How much do you really need?

[slingfox]

I do monthly ICP and dose trace elements consistently, have an apex setup etc, most parameters are pretty stable for what they are at. I did see like
What you said more light with higher nutrients I’d assume to prevent bleaching with an increase in N/P consumption. Got most of my frags from TSA and a few from POTO, only dip I did was a 5-10 minute mixture of CoralRX with some Lugol’s

From my understanding both POTO and TSA regularly Interceptor their tanks and have at least some sort of coral quarantine. If you are going SPS dominant you should go the KCl route. If you are only dipping your corals once (especially in something like just CoralRx and Lugol’s) you should look into running an Interceptor cycle if you really want to chase the crazy polyp extension and 4th and 5th colors on SPS! Your tank can look plenty nice without these steps but when I go to coral shows I can tell which vendors are paranoid about SPS pests and which are not. Same phenomenon with sellers on Reef2Reef: it is usually very obvious from pictures which sellers take SPS pests management seriously.

If you want ideas on how to better control for pests what I do is dip any incoming SPS for six weeks straight (once a week) in KCl. The only exception is if I am going to do an Interceptor cycle in which case I depend on the Interceptor to handle the incoming pests.

Online I only buy from sellers who regularly Interceptor, with the only exception being if I purchase their coral ahead of my own cycle. At coral shows I ask vendors whether they use Interceptor and only purchase from them if I like their answer and their coral has very good polyp extension.

 

[Marine Betta]

I keep hearing/seeing posts about the use of interceptor, I should probably get this on hand I assume my usual method of dipping coral won’t have the same effect, coralRx/Lugol’s

That’s all good. It sounds like you’re doing everything right. I would consider adding Two Little Fishies acropower to the mix of what you’re dosing. My sps (acros, montis, pavona, etc) love it. To comment on what @slingfox said, I think bleaching could be an issue, but low nutrients and high par increase the risk of alkalinity burn (burnt tips). Even if your alkalinity isn’t crazy high, if you’re running high par,which typically increases growth, without the nutrients to support the growth, you’ll likely end up with burnt tips. I don’t know what LPS you have in the tank, and some seem to be more tolerant of low nutrients. I accidentally let my nitrates get below five a couple weeks ago and my euphyllia were not happy with me lol. The other corals didn’t care.

 

[PointerReefs]

I do monthly ICP and dose trace elements consistently, have an apex setup etc, most parameters are pretty stable for what they are at. I did see like
What you said more light with higher nutrients I’d assume to prevent bleaching with an increase in N/P consumption. Got most of my frags from TSA and a few from POTO, only dip I did was a 5-10 minute mixture of CoralRX with some Lugol’s

From my understanding both POTO and TSA regularly Interceptor their tanks and have at least some sort of coral quarantine. If you are going SPS dominant you should go the KCl route. If you are only dipping your corals once (especially in something like just CoralRx and Lugol’s) you should look into running an Interceptor cycle if you really want to chase the crazy polyp extension and 4th and 5th colors on SPS! Your tank can look plenty nice without these steps but when I go to coral shows I can tell which vendors are paranoid about SPS pests and which are not. Same phenomenon with sellers on Reef2Reef: it is usually very obvious from pictures which sellers take SPS pests management seriously.

If you want ideas on how to better control for pests what I do is dip any incoming SPS for six weeks straight (once a week) in KCl. The only exception is if I am going to do an Interceptor cycle in which case I depend on the Interceptor to handle the incoming pests.

Online I only buy from sellers who regularly Interceptor, with the only exception being if I purchase their coral ahead of my own cycle. At coral shows I ask vendors whether they use Interceptor and only purchase from them if I like their answer and their coral has very good polyp extension.

For sure. I mean I’m all for the best I can get out of my tank if I can. So when you run an interceptor cycle do you remove all your invertebrates ? If so wouldn’t they potentially transfer pests back with them once returned to the tank. That was my first concern about using it is what do I do with all my snails, crabs and urchin.

 

[slingfox]

For sure. I mean I’m all for the best I can get out of my tank if I can. So when you run an interceptor cycle do you remove all your invertebrates ? If so wouldn’t they potentially transfer pests back with them once returned to the tank. That was my first concern about using it is what do I do with all my snails, crabs and urchin.

Yes, I have a 10g which I use for either medicated QT of incoming fish or to hold inverts while I a doing Interceptor. Snails and urchin don’t seem affected by Interceptor. Crabs definitely are affected. I have 3 conch and they get stunned by Interceptor but recover in a day after the Interceptor degrades/I switch back on UV/skimmer/add CAC carbon. I no longer keep cleaner shrimp. I cannot always catch all the crabs. I have had some survive just fine but others don’t make it unfortunately.

