Your ICP becomes available - First value you rush to check?

[Tangdora]

Don’t do them often but ICP test are always fun to do. The suspense of waiting a week for the numbers to post always adds to the excitement. Curious for other what are the first 3 value you a usually find your self rushing to check first and why

For me on this go around it was

1) phosphate - been bottoming out

2) alkalinity - Hanna meter been reporting a slight higher number then I want. Originally thought the checker was bad but it’s not

3) iodine - a trace that always seems to be bottomed each test. Actually found this neat article yesterday that i may now try out monitor this between icp test.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/an-accurate-and-precise-method-for-measuring-iodine.909/

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I just run straight down the list, top to bottom.

Of interest to me is calcium since I never measure it and rely on AFR and alk monitoring to get it right.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Fluoride because my reef DRINKS it down. I have been trying to turn it into more of a daily addition to help keep up with demand.

 

[EricR]

Silicate and iron are two things that I regularly dose experimentally so look at those first.
Iodine is another I check since I've tried dosing iodide before also.

Beyond that, I just go down the list to see if anything is highly out-of-range.

I do pay attention to the groups of elements contained in Tropic Marin A- and, separately, K+ just to think about if I want to dose one of those for a while.
*have done A- a couple of times but never felt the need for K+ elements based on ICP

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Fluoride because my reef DRINKS it down. I have been trying to turn it into more of a daily addition to help keep up with demand.

FWIW, I’ve seen no convincing evidence that fluoride is needed by any organisms we keep. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining natural levels, but I’m also skeptical that it has utility.

 

[exnisstech]

I just run straight down the list, top to bottom.

Of interest to me is calcium since I never measure it and rely on AFR and alk monitoring to get it right.

Hey Randy have you noticed the calcium creeping up like some do? I've been using AFR for over 3 years and have never experienced it myself and I don't do regular WCs.
Can't comment on the thread topic because I don't do ICP testing.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hey Randy have you noticed the calcium creeping up like some do? I've been using AFR for over 3 years and have never experienced it myself and I don't do regular WCs.
Can't comment on the thread topic because I don't do ICP testing.

AFR matches pure calcium carbonate exactly in terms of the alk to calcium ratio. Just like kalkwasser. But when calcium carbonate is deposited in seawater, whether by an organism or by precipitation, some magnesium and a little strontium gets into the structure in place of some calcium.

Thus, AFR is a bit overbalanced to too much calcium relative to alk. If you use it to maintain alk, and no alk gets added any other way, calcium can slowly rise. The effect is slow and steady, and it’s generally ok for calcium to rise into the mid 500’s.

 

[exnisstech]

AFR matches pure calcium carbonate exactly in terms of the alk to calcium ratio. Just like kalkwasser. But when calcium carbonate is deposited in seawater, whether by an organism or by precipitation, some magnesium and a little strontium gets into the structure in place of some calcium.

Thus, AFR is a bit overbalanced to too much calcium relative to alk. If you use it to maintain alk, and no alk gets added any other way, calcium can slowly rise. The effect is slow and steady, and it’s generally ok for calcium to rise into the mid 500’s.

Do you see the rise in your tank?
I'm just not seeing the rise in mine. WCs are very random 2g changes once or twice a month. 75g total volume.
Salifert test result.
Starting level I have recorded is 1/21/24 with cal 400. 5/30/26 cal is 450. I've never made any adjustments

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Do you see the rise in your tank?
I'm just not seeing the rise in mine. WCs are very random 2g changes once or twice a month. 75g total volume.
Salifert test result.
Starting level I have recorded is 1/21/24 with cal 400. 5/30/26 cal is 450. I've never made any adjustments

I’ve only ever measured calcium once in my current tank, by Oceamo icp. It’s hard to say if I saw a rise since that was fairly early on with a lowish dose of AFR, but I saw 457 ppm with IO at 36.2 ppt.No strong rise apparent.

The excess calcium is about 1 ppm per day with a high alk demand of 2.8 dKH per day. A bit more if coralline is a major driver of demand, and a bit less for corals.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Fluoride because my reef DRINKS it down. I have been trying to turn it into more of a daily addition to help keep up with demand.

FWIW, I’ve seen no convincing evidence that fluoride is needed by any organisms we keep. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining natural levels, but I’m also skeptical that it has utility.

What consumes it so rapidly if it’s not needed?

 

[Grog]

I always look at Phosphate first, then Strontium, then Potassium. Been bringing the Strontium down after a mistake, and its finally getting into line. Phosphate, I worry about the color perception in the test, and like to compare what I got from the home test on that day vs. the ICP test. Usually, it is very close. K was dropping and I've increased my dose, so I keep an eye on it. Don't want to create an issue with high K like I had with Strontium.

All my other values are under control now, so look at those as an afterthought and record the values for trending.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What consumes it so rapidly if it’s not needed?

Fluoride gets incorporated into calcium carbonate, whether by a coral or by precipitation , in place of carbonate. It is just a chemical substitution.

Consumption and need should not be equated. :)