Dosing for Soft Coral Tank?

[Aspect]

Hey I just wanted to have some Toadstools, Xenia, and GSP what is the cheapest all in one dosing liquid I should use?

 

[bubbgee]

Nothing from the majors. Maybe aminos, nitrates and phosphates to keep it in range? Either case, water change is enough.

 

[Aspect]

Nothing from the majors. Maybe aminos, nitrates and phosphates to keep it in range? Either case, water change is enough.

So like fish waste?

 

[bubbgee]

So like fish waste?

Sure if you have a lot of fish. A couple of fish are not gonna make a difference.

Reef roids are good. CRT Concoction if you can buy that (just ping CRT on the forum).

 

[exnisstech]

Ive never needed to dose for softies. Just keep some measurable nitrate and phosphate.

 

[Aspect]

Nothing from the majors. Maybe aminos, nitrates and phosphates to keep it in range? Either case, water change is enough.

What percent water changes should be done per week

 

[Uncle99]

Iodine to 0.06ppm otherwise water changes work well with softies.

 

[bubbgee]

What percent water changes should be done per week

5-10%

Honestly, I run my softie tank dirty. have not done water changes for a while already. Just top off.

Salinity is my main concern for the softie tank because some are susceptible to salinity swings.

 

[Uncle99]

What percent water changes should be done per week

10%

 

[exnisstech]

What percent water changes should be done per week

Im a 10% a week guy if I'm maintaining a tank on just WCs

 

[Aspect]

5-10%

Honestly, I run my softie tank dirty. have not done water changes for a while already. Just top off.

Salinity is my main concern for the softie tank because some are susceptible to salinity swings.

Don't softies use up some level of alkalinity

 

[bubbgee]

5-10%

Honestly, I run my softie tank dirty. have not done water changes for a while already. Just top off.

Salinity is my main concern for the softie tank because some are susceptible to salinity swings.

Don't softies use up some level of alkalinity

Never noticed. It doesn’t have a skeleton to use alk and calcium for so I don’t know how the alk would be used.

Water changes should be enough if the alk is not in range.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I personally with use Tropic Marin A and K. They need just as much in the way of trace elements as do hard corals if they are adding tissue at a similar rate.

They don’t use as much calcium and alk and a couple of others that folks may dose but which I think are just incidentally incorporated into depositing calcium carbonate (strontium and fluoride). But coralline can be a big alk and calcium user in a soft coral tank.

 

[Aspect]

I personally with use Tropic Marin A and K. They need just as much in the way of trace elements as do hard corals if they are adding tissue at a similar rate.

They don’t use as much calcium and alk and a couple of others that folks may dose but which I think are just incidentally incorporated into depositing calcium carbonate (strontium and fluoride). But coralline can be a big alk and calcium user in a soft coral tank.

So are you saying that I should dose in fact? I'm confused a bit here

 

[BonnieB]

If it’s truly softies only then you only need to give them aminos, iodine (be careful that you don’t overdose!) and I target feed once a week. LPS and SPS definitely need other elements to be addressed as they use them up for growth. Also, probably the most valuable lesson I learned when I started with softies was that they like a “dirty tank” as it is often called so you are okay with higher nitrates and phosphates (as long as they don’t explode algae and cause other issues)! That saved me from chasing numbers all the time. Now with LPS that are exploding in growth, I’ve had to upgrade my tank to allow them to actually do that without being overcrowded! My installation and set up is scheduled for later this week!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So are you saying that I should dose in fact? I'm confused a bit here

Yes. I do not agree with others in this thread.

It may well be that some soft corals can thrive in a tank only getting trace elements from foods. Same is true for some SPS. It’s all a matter of how much demand relative to how much addition.

What is not debatable is whether soft corals, and anemones and macroalgae and all the other photosynthetic organisms in a reef tank need nearly all the same set of trace elements as hard corals. Iron, manganese, vanadium, molybdenum, zinc, etc.

 

[vlangel]

I have a predominantly soft coral tank and since I haven't been doing as many water changes, I periodically add some AFR to make sure that they are getting the trace minerals they need.