High Tide Aquatics

which 2 part dosing is the best?

Coral reefer said:
I’ve certainly read about it before, but thanks for the links. Kinda seems like you’re saying the tech can’t improve cause it’s so good already maybe?
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Oh no...there is always room for improvement. At least we have a target that we can see regarding trace elements. For the longest time, it was simply a stab in the dark and "watch how your corals react" sort of situation. With the Triton ICP, you do the test and they provide you with recommendations on corrective action. For example, my corals were looking a bit drab and I didn't really know why. I waited for my ICP results to come back and it showed my iodine was at 0. Now I was dosing with Core7, but nominal dosing rates, and doing 2 gallon water changes every day. The Triton results said, dose x ml of iodine today and tomorrow. I did...and walla...corals perked up! Since then, I have been separately dosing iodine to keep it sustained based on their recommended dosing rates.

Iodine is a special trace element. The hobby test kits are basically useless because they aren't sensitive enough to capture .06 ppm of iodine. When they do start to show a value, it is usually too much. Second, how much should one dose? Go on the market to see how many "iodine" products for the reef tank there are out there. All with their own recommended dosing. Which one is right and based on what consumption of your tank? They say something like "for light coral loads do x ml/week, for medium loads, y ml/week..." How is that helping anyone? LOL. Its like..well..you have a flu...if it is bad..take 2 tablets a day...if it is really bad take three...otherwise one should work... LOL.

We have a long way to go...but...it is far more prescriptive than ever before. It removes much of the guessing game so you can take care of your corals properly.
 
I remember some years ago bringing up the remote possibility that the club buy their own ICP testing machine. Iirc the machines were $30-40k new but could be found for 1/2 that used. It wasn’t just the cost of the machine though. Apparently the person running the tests needs to be trained. I think there’s a propensity for user error with these tests.
 
Opinion:

A great way to add Alk and CA is DIY from BRS or B-Ionic. Cost/convenience.
There are others, but some add some interesting/questionable things, so I am leery.

For trace:
You should either do ICP testing, and carefully modify what is missing .... or do water changes.
Adding random trace elements that you have not measured often ends up in an imbalance, and you won't know.
Regular water changes with a good salt mix fixes all that, no risk, and has other benefits.
 
svreef said:
What are your thoughts on All For Reef? I've been adding it to my 55g and it seems to have made some corals a bit happier - of course, I have mostly softies.
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I really like the idea for lower-consumption and smaller tanks. The science is solid and pretty cool. We have several users using it, maybe they can chime in.
 
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