Saturday, August 31, 2013

Red Sea System-

So I decided to go to the next level and try the Red Sea System to help out on my tank.  Currently I'm dosing Aquamaxx A & B, but I wanted to incorporate something else as my corals are looking dull and not to full in color. 
Since I have a medium stock aquarium i get issues with nitrates and phosphates.  So my 1st concerns on the list was to get rid of my nitrates and reduce phosphates.  That way I can get healthy growth and I really don't want to experience any algae at the moment. The Red Sea NO3:PO4-X is a great additive that uses organic elements and "unique complex of carbons" as stated by Red Sea, or in another words this is similar to vodka dosing. This will reduce excess nutrients in your system(nitrates and phosphates) I won't get into details or physics on the breakdown.  I started using this application with a small amount of 3.5 ml per day(the directions indicate to use 3ml per every 25gl. If nitrate level is above 10ppm, anything less than 10ppm will between 1-2ml per every 25gl).  Within the 4th day i saw results that my nitrates and phosphates had reduce to zero or close to zero.   After bringing down my nitrates and phosphates I followed up with my 10% weekly water change. (a healthy tank means happy corals) 

 I love giving my corals a wide variety of foods.  I'm the type of hobbyist that likes to baby my corals, NO one food for the rest of the week...psshhhh I provide my corals with a variety of mix foods from Coral Frenzy, Reef Nutrition, H2O Frozen cubes, Reef-Roids, oyster feast and so on.  Like all animals they require additional supplementation and vitamins, what better choice than to provide my corals the Red Sea Energy A and B supplement.  The Reef Energy A consist of carbohydrates, Amino acids, fatty acids and suspended protein flocks and the Reef Energy B will consist of Vitamins and Amino Acids.  I add 2ml 3 times a week to my tank.(manufacturer states to add 1ml per every 25gl daily for soft corals, 2ml per every 25gl daily for either LPS and SPS corals.  I don't add daily as I mentioned I like to give a variety of food to my corals I don't want to have excessive nutrients in the tank.  Overdosing of the Reef Energy A & B can develop a grey/brown bio-film on the live rocks and outbreaks of algae.  Under signs of under-dosing in a low nutrient system will result in  bleaching of the corals from the base upwards.

Since I do 10% water change on my tank every week, I add the Red Sea Colors A,B,C,D in between the week. I carefully test my Iron, Iodine, Potassium levels to make sure I'm dosing the correct amount.  Please note that this are also very important elements to maintain a nice vibrant color on your corals.  So far the program has worked really great on my system and plan on continuing using it.
Here are a couple of sample pics.
before  
      after

before  
  after