Additives that please?

I'm about to add a coral to my tank. Know I do have a toodstool and a nice group of 4 polyps (not sure of the kind yet) that happen to just show up after a short time. They would have to came on the LR. Know all of my numbers are doing great. Almost to good to be true being this is my first tank ever. Nitrates 0, Ca 420 ect...

What I'm wondering is, what all do you feed, supument, or add to your water to insure that you corals are happy? At the moment all I'm doing is feeding my fish (2 clowns, yellow tang, watchman gobbie) and maintaning good numbers, such as nitrates, salt, ph, ect...

Btw I'm not sure what coral I'm wanting to add. I just know it's going to somthing cool and for a begginer.

Thanks

 

Start by keeping your calc at around 420, mag around 1300 and alkalinity around 3-4 (dKH around 10). Water changes should take care of the other minerals needed.

 

Yeah, all those additives you see being sold are great items, that's for sure, as long as you are the one making the money selling them.
If you don't buy them, and just do reasonable water changes, you can buy a lot more livestock with the money you save.

 

additives to a reef tank? it depends on what your keeping and how much of it. frequent water changes with a good salt that provides the needs of your corals may be all you need. I 2-part dose but i only do a 25% water change every 2 weeks and have a good amount of LPS and some soft corals. im positive that water changes alone wont provide enough of the needed elements for my corals to live long term. in terms of additional food additives I DO use a couple of off the shelf brand name "coral foods", i dont remember what they are called but one adds plankton and the other adds some more trace elements the 2-part lacks in. I add these in the tank maybe once a week in small quantities and unsure of their effect So as rayjay points out there are additives that you may or may not rly need but the two $7ish bottles of coral food has lasted me about 6 months so im content with price/reward ration.

 

Well I'm sorry if I left you with the impression that I felt there were additives that you do need, (may or may not) but in fact, I was making a facetious attempt to convey the fact that additives are NOT needed by most hobbyists if regular water changes are done. (other than the basics of calcium, magnesium and alkalinity boosters)
Other than that, in 17 years the only additive you might say that I use or have used would be phyto, which I have replaced now with additions of gut loaded rotifers which I personally feel work much better for coral and microlife feeding.
However, it is just my opinion and you and others having different experiences obviously will differ in opinion on the matter.

 

Hello, here ia post from awhile back in response to suppliments. I am a believer in amino acids and trace elements. here is my other post;

Respectfully.........I do not believe any salt mix can adequately sustain Iodine in the amount needed for tanks requiring it. If someone does monthly water changes, depending also on how much they change out, the slight amount of Iodine in a few gallons of new water will not significantly raise the Iodine to bring it to proper saturation usable by the creatures requiring it and sustain this for a month until the next change. Smaller weekly changes will do even less. To further prove this, if water changes could raise Iodine levels to any significance, everyone should be testing for Iodine. Is everyone? No, hardly anyone is. Who mixes a batch of water and then tests their tank for Iodine and the batch to make sure they aren't overdosing?
To burst a myth believed by many, water changes have their place but in no way contribute to over all water quality as much as the biological filtration of the tank and sustaining the elements required by supplementation when needed.

 

You may be interested in what the reef chemistry experts Randy Holmes-Farley and Boomer have to say about Iodine in a recent thread.
They have repeatedly stated for years now in many threads, that other than exceptional situations, dosing of any form of iodine is not needed and that our salt mixes usually exceed levels found in NSW.
Iodine dosing information help separate facts from good marketing!! - Reef Central Online Community

 

Info; From; Practical Fishkeeping

Is it worth dosing my reef tank with iodine?

Copyright © Mila Zinkova, Creative Commons

Iodine used to be regularly dosed by reefkeepers a few years ago, but is it still considered a beneficial supplement? Jake Adams gives his opinion.

In the late to mid 1990s, a reef aquarist was not worth his or her weight in salt if they couldn’t tell the difference between iodine, iodide and iodate. Any reef coral was sure to imminently perish if not regularly provided with iodine in some form.

Nowadays, aquarists use higher quality salts, two-part additives and Balling methods which all have some form of iodine included for the benefit of all reef life, including corals, fish and invertebrates.

For an average reef aquarium, the amount of iodine added through some basic husbandry routines is generally enough to satisfy the demands of all the inhabitants there.

Adding a little iodine is generally perceived to have some benefit to all reef life across the board, but adding it becomes more critical when dealing with certain groups of high concentration marine life.

Aquariums with a high density of macroalgae, coralline algae, crustaceans or soft corals have a higher demand for iodine and owners of these types should be adding iodine more frequently than usual.

As you can see, all aquariums have different needs. No blanket statement covers everything.

 

Well, it comes down to who you put your faith in, but for my money, Randy with his credentials certainly has it all over Jake Adams, and especially when dealing with water chemistry. Maybe his information will be better when he finishes his schooling.
The statement in Bold in your post is absolutely not true!!
There is no indication or proof that any of the mentioned items need more iodine that would be found in most reefs today, without additions.
As Randy says though, there are certain types of gorgonians that would benefit from iodine additions.
I've not dosed iodine in 17 years and I have all of your mentioned things in my numerous tanks.
All systems ARE different, but again, few have needs of iodine additions!