Hey guys, looking for a mixed reef dosing package for my 80 gallon tank plus 40 breeder suno. Anyone using the RCP or other program they Like? Or maybe just what you dose in general.
Mauhamed, I ran the "Red Sea Colors" program for an year, and it did a great job. I dosed to my calcium's intake per Red Sea's instructions. I did migrate over to a calcium reactor last fall, but I still dose 1ml of each about every two to three days. The reactor's media does release "some" trace elements, but over time my colors dropped some pop, and that's why I went back dosing the Red Sea colors, just a tad. Freddie
Red Sea has many products. They make Red Sea colors which are pretty much trace elements, they have Red Sea reef energy whic are amino acids, Red Sea nopox for nitrate/phosphate control. Look online and you will find a nice review regarding Red Sea and the different types of systems people run ( sps dominant, lps dominant, mixed reef, ultra low nutrient system) and their recommendations on which products to use and roughly how much. I follow part of the program and love it. I use reef energy everyday before feeding the tank frozen and pellet foods. I use the colors program just with water changes, putting in a small amount of each color supplements (A-D). I do t use the nopox because my phosphates are 0.01 and nitrates read 0, so I’m always trying to keep these up a little. I also use acro power which is an amino acid supplement that is supposed to be specialized for acros. I dose that only 1-2x per week. I personally like Red Sea products, and so far the tank looks amazing and I have great color, but color also depends on a lot more than just supplements, so take that with a grain of salt.
Wow.Thanks for taking the time to write all that. I am trying to keep the tank as simple as possible. And it seems to me that dosing those would be a quick startup and easier to maintain. I may end up building/buying some reactors. But not until I can better understand my needs
I use BRS two (3 technically) part and RCP reef energy and trace colors. My corals never looked better. I really recommend all their products with only their magnesium test kit being the only dud of the bunch.
I'm glad to hear someone else has issues with their mag test. It gives me max readings all the time >1600 ppm. I even tested instant ocean right after mixing and got that. I figured I'm doing something wrong or the reagents are bad even though it is <4 months old I stopped using their foundation alk and cal since they weren't equal parts. I use ESV and will eventually just go with BRS. I do use the foundation alk, cal and mag to make adjustments up if needed
the only one I trust for Magnesium is Salifert. The other red sea test are fine. Hanna doesn't make a Mg checker I don't think.
How big of a tank do you have and how long does two part and trace elements last you. I'm trying to get a rough budget estimate and how much to have on hand.
I go through a gallon of each BRS liquid every 5-6 weeks on average. I have never had to buy new trace elements since I use so little of it. Buy the biggest bottle Red Sea makes and you will be fine.
I bought the sample pack of reef energy and colors the RE comes with 2 100ml bottles. When I finished them up I bough the 500ml bottles of each A & B as it's way cheaper. I still use the 100ml bottles and just top them off from the bigger bottles. I just got the colors set but will do the same when I run out of them. Remember RE needs refrigerated after opening
