Tank Supplements After Calcium Reactor?

[JKenny]

Hello all,

I have 2+ year old RS250 mixed reef that is mostly SPS that have been doing well. I've recently installed a calcium reactor not because of the cost or trouble with dosing, but because I'm retired now and enjoyed the challenge, the gadgets and the distraction...

I had been dosing ESV 2 part and I understood that the "B" part of ESV also added trace elements and I'm wondering some of the ways I can keep those trace elements up now that I've switched.

I'm using ARM media, and added magnesium, and have found a balance that keeps my tank Alk at the 8.5 Dkh it was with the 2 part.

For all the folks that have gone down this road already, what should I be doing to keep up the trace elements that may not mess too much with the tank Alk?

Thanks in advance...
Joe

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

ESV-B-ionic is not a trace element supplement and will not (and is not intended to) offset ANY loses of trace elements due to consumption. (I know its not intuitive, but even if it contains a trace element, using B-ionic might actually lower that trace element).

If you want a trace element supplement, look for a product that has that as a product claim.

I doubt most any trace element supplements have any impact on alkalinity. The ingredients are just too low in concentration to matter.

I show how a two part may not boost trace elements here:

The Many Methods for Supplementing Calcium and Alkalinity - REEFEDITION

There is no aspect of reef aquarium chemistry more important than calcium and alkalinity. Many of my previous articles have described various aspects of these systems in detail. In reading those articles, aquarists will note one pervasive theme: that maintaining appropriate levels of each are...

www.reefedition.com

One issue that has confused some reef keepers, however, is the presence of trace elements. Assuming that these products are actually formulated with every ion such that a true natural seawater residue remained (let’s call this the “ideal” product), then it will necessarily contain such ions as copper. Since copper is elevated in some reef tanks, and is toxic to many invertebrates, reef keepers have wrongly criticized this method as adding more copper. That’s actually not what would happen. Since these products leave a natural seawater residue, and since copper may be elevated in concentration in many reef tanks relative to seawater, then using these “ideal” products will actually LOWER copper levels because when the increase in salinity is corrected, the copper will drop.

For example:

You have copper in your aquarium at 4 ppb and salinity of S=35.

You add a two part additive that over the course of a month raises salinity to S=36, and raises copper to 4.02 ppb.

Then you correct the salinity back to S=35 by diluting everything in the tank with fresh water, and you get a final copper concentration of 3.9 ppb.

Does this happen in real products and not “ideal” products? I have no idea. But the statement by manufacturers that it contains all ions in natural ratios, including copper, should not be viewed as a concern that it is exacerbating a heavy metal problem.

 

[JKenny]

Randy,

Thank you for your very helpful, and quick, reply as well as the link to your article.

I'm now thinking that I've never really added any kind of trace elements benefit - either with the 2 part or with my 15% weekly water changes.

I love this hobby - I'm always learning.

Thank you...

 

[X-37B]

I run a carx now after 1 year of esv 2 part.
I have dosed DSR EZ trace from day one.
I started with manmade media so the trace kept mag where I wanted it.
I switched to coral bones and run 6ml a day and it keeps mag and K at the levels I want. It has a few other elements including iodine.
My iodine is always somewhere between 0-.06 when I remember to check it.
It has worked for me in keeping mag and K stable. Are the other elements needed? Unknown, as I have never run an outside test.