dosing with calcium?

hope it is not a dumb question! I am setting up my 72 gallon as a lps dominated tank. I will have some zoanthids and mushrooms but no sps at all. so to the point do I need to dose a lps/sofftie tank with calcium?

 

Keep an eye on your ca levels. Test ca every other day for a week or two. See how much it drops, if at all. My guess would be you won't need to dose anything.
What's your ca normally?

 

bump, watching im curious to setting up a LPS tank to

 

If you keep up with water changes, generally your calcium and trace elements should be replenished in the setup you described. But if you want to encourage strong coraline algae growth, and LPS coral growth you may want to test your calcium to make sure it is kept around 400-450ppm.

 

Test not only for Calcium, but Alkalinity and Magnesium as well.

 

Not a dumb question whatsoever.

Although sps are the big milk consumers, lps have skeletons and also use calcium. Perhaps you could do this: 24 hours after a water change check your calc., mag., and alk. Check them again 2-3 days later and see if there is a difference; check them again 5-6 days later. By doing this you will get a pretty good idea of how much calcium your tank is using and also see if your other levels are remaining stable. If there is little change then you're good with just healthy, consistent water changes. Conversely, if they are noticeably dropping then you'll need to supplement.

Key point: Don't add anything unless you know what your levels are---this is important.

 

You say LPS dominated tank. You can have one coral or 50 corals. There is a big difference in calcium and alkalinity depletion between one and the other. The more corals you have the more it will be depleted. How much? The only way to know is testing.

I have a big Frogspawn in my tank that depletes calcium and alkalinity like any SPS.

 

This is an excellent point. As so often said in this hobby, it depends. I too am going through similar questions but for a freshwater tank. And as I was appropriately advised, every tank is different.

 

Very well stated- every tank is different.

Lighting, feeding, and nutrient levels will determine the rate of growth for LPS corals, and growth rate will determine the usage of ca, mag, and alk.

As already mentioned, frequent testing is the only way to know if dosing will be necessary for your tank.