when to start dosing?

[Wrench]

Going to be adding my live rock/sand to my new SW setup early next week. I wanted to know when do I start dosing any kind of ferts/additives/trace elements for the algaes, sponges, HH's, etc? I have a bottle of Coral Vital that is supposed to promote coraline growth. Also Strontium and Molybdenum. I also have Reef Builder and Reef Advantange from Seachem. All of this came with the tank that I bought used. What should I dose, when should I start and which products do I use? If the products that I have aren't considered acceptable, I'm not against replacing them with better ones. I guess I'm just looking for some sound advice on what I need to add to the tank to keep everything healthy. I'm used to dosing planted FW tanks, I just need to learn the different chemistry and needs of the SW setup. Thanks !!

 

[FreddytheFish]

Just follow the directios on the bottle. As for when to start, I'd say you could start now if you wanted.

 

[Wrench]

Are those items I listed compatable with one another? Am I missing anything?

 

[Squawkbert]

Sounds like you may be missing a test kit

 

[dorkfish]

Sounds like you may be missing a test kit

Yes, if you don't have a the test kit's needed to measure the effects of the dosing, don't dose anything. Otherwise, you ould end up with some seriously messed up water, even if you do follow the manufactuar's instructions exactly. Also note that a lot of pram's are interlinked, meaning that if you dose one substance, your usually gonna have to test for that substance and at least one more substace (eg. if you dose calcium, you have to test for calcium, alkalinity and of course PH).

 

[Wrench]

i have pH, ammonia, nirtate, nitrite, calcium, alkalinity now. You're saying I should get iodine, strontium and molybdenum kits too?

 

[fsn77]

Adding strontium and molybdenum should not be happening very often, as those can be kept up via normal water changes in most tanks if you're using a good quality salt. Iodine can be replenished via water changes, also, but dosing it is beneficial depending on the corals you keep. Depending on the type of iodine you're adding, a test kit for it may or may not be useful. For example, read the possible causes for false readings on the Salifert iodine kit -- time release iodine supplements. If you're using a time release iodine to dose your tank, the kit won't do you much good.

Generally, it's best to only dose what you're testing for. Since you're just starting, you shouldn't need to adjust anything but calcium, alkalinity, and pH. Keeping up with calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium (if you're so inclined, but regular water changes usually magnesium keep levels up) will promote coralline growth. The all-in-one coralline growing products are an overpriced version of normal products you should be testing for and dosing yourself individually as needed.

Nothing good happens quickly in this hobby, but it's easy to quickly cause a large or even disasterous problem.