Supplements, etc...

[TexasState]

Plate coral have a hard, dish looking plate, covered in corals tissue.

I don't have to worry about top-off, b/c my top-off are on an automatic floatswitch straight from the RO/DI. I do have nightmare about the switch failing and turning my saltwater tank into a freshwater tank. :o

Btwn Sleepless night and having to worry about topping off. I choose Sleepless night b/c I can always take sleeping pills. :roll:

[Sherri]

The lugging of water is the pits. I will definitely look into this. It really is a hassle.

The "plate coral" I'm talking about looks exactly like the one in the pic on Pg. 258 of "Aquarium Corals" by Borneman - color also. Can see a spot in the center of it even tho they are still small.

I will definitely be coming to this next meeting. When Mike (Aqar Sales & Ser) helped get me started in this, it was when they where closing. Kinda went into shock for a while - me not the tank. :o I've been doing africans for about 13 yrs - but this was all so new to me.

Really appreciate all the feedback. Mike had suggested I get involved. really glad to see MAAST up & running. :beer:

[Chuck]

I do add a decent load of Iodine to keep my xenia reproducing..
I think the bottom line is dont fix what isnt broken... but depending on what you are trying to do you may need to add a few things to produce a desired result..
I have an RO/DI unit and I change out about 10% every two weeks or so. I have (2) 48 gl cans that I store pre-mix in one and fresh in the other. I circulate and adjust the temp 24hrs prior to the salt change. For top off I just put in when needed. The next morning I run all the normal test and bump the calcium or Ph up if needed....
Seems to work fine for me as the Xenia are showing up all over. The other corals have steady growth and seem to be fine....

[dow]

Sherri,

I'll second the vote for the system from airwaterice.com. I also got the home/reef system. I'd recommend, however that you opt for the 75 or 100 gallon per day membrane, as it takes a while if you're filling water jugs as I do.

That said, the folks there are great to work with, and they have a very good product. Installation instructions are very straightforward, and easy to understand.

[Tim Marvin]

Trace elements are TRACE elements. I no longer add any extras to my tanks. The regime is too time consuming and does nothing for the tank. I have used probably every additive know to man in the past as well as medical grade lugols solution. I have found I was treating myself and not the tank. Now I just run a refugium, water changes, and Kalkwasser drips. The tanks stay very stable and no more problems or hassles with forgetting additives. In conclusion, I don't beleive there is any advantage to adding more junk to the tank other than routine water changes and Kalkwasser.
I do run a calcium reactor on the propagation system but, only because it was hard to keep up the calcium levels with hundreds of corals and clams in this system. It was actually too high before I added the big clams. Calcium is now in the 525 range.