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omedman 
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 Topic: Retail Vitamin reef foods?
Posted: March 28 2010 at 5:57pm |
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Are any of the chemical reef foods in the bottles worth it? Has anyone had luck with the color, and health of things like Zoanthids, SPS, etc...?
Edited by omedman - March 28 2010 at 6:00pm
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 28 2010 at 10:08pm |
Yes they do have some value, but to get into this kind of discussion and properly answer your question, first we need to know:
How familiar are you with Alkalinity and Calcium in a reef aquarium?
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bugzme
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Posted: March 28 2010 at 11:37pm |
I use alot of them I use fuel for all my tanks
Edited by bugzme - March 28 2010 at 11:38pm
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Jeff
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I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!!
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omedman
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Posted: March 29 2010 at 11:06pm |
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I'll be honest, I watch Calcium levels, but am a bit confused by the Alkalinity. Is it a direct correlation to pH?
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 30 2010 at 2:24am |
Go here http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 and read what that says about Alkalinity and then read some more.
The pH will very likely be just fine when Alk is good and when Alkalinity and Calcium are good and you are doing monthly 10% water changes, there is very little need for anything else, but the people that want to make some money by selling you the extra additives will tell you another story.  I used to grow coral for a living. I know what I'm talking about.  |
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CapnMorgan
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Posted: March 30 2010 at 4:21am |
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I agree with Mark, but for different reasons. Alk is the measure of how well your water can absorb or buffer the effects of CO2 and other acidic compounds left by the breakdown of excess food and waste so it isn't a measure of pH, but more a gauge for how stable it is. On the subject of coral foods and growth: Calcium, Mg, Iodine, Strontium, etc will all affect the growth rate of your corals, but these are mostly replaced by the water changes. However I do get better growth out of my corals when I feed them phyto, liquid amino acids, or some other form of nutrition.
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Steve My Old 180G Mixed ReefCurrently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: March 30 2010 at 11:45am |
Corals are like any other animal, they need food to live. Light isn't enough most of the time.
For example, there was a time when all of my corals were growing nicely and then one day it is like everything stopped. My parameters were in range and I was doing water changes. For about 2 weeks nothing grew. I started adding Fuel by AquaVitro and WHAM! everything took off. Every branch on my SPS started showing new growth and my acans were HUGE.
So yes, the vitamin, fatty acid supplements do aid in growth but your other parameters need to be in line.
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bugzme
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Posted: March 30 2010 at 1:00pm |
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I really like the effects of fuel! only use 1/2 of what's recommended
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Jeff
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I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!!
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omedman
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Posted: March 30 2010 at 2:49pm |
Great info. Great resources
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Jeremyw
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Posted: March 30 2010 at 4:27pm |
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Why only 1/2?
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 30 2010 at 4:59pm |
Probably because the manufaturer wants you to use more than you need so you will buy twice as much.
One of the things I always forget to mention is that my coral growing was done in the sun. It was amazing how well and how much variety of stuff grew in the sun, including phytoplankton and zooplankton which were food for coral.
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bugzme
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Posted: March 30 2010 at 5:11pm |
Mark hit the nail on the head! 
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Jeff
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I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!!
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omedman
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Posted: March 31 2010 at 9:30am |
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The Coral that grew in the sun, was in St. George or Hawaii? If you don't mind, was it outside, or in a window, or what?
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 31 2010 at 2:24pm |
In an East facing window, in Bountiful, three years ago, before I got married and moved to St. George. I've posted a link to pics in a thread. I'll go add some pics to bump that into the recent threads for you.
Sometimes it hurts real bad to be out of the coral growing business.  I had a place where folks from this MB could come over to visit, watch the aquariums, be amazed at the amount of life growing there and talk fish until I fell asleep.
Edited by Mark Peterson - March 31 2010 at 2:29pm
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Pete Moss
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Posted: April 01 2010 at 1:49pm |
I use "fuel" in my tanks. But only in very small amounts to give a slight boost. I just use them to maintain my mineral levels so fewer water changes are needed :) I like trusting in Live Rock to do my filtration, and try to keep water changes to a minimal level. No point taking out good water.
While I do think they're worth it to some extent, I do not think its worth it to buy them at full price. Look around see what deals you can get. Bulk stores instead of your LFS can have them for much cheaper. I've got tons of MG, Calcium supplements, and trace element supplements for 3-4 dollars a bottle that I picked up. They would be like 20 bucks a pop at your LFS.
Edited by Pete Moss - April 01 2010 at 2:00pm
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