Fauna Marin ICP/Elementals

[mrpontiac80]

Preface..
So I’ve been doing this salty hobby now for about 5 years. I have success now with most corals including acro. When talking about sticks though, success and staying alive are about the same in my tank… not necessarily thriving.

I do have a couple of things that really like my tank and grow absolutely great. I participate in the Battlecorals grow outs and although my corals tend to live through the contests, I often have almost no growth compared to others.

I have used ATI icp tests and like them but more recently I’ve switched over to Fauna Marin icp tests and really appreciate the results as they discuss said results.

I wonder how many of you are using their Fauna Marin Elements additives. Do you see a difference? Would you recommend them? They are priced reasonably enough for a bottle or two but there are a bunch of them if you want to “fix” everything on an icp and then maintain those numbers. Is it worth it?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Preface..
So I’ve been doing this salty hobby now for about 5 years. I have success now with most corals including acro. When talking about sticks though, success and staying alive are about the same in my tank… not necessarily thriving.

I do have a couple of things that really like my tank and grow absolutely great. I participate in the Battlecorals grow outs and although my corals tend to live through the contests, I often have almost no growth compared to others.

I have used ATI icp tests and like them but more recently I’ve switched over to Fauna Marin icp tests and really appreciate the results as they discuss said results.

I wonder how many of you are using their Fauna Marin Elements additives. Do you see a difference? Would you recommend them? They are priced reasonably enough for a bottle or two but there are a bunch of them if you want to “fix” everything on an icp and then maintain those numbers. Is it worth it?

I’d be wary of accepting the “discussion” of icp levels by some of the icp companies. Some seems unjustified by any data, and seems to me to often be a way to push products and/or the importance of such testing.

 

[CHSUB]

I have done 4 ICP with FM and doing a 5th next week. I’m happy with the results from an informative standpoint, no sure if it “made a difference”. I did discover a K deficiency that seemed troubling. For additives I use their F, Ni and V because over a year those elements went lower with each ICP test. Not sure if I’m seeing any difference? Next test should show higher levels of each. My tank is extremely dense with corals and mangroves so I would assume trace elements could be important.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I do not rely on these ICP tests, but I do like to have one done, I would say at least twice a year. Also, I like to perform my test at home at the same time that I collect the water for the ICP test to see how accurate my home test versus ICP results are.

I also feel the same way in the sense that I’m not testing all these elements and I’m not going to run out and try to correct them immediately but when I can see a few things trending, I think that’s helpful to know.

Most recently on my home test over the past six months my nitrate has dropped to very low levels and last week it registered zero. I have a nitrate additive that I have never used and still have not, but I know that some people swear by the reef moonshiners method and or basically any dosing method to keep things in check. Honestly, I’m a pretty lazy reefer so I don’t want to go crazy with anything like that. But I don’t just want to watch as my reef tank crashes either.

 

[CHSUB]

I do not rely on these ICP tests, but I do like to have one done, I would say at least twice a year. Also, I like to perform my test at home at the same time that I collect the water for the ICP test to see how accurate my home test versus ICP results are.

I also feel the same way in the sense that I’m not testing all these elements and I’m not going to run out and try to correct them immediately but when I can see a few things trending, I think that’s helpful to know.

Most recently on my home test over the past six months my nitrate has dropped to very low levels and last week it registered zero. I have a nitrate additive that I have never used and still have not, but I know that some people swear by the reef moonshiners method and or basically any dosing method to keep things in check. Honestly, I’m a pretty lazy reefer so I don’t want to go crazy with anything like that. But I don’t just want to watch as my reef tank crashes either.

…. regarding no3, ICP had mine at .1 ppm. Salifert is always clear going back decades when I first removed bioballs from my trickle filter, per Sprung. Recently Hanna LR had no3 @ .26 ppm on my tank. While I’m interested in the results from a factorial and discovery basis, I don’t believe nitrogen becomes limited in 99.9 % of all closed systems.

 

[mrpontiac80]

…. regarding no3, ICP had mine at .1 ppm. Salifert is always clear going back decades when I first removed bioballs from my trickle filter, per Sprung. Recently Hanna LR had no3 @ .26 ppm on my tank. While I’m interested in the results from a factorial and discovery basis, I don’t believe nitrogen becomes limited in 99.9 % of all closed systems.

And that’s why I’ve yet to add any. I am watching the tank though

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

And that’s why I’ve yet to add any. I am watching the tank though

It’s a simple enough experiment to feed more or boost N by dosing to see. One cannot extrapolate N needs from one tank to another with different, unmeasured sources of N, such as ammonia, urea, and particulates.

I personally would not be happy at 1 ppm Nitrate without verifying it was adequate.