Adding to the topics

tapsmith · 12-01-2003, 09:51 PM

How about alittle poll.

What additives does everyone use for there tanks??
(i.e. Reef Solutions, B-ionic, Marine Snow)

How often do you dose?
(i.e. Daily, Weekly)

Checking what everyone else is doing, and just trying to see if what I do is compriable.

ckreef · 12-01-2003, 10:01 PM

Kent CB --- both parts daily except weekends
Kalkwasser paste addition ---- daily except weekends

Thats everything I add --- no food or nothing else.

tapsmith · 12-01-2003, 10:09 PM

Have you ever used B-ionics?? Or Reef Solutions??

I'm guessing (cause I haven't read everything on your pages yet.) you have reef only no fish.

What does Kent CB do for the tank, and I have read a few things here and there that mention Kalkwasser, but I still don't quite understand what it does. Care to educate us newbies?

The reason I ask is cause it was advised that we use B-ionics and Reef Solutions for the tank. And as of now, our tanks are doing great. I know all my shrooms and zoo's LOVE the Reef Solutions.

Just curious, thanks for your input.

ckreef · 12-02-2003, 02:58 PM

Yes I have just reefs. I am mainly talking about my Minibow 7 Nano.

Kent CB is a two part buffer/calcium addative. Used in equal parts to maintain calcium and Alk levels.

Kalwasser (calcium hydroxide) is also also a type of calcium addative in powder form. There are different ways to dose this into your tank but most people use some type of drip system and add a kalwasser/water in the drip syustem to makeup for evaporation.

My Nano has a high coral count and the LR is 100% encrusted in purple coraline and thus the tank uses calcium like crazy which is why I use both a two part calcium addative and kalkwasser.

I also feel that with regular (10% weekly) water changes no other addatives are needed. Some will agree with that statement but many would probably disagree.

Whitten · 12-03-2003, 09:50 PM

This is a great idea for a thread, as I have some of the very same questions. Currently I am running Araga-Milk, as per the Advice of the nice people over at Capucino Bay in Marietta. I had heard that Kent Tech CB parts A&B were great supliments aswell, but the people at Capucino Bay said that the milw would do the trick. What do ya'll think?

Ha...on a side note, I just did a water change and moved my new feather dusters to homes on the rock. When I did that I had to up rootthem from the sand, and apparently the slippery little bugger slid out of his shell and stayed in the sand. Now my tank has a feather duster sprouting out the bottom.

ckreef · 12-04-2003, 06:11 AM

Depending on the type of feather duster some like it down in the sand. If that is where he wants to be then it might be best to leave him. ALso if he came out of his "shell" (so to speak) then he will probably need the sand to help protect him untill he can form a new one.

I have never used Araga-Milk but many people do. Maybe someone with more expierence using it can give us a run down on exactly what all the benefits of useing it is over using a different type of product (Kent CB ect....).

Whitten · 12-04-2003, 10:39 AM

Well after my water change and treatment of araga-milk last night the feather dusters are very happy and have all settled into their homes. The two in the sand have rooted themselves, and the one in the rock is just chill'n. I noticed quite a bit more life this morning as I found an anemone, a new snail, some brith red beautiful coral looking stuff, and a star fish. Water change and this new frozen phyto-plankton must have gotten them all excited.

sammy33 · 12-04-2003, 09:02 PM

I use Eco Systems Reef Solution for trace dosing (once a week), I use Araga-Might in my top off water (daily), I use Spectra Vital (about once a week or so) and feed the fishies with brine shrimp (live), mysis (frozen) and little dash of Tetra Marine flake food.

Rick O · 12-05-2003, 05:17 AM

In my nano I use B-Ionic. Part A one day and part B the next. Occasionally I'll forget a day. That's all I put in there. No fish though, corals and LR only.

Whitten · 12-05-2003, 10:17 AM

I have a question, how fast should coraline algae grow? And also what is a good indicator that it is growing? I have been treating it with that araga-milk but have no clue as to how to tell if it is growing or not. Another question how long will it take (roughly) for the tank to begin to have coralin algae growth spread? And what are some signs that my coraline algae is not doing well?

tapsmith · 12-05-2003, 03:16 PM

Okay.. So I with stand next to Whitten with that question and bob my head.. <==ya what he said...

I have a bunch of mushrooms, and ever since dosing the tank I noticed that they stand up tall and stretch out wide. There are one or two that form the shape of ...like a tuba... Almost like a funnel. Is this good, or bad?? I have been dosing the tank every other day with B-ionic, and reef-solution.

ckreef · 12-05-2003, 06:56 PM

Tapsmith sounds like evrything is doing fine.

Whitten --- as for the coraline you will just have to notice some where it wasn't before. Usually on plastic filter parts and on the glass in areas where you can't get to clean ect..... It can come in many different colors, purple, pink, blue, green and just about every shade of thoses colors.

How long it takes depends on many factors. My coraline is spreading but at an astonishingly slow rate. I do have fully purple encrusted LR and a bunch of corals so I imagine I use as much calcium as I dump in which is why it is spreading slowly. I currently dose at the highest recommended rate for Kent CB and I also add a good bit of kalkwasser on a daily basis.

The only real way to tell if your adding enough calcium and buffering is to test for both calcium and alkalinity. If they aren't up to snuff then you need to change your addative regime until they are and of course keep them that way.