ESV Ionic B 2 part and Macroalgae

[Spare time]

So I am thinking to switching to esv ionic b two part to simplify my dosing. However, I currently dose chaetogro as my macroalgae would die without it (as it has before since I do no water changes and quickly depleted the relevant trace elements even when dosing red sea iron and such. Has anyone kept a successful refugium with ESV ionic and does anyone think it would be wise to continue dosing chaetogro (no more than half of the current dose) with ESV since my macroalgae grows extremely fast?

 

[kevin_e]

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't ESV simply two part dosing? i.e. calcium and alkalinity.

This is what I found on Cahetogrow:

Guaranteed Analysis:
Potassium (K) as Soluble Potash (K2O) (min) 1.30%
Boron 0.009%
Carbon 0.005%
Calcium 0.14%
Chlorine 0.39%
Cobalt 0.0004%
Iron 0.1%
Magnesium 0.4%
Manganese 0.0475%
Molybdenum 0.004%
Sulfur 0.16%
Zinc 0.002%

 

[Spare time]

ESV ionic has
part 1: bicarbonate, sodium, carbonate, sulfate, borate, fluoride, iodide, molybdate, vanadate, selenate

part 2: chloride, calcium, magnesium, potassium, bromide, stronitum, lithium, barian, rubidium, iron, zinc, nickel, copper, manganese, cobalt, and chromium


I am just curious if anyone thinks this is enough trace for a decent fuge or if I should just stick to my chaeto gro and red sea A and B trace.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The B-ionic does not raise those elements, despite having them. It only supplements calcium and alkalinity, and keeps the others basically where they were before dosing and salinity adjustments (unless they were very low to begin with). That probably seems crazy, but it may actually even lower those if they are elevated already. i show how that works below.

So continue the chaetogro, ifit was helpful before.

The Many Methods for Supplementing Calcium and Alkalinity - REEFEDITION

There is no aspect of reef aquarium chemistry more important than calcium and alkalinity. Many of my previous articles have described various aspects of these systems in detail. In reading those articles, aquarists will note one pervasive theme: that maintaining appropriate levels of each are...

www.reefedition.com

from it:

One issue that has confused some reef keepers, however, is the presence of trace elements. Assuming that these products are actually formulated with every ion such that a true natural seawater residue remained (let’s call this the “ideal” product), then it will necessarily contain such ions as copper. Since copper is elevated in some reef tanks, and is toxic to many invertebrates, reef keepers have wrongly criticized this method as adding more copper. That’s actually not what would happen. Since these products leave a natural seawater residue, and since copper may be elevated in concentration in many reef tanks relative to seawater, then using these “ideal” products will actually LOWER copper levels because when the increase in salinity is corrected, the copper will drop.

For example:

You have copper in your aquarium at 4 ppb and salinity of S=35.

You add a two part additive that over the course of a month raises salinity to S=36, and raises copper to 4.02 ppb.

Then you correct the salinity back to S=35 by diluting everything in the tank with fresh water, and you get a final copper concentration of 3.9 ppb.

Does this happen in real products and not “ideal” products? I have no idea. But the statement by manufacturers that it contains all ions in natural ratios, including copper, should not be viewed as a concern that it is exacerbating a heavy metal problem.

The rise in salinity of these products over time can be very roughly calculated, though there are several reasons why this calculation is only an estimate. For every 1000 meq of alkalinity added in this fashion (and the matching amount of calcium) these products will deliver on the order of 60 grams of other ions to the tank. In a tank with a low calcification demand (defined later to be 18.3 thousand meq of alkalinity per year in a 100 gallon tank (0.4 dKH/day)) this effect will raise the salinity by 3 ppt per year (compared to a normal salinity of S ~35). In a high demand tank (defined later to be 219 thousand meq of alkalinity per year in a 100 gallon tank (4.4 dKH/day)), the salinity will rise by 35 ppt in a year, or approximately doubling the salinity. Consequently, the salinity should be monitored closely in using these types of additives, especially in a tank with high calcification rates.

 

[Spare time]

Ah ok, so would it be correct to say that it contains those elements to prevent their loss from precipitation when dosing calcium and alk (similar to what I think seachem says for reef builder?) And then, I guess my question becomes is there any point to switching to esv ionic or should I just continue with my alk, calcium, chaetogro, and red sea trace a and b?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Ah ok, so would it be correct to say that it contains those elements to prevent their loss from precipitation when dosing calcium and alk (similar to what I think seachem says for reef builder?) And then, I guess my question becomes is there any point to switching to esv ionic or should I just continue with my alk, calcium, chaetogro, and red sea trace a and b?

No, not precipitation. It contains those elements to prevent their depletion when the salintiy is corrected from rising sodium and chloride.

Whether there is an appreciable benefit or not when dosing other elements too, I'm not sure. Chaetogro will not likely contain everything the B-ionic does (like sulfate or magnesium)

 

[Spare time]

No, not precipitation. It contains those elements to prevent their depletion when the salintiy is corrected from rising sodium and chloride.

Whether there is an appreciable benefit or not when dosing other elements too, I'm not sure. Chaetogro will not likely contain everything the B-ionic does (like sulfate or magnesium)

Thank you very much