Iron

[mike68]

just wondering if you can dose iron with clams? i have heard pros and cons, i have not used it since i got my clams. it really seemed to help with my chaeto grow when i used it. since i stopped using it my chaeto growth seems to have slowed.

 

[quicksilverq]

My chaeto grows just fine and i dont dose iron It may speed the growth up but like you said i have heard its pros and cons, I dont want to sway you one way or the other you have to make up your mind. If it was me I would do small doses then go a little higher rember dont add anything unless you can test for it. Any ways chaeto is not as expensive as clams and clams dont grow back.

 

[mike68]

since my chaeto is not growing as fast it seems like my nitrates are going up a little thats why i asked. adding iron makes it grow faster and that helps keep nitrates down.

 

[a4twenty]

just watch how your clams react, if they are not a carrier of the PM protozoa i don't see any problems. like quicksilverq said ( and just like with anything else ) start small and see what happens, if things start going funny, stop dosing and start running carbon.

 

[clamdigs]

Nearly all heavy metals (especially Iron) act as a catalyst and cause any form of algae to grow quicker especially in the micronutrient stage. I myself have never seen ANY upsides to dosing it with clams; Zooxanthellae does not seem to be effected much at all. Then again, there don't appear to be any downsides either.