Dosing for soft coral

[ianmphua]

Hi, i’m starting off my tank with a few frags of simple soft coral before i move on to lps in the distant future (I am especially keen on zoanthids). I was wondering if any soft coral keepers dose their tanks with supplements like calcium? I know soft corals are not very sensitive but i have heard that they still need good levels of calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity for their exoskeleton. Any insight and advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

 

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[Guest]

It really depends on your water volume and how much corals you have. If you do plenty of water changes or i say frequently, they might not need dosing a all.


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[jonanaz]

44 minutes ago, ianmphua said:

 

Hi, i’m starting off my tank with a few frags of simple soft coral before i move on to lps in the distant future (I am especially keen on zoanthids). I was wondering if any soft coral keepers dose their tanks with supplements like calcium? I know soft corals are not very sensitive but i have heard that they still need good levels of calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity for their exoskeleton. Any insight and advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

 

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Hello! I'm a beginner too with mainly soft corals in my tank and a few LPS and SPS. I agree with what Willy has mentioned about water change as the main source of nutrient replenishment. I started dosing dkh supplements about 2 weeks back because I have some small SPS and LPS frags, who require more nutrients to build their calcium carbonate skeleton and my dkh level was still a little bit low after water changes. I considered the easy way of dosing 1 part supplements, but upon further research and talking to other reefers, I realised its better to dose individual supplements depending on your tank's needs so that you can control how much nutrients you are adding into your tank. 

I think they key is to test! Don't dose anything you are not testing as it could cause swings in your parameters. Also research about which supplements are suitable for your tank! 

Hope this helps! I'm learning along the way too! Welcome to the hobby!!

Edited August 23, 2020 by jonanaz

[Guest]

Hello! I'm a beginner too with mainly soft corals in my tank and a few LPS and SPS. I agree with what Willy has mentioned about water change as the main source of nutrient replenishment. I started dosing dkh supplements about 2 weeks back because I have some small SPS and LPS frags, who require more nutrients to build their calcium carbonate skeleton and my dkh level was still a little bit low after water changes. I considered the easy way of dosing 1 part supplements, but upon further research and talking to other reefers, I realised its better to dose individual supplements depending on your tank's needs so that you can control how much nutrients you are adding into your tank. 
I think they key is to test! Don't dose anything you are not testing as it could cause swings in your parameters. Also research about which supplements are suitable for your tank! 
Hope this helps! I'm learning along the way too! Welcome to the hobby!!

Show him the before and after dosing photo And yes dosing might be a hassle, long run will benefit the corals and you as you can frag out and trade if it grow fast hahaaha.


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