Isn't that a lot more work?

[T Diddy]

I'm convinced that two things yield the best results on my Zoa's, and maybe all my corals to be honest:

A. Magnesium dosing. Which I intend to learn more about this, other people's protocols etc. I tested for the first time ever 12-18 months ago, found my levels were crazy low, started occasional dosing and had fantastic results.

B. Spot / target feeding. This seems like a 50/50 topic on the internet. Some people believe it's not needed, others swear by it.

I truly believe that when I spot feed my zoa's within 24hrs I'm noticing larger polyps that look stronger, more outstretched, and longer tentacles. The colors are more vibrant and they seem to just grow faster and stronger.

Also this guy wouldn't stop photo bombing me this morning



View attachment 32396271

Magnesium is by far the most abundant ion found in sea water, and is incredibly important for reef keeping. I didn’t pay much attention to it in the past, and just relied on water changes rather than supplements. Recently though, I too found that my Mg levels were incredibly low. It’s definitely something to pay attention to

 

[kharmaguru]

Magnesium is by far the most abundant ion found in sea water, and is incredibly important for reef keeping. I didn’t pay much attention to it in the past, and just relied on water changes rather than supplements. Recently though, I too found that my Mg levels were incredibly low. It’s definitely something to pay attention to

For the last several years I've just kept magnesium in my ATO water. I'm a fan of keeping it near 1500 for fimbriaphyllia which is what I mostly have and nothing else seems to mind. I've actually been looking for a better magnesium additive since I've run out of Reef Advantage magnesium and I discovered it's mostly sodium chloride for ionic balancing which is just silly.

 

[T Diddy]

For the last several years I've just kept magnesium in my ATO water. I'm a fan of keeping it near 1500 for fimbriaphyllia which is what I mostly have and nothing else seems to mind. I've actually been looking for a better magnesium additive since I've run out of Reef Advantage magnesium and I discovered it's mostly sodium chloride for ionic balancing which is just silly.

I’ve been using brightwell dry magnesium. It’s a blend of MgCl and Mg SO3…mostly because the lfs has it marked down trying to get rid of it.

 

[T Diddy]

I’ve been using brightwell dry magnesium. It’s a blend of MgCl and Mg SO3…mostly because the lfs has it marked down trying to get rid of it.

Sorry …mgSO4…I fat fingered the 3

 

[Dustin07]

This is what I've been target feeding my tank with decent success. I also have the benepets that everyone raves about but with mixed results so far.

I like to mix it with a small cup of tank water and pipet it around the corals...

I'll circle back to the magnesium after I test my parameters this afternoon and see if I'm dosing the tank or not ....

I say all of this as I'm learning and am open to suggestions and feedback!

 

[Dustin07]

I also just realized my tank temp is down a bit at 75f.

It's been very sunny and "warm" here in the PNW at about 49f but it feels like shorts weather so the house has been a bit chilly. Tank seems happy but I'm bumping the temp up a tiny bit.

 

[griss]

This is what I've been target feeding my tank with decent success. I also have the benepets that everyone raves about but with mixed results so far.

I like to mix it with a small cup of tank water and pipet it around the corals...

I'll circle back to the magnesium after I test my parameters this afternoon and see if I'm dosing the tank or not ....

I say all of this as I'm learning and am open to suggestions and feedback!


View attachment 32396279

Never used either of the products you’ve mentioned but, I’ve always had a high respect for SeaChem.

 

[Dustin07]

This is the mag I have, and the rest kit. I ran the test twice to make sure I didn't screw anything up and my mag levels seem to be a little on the high side at about 1500 so I won't be dosing...

 

[Dustin07]

Never used either of the products you’ve mentioned but, I’ve always had a high respect for SeaChem.

It's pretty old, since I've been running small tanks I don't use a lot, but it's nearly empty so I'll be incorporating the benepets soon on the main tank and I'll see how the corals respond.

It's a dry blend so a little more tedious to get mixed well with a little tank water before feeding but everyone locally here seems to really swear by it.

My office tank hasn't yet become anything impressive. I originally kept a very light bioload in there but I honestly think it was poor lighting.

Now that I'm running that 35w if I continue to struggle this month I don't know.... I might have to spend the money on another RedSea 50w. It's been my go to and just hasn't failed me...

 

[griss]

I think the general consensus is that most hobby grade Mg test kits are not very accurate.

 

[Dustin07]

As far as my temperature goes, this guy here is always my canary in the coalmine.

You can see he's just a little curved upwards on the bottom. Last November my heater went out and I didn't realize it for an unknown number of days. Our house is wood heated and we often live at 61-66f as humans.

The mushroom changed shape and started closing up and funneling towards the light. As I looked around in the tank I saw small signs of stress elsewhere but he was worst off

I checked parameters and everything seemed fine but noticed water seemed a tiny bit cold. IIRC it has dipped into the 60s.

I immediately fired up a backup heater we had and as the temp came back he relaxed and has actually grown some since.


Today when I was feeding the tank I noticed had the tinniest bit of a funnel shape starting again so I checked and... Lo and behold, temp was down a little. I knocked that up a titch as I mentioned and he's already relaxing again.

 

[Dustin07]

I think the general consensus is that most hobby grade Mg test kits are not very accurate.

That's the vibe I'm getting from some internet searches. Although a long time ago this kit did tell me my previous tank was low on Mg so I dosed it and suddenly my corals started booming. So I figured even if it's not super accurate it might give me a baseline.


On another note .... Can you name this for me? I've been calling it the wrong name for a year now. It was about 1" long by 1/2" wide when we bought it, now it's about 6" x 3" and very happy

 

[griss]

That's the vibe I'm getting from some internet searches. Although a long time ago this kit did tell me my previous tank was low on Mg so I dosed it and suddenly my corals started booming. So I figured even if it's not super accurate it might give me a baseline.


On another note .... Can you name this for me? I've been calling it the wrong name for a year now. It was about 1" long by 1/2" wide when we bought it, now it's about 6" x 3" and very happy

View attachment 32396285

Green Star Polyps.

 

[Dustin07]

Green Star Polyps.

Indeed! Thank you!

 

[griss]

Indeed! Thank you!

You’re very welcome.

 

[T Diddy]

Aqua forest actually has pretty decent Mg kits.1500 is a bit high, but I really don’t think Mg is something that you would need to worry about being too high. If it’s below 1200 though, Calcium uptake by your coral becomes virtually impossible.

 

[kharmaguru]

I’ve been using brightwell dry magnesium. It’s a blend of MgCl and Mg SO3…mostly because the lfs has it marked down trying to get rid of it.

Does that stuff precipitate when you mix it?. I know RHF always said to mix chloride and sulphate separately and then mix together to minimize other compounds forming.

 

[Dustin07]

the pictures I posted yesterday from my phone looked a lot better then, than they do now on desktop lol

 

[T Diddy]

Does that stuff precipitate when you mix it?. I know RHF always said to mix chloride and sulphate separately and then mix together to minimize other compounds forming.

I honestly can’t say that I’ve really noticed. When I add it, I mix the Mg solution into the overflow.

 

[Dustin07]

I think I have been very lucky the past 2 years that my corals have historically done very well. The more I learn and dig in, the better results I get. But I have historically mostly "broadcast" fed my corals and only recently took to really direct spot feeding them. I'm curious to see how large of chunks my BTA can take. Watching a BTA consume food is pretty cool.

People seem to be really 50/50 on the direct feed vs keeping the whole tank fed, but the direct feeding has definitely been like giving my corals steroids.