New tank - Reef supplement

harsha22

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Have a 2 month cycled tank with a couple of fish and 3 new corals. 1 each of sps, lps and a mushroom.
Will dose AFR after a month or 2 based on test results.
Should I any of the below right now?
1. Reef growth - Red sea AB+ Or prodibio bioreef kit or seachem fuel
2. Reef health - Brightwell’s reedcodeB or koral color?
 

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Only dose to replace what the tank is consuming. Before you start, ask yourself what is it that you are dosing that the tank is lacking. Is it nitrogen (nitrate for example)? Then dose some amino or coral food mixture (or feed the fish more). Is it carbonate/bicarbonate? Then dose an alk mixture.
 

Jekyl

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Rule #1 never dose anything unless you tested the need for it to be added .

additives can mess up a nice system very fast .
This. Proper testing will dictate what to dose or not. Don't just add things based on other people using them.
 
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harsha22

harsha22

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Only dose to replace what the tank is consuming. Before you start, ask yourself what is it that you are dosing that the tank is lacking. Is it nitrogen (nitrate for example)? Then dose some amino or coral food mixture (or feed the fish more). Is it carbonate/bicarbonate? Then dose an alk mixture.
As of now the PH is less which i shall look for dosing or co2 scrubber in the future.
For now not lacking anything but just thinking To add some additives to fasten coral growth.
 

Jekyl

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As of now the PH is less which i shall look for dosing or co2 scrubber in the future.
For now not lacking anything but just thinking To add some additives to fasten coral growth.
Proper levels, lighting, stability and maturity are the best medicine. There's no miracle in a bottle.
 

Rmckoy

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As of now the PH is less which i shall look for dosing or co2 scrubber in the future.
For now not lacking anything but just thinking To add some additives to fasten coral growth.
Ph will fluctuate throughout the day to night . Which is natural .

chasing numbers and dosing to adjust will result in complicating everything .
Focus on keeping everything stable will be the fastest growth with the least loss .
 

Reefngeek

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Have a 2 month cycled tank with a couple of fish and 3 new corals. 1 each of sps, lps and a mushroom.
Will dose AFR after a month or 2 based on test results.
Should I any of the below right now?
1. Reef growth - Red sea AB+ Or prodibio bioreef kit or seachem fuel
2. Reef health - Brightwell’s reedcodeB or koral color?
One thing I hardly ever see people mention is dosing phyto. That, imo, has been a key item that has helped mature my tanks and have kept everything healthy.
 
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harsha22

harsha22

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Rule #1 never dose anything unless you tested the need for it to be added .

additives can mess up a nice system very fast .
Not planning to dose
One thing I hardly ever see people mention is dosing phyto. That, imo, has been a key item that has helped mature my tanks and have kept everything healthy.
any phyto product that you would suggest?
 

Jekyl

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One thing I hardly ever see people mention is dosing phyto. That, imo, has been a key item that has helped mature my tanks and have kept everything healthy.
This. Huge fan of live phyto dosing. I used the stuff from algae barn before cultivating my own.
 

Tiki_Reef

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Have a 2 month cycled tank with a couple of fish and 3 new corals. 1 each of sps, lps and a mushroom.
Will dose AFR after a month or 2 based on test results.
Should I any of the below right now?
1. Reef growth - Red sea AB+ Or prodibio bioreef kit or seachem fuel
2. Reef health - Brightwell’s reedcodeB or koral color?
Be careful with AFR the alkalinity is not a immediate result so you can dose it and it may take 8 hours possibly 12 hours. It uses Calcium Formate not Calcium Carbonate. I mean unless you have it cram packed with sps and lps you probably will not need to dose any major and minor elements for at least a year, like a few people have already said on here dose to your tests do not test to your dose.
 

Reefngeek

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Not planning to dose

any phyto product that you would suggest?
I'm sure there are plenty of good products out there but what I use is from a small company called My Little Ocean. Quality of their products seems quite good. I also use their Premium Reefer Blend which is a mix of zooplankton and phytoplankton. Tons of life in the bottle and corals and fish seem to love it.
 

