added "kent marine supplement" and inverts died

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Azimiut

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Dec 12, 2002
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yesturday I added the kent marine liquid calcium and the Strontium and Molybdenum supplement and liquid calcium supplement and it killed my two camel shrimp, two out of four hermits and my bristle star is acting funny. three arms are broken off half way down the arm and he is out in full light which is unusual. I put 2ml in the tank of both, its a 37gal, and it recomends 5ml for 50 gal.
is something off balance or does this stuff hurt more than it helps? it was recomended to me by the lfs to help coraline growth and general color in the tank.
 
I use Kent products regularly on my 10 gallon and have not had any problems. I definitely use their Strontium and Molybdenum, but it so happens that the calcium supplement I use is Seachem Reef Complete, not Kent. All my other supplements are Kent.

I am very sorry for what is happening to your tank. Maybe you should have the calcium supplement analyzed. Good luck with the hermits and star.
 
Hard to say what the problem is. Too much calcium is rarely a problem, but strontium can be toxic in high doses. Have you been testing so that you know you need to add these? My rule is that I don't add what I don't test for.
 
Testing for calcium - yes. Testing for strontium - ehh, maybe. How did you test for Mo? The only Mo test kits I know of are lab grade ones like LaMotte or Hach.

There are a zillion supplements out there but for the vast majority of reef tanks all you really need to monitor and dose on a regular basis is calcium and alkalinity.
 
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did you mix the doses with a few cups of water and then slowly add it to the tank? my inverts tend to go bonkers and release "stress goobers" if I just dump a dose in. Especially if the levels are low. Calcium is good for a tank, but can also cause problems if you suddenly add a dose while your tank isn't used to it.

Best to dilute it by mixing it first, then slowly add it so that the system isn't shocked. Same goes for all supplements, shocking the system isn't good and will result in stressed critters or death.

One of the great ones here once said "only bad things happen quickly in a marine tank"... the same applies for the supposedly 'good' things if they are added too quickly.
 
I don't add any supplements at all......I use balance blocks and add one at a time that slowly dissolves. I use the small ones and have a 75g. I wonder if they supply enough as I only measure the ak and calcium which stay at 9 and 400-420. I noticed a hermit crab parked on a block the other day and nothing happened to him so I figure the blocks aren't that bad. Any opinions?
 
Crown Royal said:
Testing for calcium - yes. Testing for strontium - ehh, maybe. How did you test for Mo? The only Mo test kits I know of are lab grade ones like LaMotte or Hach.
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The question on testing was somewhat rhetorical. My understanding is that hobbyist Sr test kits are pretty inaccurate.

There are a zillion supplements out there but for the vast majority of reef tanks all you really need to monitor and dose on a regular basis is calcium and alkalinity.
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Couldn't agree more.

I will backpedal a little about the toxicity of Sr, though. Although I recalled having read that excess Sr irritates corals and is toxic to invertebrates, I went back and read Randy H-F's article about Sr and found that there is not a lot of evidence for that statement.
 
well its too late, the star, two shrimp, and one fire fish are gone. everything else is ok, I think it was just a shock factor. like said, the system was not ready for it. and I did not dilute it, but I did not just pour it in. i kinda dribbled it into the flow of water. I will lat the system recover, do a couple of water changes, then maybe get a new shrimp to start my cleaning crew back up.
 
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