Triton for new reef with dry rocks

[Abhishek]

Hi ,

Am planning for a 30 in x30 inx18 in tank with a 20in x20inx16in sump .. a large first section being for macro algae as triton recommends .
However tank will be started with dry rocks and live sand .
As I understand , triton base elementz are intended for a matured tank with growing corals .
However , can I use core 7 or base elementz in a new tank to atleast start promoting the macro algae growth in the refugium ?
When should I start adding the elements ?
My biggest fear is without enough sps and fish , it will start promoting GHA or cyano in the main tank ..

Please advice.

Regards,
ABHISHEK

 

[gpwdr]

I did exactly what you're talking about. The elementz were dosed right away. I put as many different types of algae in the sump I could get and I let the bad algae grow in the sump. I also bought a large detritus clean up crew for the tank with sea urchins.
Here is the start of the tank.

And this is the tank after a year and a half.

 

[Abhishek]

Thanks for the reply ..
How did you restrict the GHA and other algae grow only in the refugium and did you start dosing the triton elements even without any corals ?

Regards,
ABHISHEK

 

[gpwdr]

I had frags and a couple of corals to start. The urchins and other clean up critters prevent the algae from growing in the DT. I'm pretty sure Tim will tell you to dose right away. Just keep the DKH at 8.00. Your dosage will be pretty low until the corals start to consume the elementz.
Don't worry this is a very easy reef keeping method. Just follow the directions.

 

[joefishUC]

Well said Gene.

Triton does recommend using live rock vs dry rock to ensure that many strains of good bacteria help to seed the tank. Of course people are free to experiment and deviate from the method as they see fit and in Gene's case it certainly worked out just fine. Another little trick you can try is to limit the intensity and duration of the light in the DT until the algae filter is showing some signs of maturity. I always setup my personal reef tanks to run with the dt lights off and no fish for several months to let things really mature. After a few months there was all sorts of copepods, worms, mysis shrimp teaming all over the glass, rocks and sand. All of the surface area of the tank was also now coated with a mature biofilm making it harder for any nuisance algae to take hold.

 

[Abhishek]

Thanks Joe and Gene for the response .
As I understand , triton advises to start with the base elements or core 7 from the beginning keeping an eye on alkalinity .
Keep light to a minimum on the DT to keep algae at bay with the inclusion of clean up crew .
However in order to introduce diff strains of bacteria , is it advisable to use products like microbacter 7 or bio spira in the beginning and have mediums seachem matrix to provide extra surface area for bacteria if one does not want to use any live rock ?

Regards,
ABHISHEK