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As of now the PH is less which i shall look for dosing or co2 scrubber in the future.
For now not lacking anything but just thinking To add some additives to fasten coral growth.


Do not dose to raise pH, as this will raise alk too. Rather, when you dose alk, pick a supplement that raises pH more than another.

The coral foods might help if you have very few fish in the tank (and its not a small tank) and your nitrate and phosphate are very low. Otherwise, proper flow, not too much light (nor too little), and elevated alk will help speed up growth (alk only for the lps and sps. If you run alk, lets say for example, at 10, make sure to not have 0 nitrate or 0.00 phosphate (or feed coral food daily in good quantities)
 
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harsha22

harsha22

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So, from what I am hearing, i shouldn’t chase the numbers. Other than beneficial bacteria dosing I wouldnt does AFR for now.
But I still have 1 major issue, right now people keep saying water changes will increase PH but even with weekly changes it is always at 7.8 n PH being essential for coral growth, should I just wait this out as well? Or should I add BRightwell PH boost + which will only boost PH and doesnt increase other elements.
I dont have a skimmer so no co2 scrubber for now.
 
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harsha22

harsha22

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Have a 2 month cycled tank with a couple of fish and 3 new corals. 1 each of sps, lps and a mushroom.
Will dose AFR after a month or 2 based on test results.
Should I any of the below right now?
1. Reef growth - Red sea AB+ Or prodibio bioreef kit or seachem fuel
2. Reef health - Brightwell’s reedcodeB or koral color?
Just to add, all my parameters are nominal without any dosing and weekly water Changes except for PH. That is 7.8.
 

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So, from what I am hearing, i shouldn’t chase the numbers. Other than beneficial bacteria dosing I wouldnt does AFR for now.
But I still have 1 major issue, right now people keep saying water changes will increase PH but even with weekly changes it is always at 7.8 n PH being essential for coral growth, should I just wait this out as well? Or should I add BRightwell PH boost + which will only boost PH and doesnt increase other elements.
I dont have a skimmer so no co2 scrubber for now.


There is nothing wrong with chasing numbers, but a tank with 3 (likely tiny) corals shouldn't be concerned with much dosing. In fact, its better to chase numbers than to not do so at all. The key is just to not get obsessive with a spot on number or to constantly do dramatic changes to the water.

Water changes won't aid the tank in raising the pH (maybe for a very short time, but pH has more to do with the carbon dioxide levels in the room). Yes, 7.8 pH will slow down the growth of the corals, but it won't kill them. However, there simply isn't a quick easy dosing fix for it without considering how the product will raise alk.

As for brightwell, their description is hilarious. They state it doesn't raise alk when used as directed, but sodium/potassium hydroxide by definition will raise alk. Brightwell is notorious for either lying or not understanding chemistry
 

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal

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Just to add, all my parameters are nominal without any dosing and weekly water Changes except for PH. That is 7.8.
As everyone else has said, stability is the key with a brand new tank. A pH of 7.8 is not critically low. What test kit are you using for pH? When (what time(s) of day) are you testing? Do you have a skimmer? Is there enough surface agitation from your return lines or powerheads?
You might be expecting too much from a 2 month old tank. As algae develops, more O2 will be produced and pH might rise based on that alone.
Let your tank mature and be patient :)
 
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harsha22

harsha22

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There is nothing wrong with chasing numbers, but a tank with 3 (likely tiny) corals shouldn't be concerned with much dosing. In fact, its better to chase numbers than to not do so at all. The key is just to not get obsessive with a spot on number or to constantly do dramatic changes to the water.

Water changes won't aid the tank in raising the pH (maybe for a very short time, but pH has more to do with the carbon dioxide levels in the room). Yes, 7.8 pH will slow down the growth of the corals, but it won't kill them. However, there simply isn't a quick easy dosing fix for it without considering how the product will raise alk.

As for brightwell, their description is hilarious. They state it doesn't raise alk when used as directed, but sodium/potassium hydroxide by definition will raise alk. Brightwell is notorious for either lying or not understanding chemistry
agree
 

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