 

[PointerReefs]

I keep hearing/seeing posts about the use of interceptor, I should probably get this on hand I assume my usual method of dipping coral won’t have the same effect, coralRx/Lugol’s

That’s all good. It sounds like you’re doing everything right. I would consider adding Two Little Fishies acropower to the mix of what you’re dosing. My sps (acros, montis, pavona, etc) love it. To comment on what @slingfox said, I think bleaching could be an issue, but low nutrients and high par increase the risk of alkalinity burn (burnt tips). Even if your alkalinity isn’t crazy high, if you’re running high par,which typically increases growth, without the nutrients to support the growth, you’ll likely end up with burnt tips. I don’t know what LPS you have in the tank, and some seem to be more tolerant of low nutrients. I accidentally let my nitrates get below five a couple weeks ago and my euphyllia were not happy with me lol. The other corals didn’t care.

Isn’t Acropower similar to red sea AB+? I’ll have to read into it. That’s another product I see pop up all the time in the SPS subject. Lots of good reviews it sounds though. The LPS in the tank probably won’t like low nutrients, Hammers, Frogspawn and Goniopora. Specifically the Goni’s but I’ve got 2 smaller tanks I am considering to transfer them to if I start to notice them being intolerable of my conditions for the SPS. (Hooray more space for SPS)

 

[PointerReefs]

For sure. I mean I’m all for the best I can get out of my tank if I can. So when you run an interceptor cycle do you remove all your invertebrates ? If so wouldn’t they potentially transfer pests back with them once returned to the tank. That was my first concern about using it is what do I do with all my snails, crabs and urchin.

Yes, I have a 10g which I use for either medicated QT of incoming fish or to hold inverts while I a doing Interceptor. Snails and urchin don’t seem affected by Interceptor. Crabs definitely are affected. I have 3 conch and they get stunned by Interceptor but recover in a day after the Interceptor degrades/I switch back in UV/skimmer/add CAC carbon. I no longer keep cleaner shrimp. I cannot always catch all the crabs. I have had some survive just fine but others don’t make it unfortunately.

Ahh okay, I have way less crabs than snails so that’s a relief lol. I’d never catch them all. They’d have to ride the wave

 

[Marine Betta]

I keep hearing/seeing posts about the use of interceptor, I should probably get this on hand I assume my usual method of dipping coral won’t have the same effect, coralRx/Lugol’s

That’s all good. It sounds like you’re doing everything right. I would consider adding Two Little Fishies acropower to the mix of what you’re dosing. My sps (acros, montis, pavona, etc) love it. To comment on what @slingfox said, I think bleaching could be an issue, but low nutrients and high par increase the risk of alkalinity burn (burnt tips). Even if your alkalinity isn’t crazy high, if you’re running high par,which typically increases growth, without the nutrients to support the growth, you’ll likely end up with burnt tips. I don’t know what LPS you have in the tank, and some seem to be more tolerant of low nutrients. I accidentally let my nitrates get below five a couple weeks ago and my euphyllia were not happy with me lol. The other corals didn’t care.

Isn’t Acropower similar to red sea AB+? I’ll have to read into it. That’s another product I see pop up all the time in the SPS subject. Lots of good reviews it sounds though. The LPS in the tank probably won’t like low nutrients, Hammers, Frogspawn and Goniopora. Specifically the Goni’s but I’ve got 2 smaller tanks I am considering to transfer them to if I start to notice them being intolerable of my conditions for the SPS. (Hooray more space for SPS)

I’m not exactly sure the makeup of acropower, but it is specifically made for sps corals. Other corals like it too. Red Sea AB+ is a great product, but it’s more of a general supplement for all corals. I really noticed a difference in my sps once I started dosing acropower.

 

[PointerReefs]

I keep hearing/seeing posts about the use of interceptor, I should probably get this on hand I assume my usual method of dipping coral won’t have the same effect, coralRx/Lugol’s

That’s all good. It sounds like you’re doing everything right. I would consider adding Two Little Fishies acropower to the mix of what you’re dosing. My sps (acros, montis, pavona, etc) love it. To comment on what @slingfox said, I think bleaching could be an issue, but low nutrients and high par increase the risk of alkalinity burn (burnt tips). Even if your alkalinity isn’t crazy high, if you’re running high par,which typically increases growth, without the nutrients to support the growth, you’ll likely end up with burnt tips. I don’t know what LPS you have in the tank, and some seem to be more tolerant of low nutrients. I accidentally let my nitrates get below five a couple weeks ago and my euphyllia were not happy with me lol. The other corals didn’t care.

Isn’t Acropower similar to red sea AB+? I’ll have to read into it. That’s another product I see pop up all the time in the SPS subject. Lots of good reviews it sounds though. The LPS in the tank probably won’t like low nutrients, Hammers, Frogspawn and Goniopora. Specifically the Goni’s but I’ve got 2 smaller tanks I am considering to transfer them to if I start to notice them being intolerable of my conditions for the SPS. (Hooray more space for SPS)

I’m not exactly sure the makeup of acropower, but it is specifically made for sps corals. Other corals like it too. Red Sea AB+ is a great product, but it’s more of a general supplement for all corals. I really noticed a difference in my sps once I started dosing acropower.

I’ll give it a go. I mean I’ve heard nothing but good things about people that use it.