics, algaecides, garlic, particulate calcium carbonate,
2. Some materials we dose can only be monitored for overdose by tank observation or by a surrogate measure. These types may include amino acids (surrogate might be nitrate) and any type of organic carbon dosing (nitrate may or may not be a useful surrogate).
3. Some materials we dose are often successfully used without measurement-based intervention. These include limewater/kalkwasser dosing (replacing all evaporated water), and many types of trace element cocktails or individual supplements based on a dose per day or per week, etc.. While one might argue that better results might be obtained with careful measurement and adjusted dosing (assuming one is able to), I do not see any clear evidence that folks following directions for good quality commercial supplements are causing more harm than benefit even when not measuring the resulting concentrations.
Anyway, next time you read or are thinking to write "Don't dose what you cannot test for" you might consider all the caveats that you may already agree with, and temper the generality of the statement.
Just food for thought...
Happy reefing.