is this really gonna help?

i have just been using regular instant Ocean reef salt for the past year on my reef tank. needless to say, my SPS hasnt had much growth EVER. ive even lost some SPS. my LPS will grow but not like they should. softies are great. so i know its ALK and Calcium Prob.

my frogspawn isnt branching, just growing more mouths.
my Rose millepora has some growth tips but no growth.
Acans arent growing at all
all softies are growing
blue tork acro looks like its dying.
clam is doing good, cant really tell if its grown or not :/
Anemone is fine.

i just bought a 25 gallon bag of Reef Crystals. im hoping that this will help with my growth problems. but now that im reading, it looks like it isnt much different than the regular IO stuff. did i just waste my money?

i dont have test kits for calcium, ALK, DKH, MAG, or anything besides trites, trates, Ph, Ammo. sorry.

 

Gexx--you probably knew what many of us would say, so I'll say it first. There is absolutely, positively, no way you can attribute your issues to alkalinity or calcium levels, when you don't know what these levels are.

If you feel in your heart that this is the culprit; then the sensible course of action would be to get these two items in proper proportion, and level. How do you do this?

Test kits. (you knew that all along, didn't ya?)

Good luck, buddy.

 

reef crystals has more calcium in it than instant ocean. You can tell if your clam is growing by looking at its shell. at the tip of the shell will be white which would be new growth.

 

well said sparkmeister. you really need to get those gexx. but in regards to the reef crystals. thats what ive used, and ive found it to be a ery good mix. seems to put the good amounts of what we need back into the water. but as sparly said, get some tests. even if its just a bit at a time on your budget. even tho a 1 time buy is better economically. good luck gexx

guy

 

alright ill get that soon.

 

I want a full report on my desk by 8am. As you were. ;D

 

Bump...I have the same question.

I've used IO for years and I'm almost done with my latest 5 gallon bucket.
I recently began dosing the aquavitro line by seachem and I'm having good results. First I brought my magnesium up then calcium followed. Dkh is 10, ph 8.0-8.2.
I'm hoping to get the same results with better salt but I don't know if reef crystals or another salt and regular water changes will totaly absolve the need to dose. So ya, bump

 

regular water changes do definitely help with keepin levels where you want them. but also it dependant if you have calcium pigs of coral or clams , that use it up quickly. may need to dose to keep up there.

 

Ha looks like no bump was needed
Seriously agree with testing and dosing properly though. Guess I my question was just wishful pondering

 

some of the better salt mixes have higher levels to start with , for certain

but some reefers prefer to buy the bulk salt mixes and then increase the levels of Mag and Calc etc to where they want them using bulk product
that way you get a salt mix at your desired levels and save some cost

my experience has been that with a tank full of softies and LPS corals, using weekly 5% water changes my levels varied very little

but as the number of SPS frags and colonies increased and the resulting growth of these species, I found that my levels would drop over the course of a week unless I compensated for this utilisation

I do know that if I had blindly followed the begginners instructions on the product I was using, without testing , then my levels would have dropped below the acceptable minimums by now , simply because my demand on a weekly basis, was greater than the beginners instructions of how much to add , would have compensated for.

I tested twice weekly for a 4 week period ( probably excessive Ill admit) in order that combined with using the 3 reef calculator , I was able to work out exactly how much each level would drop on a daily basis, and then use the correct amount of additive to compensate for that , on a daily basis
which means I would never be in danger of increasing levels to rapidly either (Im only adding whats being removed)

Steve