Supplementing Trace Elements with All For Reef?

[JoeinLA]

I've been using AFR for the past year or so, and my recent ICP test showed "u." for a number of trace elements. Is there a recommended way to supplement trace elements alongside AFR? I'm looking at Tropic Marin's A- and K+ products and would otherwise assume these are what I'm looking for, but would love any confirmation or other suggestions.

My ICP (ATI) results had 0 ("u.") for Nickel, Manganese, Arsenic, Beryllium, Chrom, Cobalt, Iron, Copper, Selenium, Silver, and Tin, with Iodine at 12.94 (from their Calculated Reference Value of 59.38). The other "Minor elements" were vaguely in line with their Calculated Reference Value. I currently dose ~35ml AFR per day to maintain alk at 8.2. I have an 85 gallon tank with ~9 gallon sump and I estimate (without any real basis) total water volume at ~75 gallons. I do weekly water changes of approx ~15% and put in a drop of Logols Iodine after each water change (which I'll now up to 1 drop of Sundays and another on Weds and then retest ICP in a couple months).

I'm concerned b/c two of my Euphilias have been receding and can't pinpoint any reason. My local shop took a look and didn't see any parasites, and suggested a water quality issue. We discussed my recent ICP test, and they thought that perhaps the trace elements were too low.


Thanks.

 

[FuzzySPS]

AFR has everything A- and K+ does trace element-wise per their description. I have one of them (too lazy to go look at the moment) with the seal never broken. It’s all yours if you want to pay the shipping cost only. Lou Ekus would be the one to ask. He’s the U.S. rep and/or distributor. Always been very kind and responsive when I’ve posed a question to him.

 

[FuzzySPS]

BTW, I’ve used AFR since day one on an almost two year old tanks. Corals are rockin’ but I have other water chemistry issues of my own doing causing probs.

 

[bobnicaragua]

If you are wanting to dose each trace element to an ideal level, look into reef moonshiners.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Trace elements are still a big unknown in reef tanks.

Detecting none by ICP does not necessarily mean the tank is suffering from lack of that trace elements. Many are sufficiently available to organisms even below to the detection limit of ICP.

For this reason and others, i think it unlikely that your coral problems are related to lack of trace elements. I'd look for another cause.

That said, it would also be fine to dose one or more elements. AFR just estimates how much an average tank might need, but it would not be correctly supplying trace elements to a low calcification tank (e.g., mostly soft corals, macroalgae,e tc.).

An easy first step would be to try adding some fo the Tropic Marin A and K and see if that benefits anything in the tank,.

 

[Hooz]

There was a thread a while back in the TM forum here where Hans asked about people's experience with low iodine (and the other associated traces in the A- elements) when using AFR. TM devised a "new recipe" AFR that included more A- elements (worked out to an additional 50mL A- for every 1L of mixed AFR).

He listed the batch numbers of dry powder that started shipping with the higher concentration of A-, and said that in the premixed liquid the new round bottles contained the higher A- elements.

Trace A- contains:

• Bromine
• Fluorine
• Iodine
• Lithium
• Molybdenum
• Selenium
• Vanadium

If that lines up well with what you're missing and your AFR is the "old" recipe, you might try just boosting the A- elements when you mix up the next batch, run it for a month and see where your next ICP lines up.