Trace Elements?

[easperhe]

All,

My 90 gallon tank with 20 gallon sump has been up and running for 6-7 months now. Everything is going pretty well (except for phosphates of ~0.10 ppm - which nothing seems to help including GFO).

But now I'm wondering about trace elements. I use "Red Sea Salt" for water changes (20% every 2 weeks). I was hoping this salt would have enough of the trace elements that I wouldn't have to worry about this.

Should I worry about trace elements? And if so, which ones?

 

[psykobowler]

Not needed with good salt. The only thing I dose now is lugols. Phosphate has to do more on what you feed. Feed less dry foods and more frozen or refrigerated food.

 

[jeffm59]

If you are unsure - it never hurts to test - Red Sea Pro Reef Colors Kit allows you to test for all the important trace elements -- a lot of tanks are actually lacking in iron and potassium - It does affect specific coral colors in the tank. It is bad practice to add trace elements without testing. Overdosing can result in imbalances and toxicity issues so always test before adding.

Nice thing about the Red Sea program is they produce an additive designed to work with their test kit. You test for potassium and if you are low - the tank is also probably low in all the elements that are normally associated with potassium. The Red Sea additives A B C and D include all the elements that are associated with each element that is tested for.

We have always run a display refugium so often the red macroalgaes strip the water of iron and it has affected our coral colors. Normal water changes cant keep up with those special situations. We keep a lot of anemones in our tanks -- they tend to do better with elevated iodine levels so water changes are not going to help in that situation either - but we do want to control that level so we test and then add

 

[Paulca916]

If you are unsure - it never hurts to test - Red Sea Pro Reef Colors Kit allows you to test for all the important trace elements -- a lot of tanks are actually lacking in iron and potassium - It does affect specific coral colors in the tank. It is bad practice to add trace elements without testing. Overdosing can result in imbalances and toxicity issues so always test before adding.

Nice thing about the Red Sea program is they produce an additive designed to work with their test kit. You test for potassium and if you are low - the tank is also probably low in all the elements that are normally associated with potassium. The Red Sea additives A B C and D include all the elements that are associated with each element that is tested for.

We have always run a display refugium so often the red macroalgaes strip the water of iron and it has affected our coral colors. Normal water changes cant keep up with those special situations. We keep a lot of anemones in our tanks -- they tend to do better with elevated iodine levels so water changes are not going to help in that situation either - but we do want to control that level so we test and then add

+1 Good advice Jeff always test first :thumbsup:

 

[easperhe]

OK - I'll probably give the red sea pro color test kit a try and see if I'm low in any elements. I have a Red Encrusting Goniopora that is looking more drab than when I bought it.