You should at least do one ICP test a year or so after your new tank is up and running to get a baseline of your now maturing tank. And definitely get an ICP done when there's a problem you can't solve...not even with full water changes. I could not grow any corals in my first tank for some reason. CA ALk Mg test kits all showed everything was ok. I did water changes still no results. I finally did an ICP test for the first time that revealed tin levels were off the scale. So I began checking all my gear...nothing was rusting in the sump, my vortech were fine. I finally realized it was coming from the mounting arms for my Kessils. I hated the goose neck style kessil mounts, so I bought the Aquatic Life Halo mounting arms. The once black mounting brackets, which were partially submerged at the water line, had turned silver after the salt water had removed the black finish and was corroding. I removed the brackets, full water change, and another ICP afterwards showed Tin levels (Sn) were zero. Corals were no longer dying. If you don't know what's wrong, you won't know where to begin looking for the problem. The best $50 bucks I ever spent!
I’ve been using Reef Labs since April ‘22. Their sister company Reef Master helped me and said the same thing, start with salinity. Potassium was my downfall as well. I mix my Reef Blue Pint elements in a 1500mil container and dose for 30days, then send my results out after that.
Really good discussion. I'd encourage you guys to go look at "Liebig's Law of the Minimum", which is a nearly 200 year old agricultural concept still in use today, which helped inform the modern concept of "limiting rate". Now the elements don't match exact, coral's have different needs than terrestrial plant's, but the concept applies. While there is no fixed ratio for the growth of these organisms, both coral and zooxanthellae are effected by the limiting rate of whatever the lowest critical element is. That is what ICP does for you. It gives you insight into any potential limiting rate elements your corals may need to synthesize. Hypothetically, it may only need 1 of an element for the growth of a given cell type; but if 0 are available, growth of that tissue stops. If it needs 2; but only 1 is available, you have cut the growth rate in half. Start diversifying into more than just coral: add a clam, macro algae's in the display or a scrubber/refugium, or start considering your diverse bacteria's.. congratulations you created even more competition for a wider array of elements. ICP is insight into all those elements needed in minute amounts, and that are either too difficult or impossible to test for at home. But I agree, the smaller the tank, the more sense it makes to just do a water change. The break even point is likely well over 100 gallons and above. ICP is also phenomenal to detect any element at a toxic level, which is abnormal but not unheard-of.
For salinity, different methods are measuring different properties of salt water, such as conductivity, specific gravity, optical properties, they are not supposed to be giving the same results.
FlatwormStop does work. I blow off my corals every week and before I was using I would find 1 or 2 in my tank. After using FS, I haven’t seen any. I assume they starved because they couldn’t penetrate the skin.
Montiporas are eating potassium like crazy. I had the same experience as mark with my tank/montis....dosing potassium turned the tank 180 degrees within 3 days.
I've used it once on a small system (29 gallon overall) and it was like everyone else's results (iodine deficiency, strontium, etc). Not very needed on small system imo. Total price wasn't 40$. It's 40$ + 15$ + taxes (Canada Post shipping) roughly over 60$ overall. Was it worth it? Wasn't on my end and would not not try it again.
Iv been leaving the pill in my hanna test tubes for over a year and it makes no difference pill in or pill out. I thought the same thing so I tested it and got the same reading
You should at least do one ICP test a year or so after your new tank is up and running to get a baseline of your now maturing tank. And definitely get an ICP done when there's a problem you can't solve...not even with full water changes. I could not grow any corals in my first tank for some reason. CA ALk Mg test kits all showed everything was ok. I did water changes still no results. I finally did an ICP test for the first time that revealed tin levels were off the scale. So I began checking all my gear...nothing was rusting in the sump, my vortech were fine. I finally realized it was coming from the mounting arms for my Kessils. I hated the goose neck style kessil mounts, so I bought the Aquatic Life Halo mounting arms. The once black mounting brackets, which were partially submerged at the water line, had turned silver after the salt water had removed the black finish and was corroding. I removed the brackets, full water change, and another ICP afterwards showed Tin levels (Sn) were zero. Corals were no longer dying.
If you don't know what's wrong, you won't know where to begin looking for the problem. The best $50 bucks I ever spent!
I’ve been using Reef Labs since April ‘22. Their sister company Reef Master helped me and said the same thing, start with salinity. Potassium was my downfall as well. I mix my Reef Blue Pint elements in a 1500mil container and dose for 30days, then send my results out after that.
Really good discussion.
I'd encourage you guys to go look at "Liebig's Law of the Minimum", which is a nearly 200 year old agricultural concept still in use today, which helped inform the modern concept of "limiting rate". Now the elements don't match exact, coral's have different needs than terrestrial plant's, but the concept applies.
While there is no fixed ratio for the growth of these organisms, both coral and zooxanthellae are effected by the limiting rate of whatever the lowest critical element is.
That is what ICP does for you. It gives you insight into any potential limiting rate elements your corals may need to synthesize.
Hypothetically, it may only need 1 of an element for the growth of a given cell type; but if 0 are available, growth of that tissue stops. If it needs 2; but only 1 is available, you have cut the growth rate in half.
Start diversifying into more than just coral: add a clam, macro algae's in the display or a scrubber/refugium, or start considering your diverse bacteria's.. congratulations you created even more competition for a wider array of elements.
ICP is insight into all those elements needed in minute amounts, and that are either too difficult or impossible to test for at home.
But I agree, the smaller the tank, the more sense it makes to just do a water change. The break even point is likely well over 100 gallons and above.
ICP is also phenomenal to detect any element at a toxic level, which is abnormal but not unheard-of.
For salinity, different methods are measuring different properties of salt water, such as conductivity, specific gravity, optical properties, they are not supposed to be giving the same results.
FlatwormStop does work. I blow off my corals every week and before I was using I would find 1 or 2 in my tank. After using FS, I haven’t seen any. I assume they starved because they couldn’t penetrate the skin.
How important are “minor” trace elements in our systems? The majority of our sps have never been in NSW ratios.
Montiporas are eating potassium like crazy. I had the same experience as mark with my tank/montis....dosing potassium turned the tank 180 degrees within 3 days.
I've used it once on a small system (29 gallon overall) and it was like everyone else's results (iodine deficiency, strontium, etc). Not very needed on small system imo. Total price wasn't 40$. It's 40$ + 15$ + taxes (Canada Post shipping) roughly over 60$ overall. Was it worth it? Wasn't on my end and would not not try it again.
Iv been leaving the pill in my hanna test tubes for over a year and it makes no difference pill in or pill out. I thought the same thing so I tested it and got the same reading
Reef Labs doesn’t test Flouride. I talked to Gene about it. Also, I dose my trace in a gallon jug over weeks as Chris does.
Hey, my first time watching. Who are the presenters? One is a Mark? And the other? I wanted to know if the Mark guy has his own channel? Thanks :)
I'm also looking for Mark's channel
Has anyone found Marks channel?
Not yet...
Lucky here in Canada, they ship ice cream with heat packs 😂
lol