ICP results. Should I dose trace individually?

[Ziggy17]

So ICP looks good. All the majors are where they should be. The trace elements that are low, should I dose these individually or are they not major factors in the overall health? I dose AFR and use TM pro salt, so I thought I was already getting these trace in the mixes but I guess not.

Here is what was low;

Fluorine
Barium
Manganese
Iron
Zinc
Vanadium

I don’t want to start moonshining but I can dose these if it will make a huge difference. I just thought AFR handled those trace.


The other other abnormality was from the high silicates in the RO. That was my bad. The battery in the TDS meter died and I didn’t replace it for a couple months. When I did change the battery I was getting a TDS of 7. I guess the silicate buster portion of the RODI cartridge was exhausted, but I replaced that bed last week and the TDS meter is back to zero again. Unfortunate that the silicate buster resin isn’t colour changing like the Di is……

 

[FishLvR]

I'm dosing Tropic Marin K and A and all these are covered.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’d ignore barium as it has no known need in a reef tank. The others may or may not be useful to dose.

 

[Miami Reef]

Silicate is weakly charged and is one of the hardest ions an RO/DI can remove. It’s also one of the first to get displaced as the DI gets exhausted. Fortunately, it is not toxic, and the diatoms they fuel can be healthy for copepods. It also can help sponges grow. I like silica and purposely dose it sometimes, but I understand some people may have problematic, unsightly diatom growth. Mine is unnoticeable and mainly grows on the powerheads and back wall.

 

[Ziggy17]

I mean the coral are doing well, a torch hates it’s life right now but I can’t seem to figure out why. But I can’t imagine there’s a smoking gun for the torch in that ICP.

 

[Ziggy17]

Silicate is weakly charged and is one of the hardest ions an RO/DI can remove. It’s also one of the first to get displaced as the DI gets exhausted. Fortunately, it is not toxic, and the diatoms they fuel can be healthy for copepods. It also can help sponges grow. I like silica and purposely dose it sometimes, but I understand some people may have problematic, unsightly diatom growth. Mine is unnoticeable and mainly grows on the powerheads and back wall.

Yeah, I noticed some diatoms on the rock and a bit in the sand, which prompted me to replace the TDS battery. Based on the tank silicate number compared to the RO, the tank managed the high number from the water changes down to negligible with ease.

 

[Ziggy17]

So I confirmed TM states those low elements are supplemented in the AFR mix. Is it unusual for a system to uptake those trace disproportionate to the majors? I ask because if I up my AFR dose, my calcium and Magnesium will start to creep up, which will cause different issues. As it stands, my dose keeps my mag and calcium and alk stable. Alk is supplemented with a separate side of sodium bicarbonate solution.

 

[Miami Reef]

I don’t believe it’s feasible to assume tying trace elements to an alkalinity additive will always maintain them in “proper” concentrations. What happens in a tank heavily stocked with algae and soft corals? Algae uptakes a lot more trace elements than corals, but not alkalinity. It’s not a one size fits all. That being said, your trace elements aren’t critically low.

Food brings in a significant amount of trace elements, but I think adding Tropic Marine K+ will cover most of your deficiencies.

 

[rtparty]

Manganese and iron would be the only two I might dose out of those. They deplete rapidly and almost always show low on ICP testing even with daily dosing

 

[BryanM]

So I confirmed TM states those low elements are supplemented in the AFR mix. Is it unusual for a system to uptake those trace disproportionate to the majors? I ask because if I up my AFR dose, my calcium and Magnesium will start to creep up, which will cause different issues. As it stands, my dose keeps my mag and calcium and alk stable. Alk is supplemented with a separate side of sodium bicarbonate solution.

Why not stop the sodium bicarbonate and up the AFR dose?

I just sent out an ICP sample and I only dose AFR, so I'll know in a week or two where I stand :)

 

[fushi]

So ICP looks good. All the majors are where they should be. The trace elements that are low, should I dose these individually or are they not major factors in the overall health? I dose AFR and use TM pro salt, so I thought I was already getting these trace in the mixes but I guess not.

I prefer to dose individually, and like to use reef blueprint. I was using moonshine but prefer the better pricing and product sizing/chemical strength of reef blueprint.

https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/reef-blueprint-isol8-zn-zinc-60-ml-captiv8-aquaculture/?searchid=7847279&search_query=zinc

https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/r...ulture/?searchid=7847284&search_query=Isol8:F

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Most anything you need to dose has diy recipes here:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-chemistry-archive.987116/

 

[Ziggy17]

Why not stop the sodium bicarbonate and up the AFR dose?

I just sent out an ICP sample and I only dose AFR, so I'll know in a week or two where I stand :)

I hear ya. In order to replace the alk consumption, the additional AFR causes the calcium to increase. So I balance the calcium and mag with AFR but supplement the alk.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I hear ya. In order to replace the alk consumption, the additional AFR causes the calcium to increase. So I balance the calcium and mag with AFR but supplement the alk.

Is your calcium too high?

 

[Ziggy17]

Is your calcium too high?

Between 400-420. If I only use AFR to dose the major 3, the calcium creeps up about 5ppm per day, so within a few weeks is up around 500. I’ve tried this on two occasions and saw the same thing.

Current doses are

ALK 4x 7mls/day (28mls daily)
AFR 3x 8mls/day (24mls daily)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’d use it for all alk needs until calcium actually gets too high. I recommend 400-550 ppm for calcium, so you have a long way to go, and water changes may stop it from ever getting too high.

5 ppm per day does not sound realistic. The overdose of calcium is less than 10%, so that implies a calcium demand of more than 50 ppm per day.

 

[Ziggy17]

I’d use it for all alk needs until calcium actually gets too high. I recommend 400-550 ppm for calcium, so you have a long way to go, and water changes may stop it from ever getting too high.

5 ppm per day does not sound realistic. The overdose of calcium is less than 10%, so that implies a calcium demand of more than 50 ppm per day.

I’m at the mercy of test error I’m sure. Until a few weeks ago, I relied on my trident. But now using Salifert which was spot on based on the latest Icp. And the trident really does drift a lot. Not sure if it’s worth having anymore….

I’ll increase the dose of AFR and use the Salifert to monitor the calcium. I have the Salifert mag test as well but I’m not as concerned with mag levels as long as they’re not above 1500 and below 1300