Reef AB+ in Fluval 13.5 dosing question

[Glass Algae]

Was gifted some reef ab by a friend and want to start using it a bit as my tank has more Corals in it. Here's a stock list.

1 sinularia (fully extended about 7 inches tall)
1 devils hand leather (2.5 inches around roughly)
5 zoa frag plugs each with 5 polyps or more
1 photosynthetic gorgonian about 5 inches tall 8 branches.
1 2-inch patch of GSP on the sump wall
1 neon green toadstool (unsure of how big because it has yet to fully engorge)
1 half inch Monti (it was a gift in a frag pack I didn't want sps this early)

For food wise I feed hikari s pellets for my clown and cleaner shrimp as well as mysis as a "nutrient up" for my water column and clown.

I recently started exclusively feeding mysis as my snails are plowing through the algae and I'm seeing Nas snails come up and explore. I assume they're running out of food so I've tried to propagate some more algae.

Also for reference my tank is just coming up on 6 months.

Any idea how much I should dose my fluval 13.5 with reef ab with info provided?

Much love reefers!

 

[dbjonesjr]

Do you test for nitrates? If so I’d start with the recommended amount and keep track of your nitrates so they don’t get out of hand. Otherwise I’d not dose without testing. If they stay low, you can increase dosage. If they rise too high, decrease dosage.

 

[terraincognita]

Was gifted some reef ab by a friend and want to start using it a bit as my tank has more Corals in it. Here's a stock list.

1 sinularia (fully extended about 7 inches tall)
1 devils hand leather (2.5 inches around roughly)
5 zoa frag plugs each with 5 polyps or more
1 photosynthetic gorgonian about 5 inches tall 8 branches.
1 2-inch patch of GSP on the sump wall
1 neon green toadstool (unsure of how big because it has yet to fully engorge)
1 half inch Monti (it was a gift in a frag pack I didn't want sps this early)

For food wise I feed hikari s pellets for my clown and cleaner shrimp as well as mysis as a "nutrient up" for my water column and clown.

I recently started exclusively feeding mysis as my snails are plowing through the algae and I'm seeing Nas snails come up and explore. I assume they're running out of food so I've tried to propagate some more algae.

Also for reference my tank is just coming up on 6 months.

Any idea how much I should dose my fluval 13.5 with reef ab with info provided?

Much love reefers!

your nas snails will most likely always emerge during feeding.

I've never seen them not. I wouldn't use that as a sign of hunger. all saltwater pets IME are opportunistic feeders.

re: the dosing just follow the instructions however, I tend to chop them in half for nano tanks under 40G.

Especially in smaller tanks 10-20G.

what I mean by that is for example if the dosing is 20ML per 100G.

I wouldn't daily dose 2ML in 1 10G i'd dose 1ML in a 10G daily.

But then again I'm also weird and I'd probably do 2 ML every other day instead of 1ML a day.

If you look at my 10G thread you can see my feeding and dosing habits. Everything is happy so far.

 

[Glass Algae]

Do you test for nitrates? If so I’d start with the recommended amount and keep track of your nitrates so they don’t get out of hand. Otherwise I’d not dose without testing. If they stay low, you can increase dosage. If they rise too high, decrease dosage.

Yes I test nitrates, they are usually pinned between 5 and 10 respectively
This is what I figured. Already planned to over test a bit after I started dosing to check trates, my Phos has been pinned at .01

your nas snails will most likely always emerge during feeding.

I've never seen them not. I wouldn't use that as a sign of hunger. all saltwater pets IME are opportunistic feeders.

re: the dosing just follow the instructions however, I tend to chop them in half for nano tanks under 40G.

Especially in smaller tanks 10-20G.

what I mean by that is for example if the dosing is 20ML per 100G.

I wouldn't daily dose 2ML in 1 10G i'd dose 1ML in a 10G daily.

But then again I'm also weird and I'd probably do 2 ML every other day instead of 1ML a day.

If you look at my 10G thread you can see my feeding and dosing habits. Everything is happy so far.

The only reason I took it as a sign of hunger is when I got all my snails I was on the downside of my initial algae bloom and the snails killed it in a week now my tank looks fairly "sterile" and the algae is kept under meticulous control since from the snails. As I said above my Phos stays at .01so I figures that in conjunction with my pinned 5 to 10 nitrates was the results of my restrictive feeding as the algae bloomed.

Either way thank you for that info, I knew there would be some fancy tech for Nanos. (I regret going nano )

Do you think reef ab my mysis feedings and hikari is enough for my stock? Or should I maybe grab some reef roids or coral frenzy?

Want to get a few more zoas and let em grow and maybe a scoly which is why I ask about foods.

Much love all!

 

[terraincognita]

Yes I test nitrates, they are usually pinned between 5 and 10 respectively
This is what I figured. Already planned to over test a bit after I started dosing to check trates, my Phos has been pinned at .01



The only reason I took it as a sign of hunger is when I got all my snails I was on the downside of my initial algae bloom and the snails killed it in a week now my tank looks fairly "sterile" and the algae is kept under meticulous control since from the snails. As I said above my Phos stays at .01so I figures that in conjunction with my pinned 5 to 10 nitrates was the results of my restrictive feeding as the algae bloomed.

Either way thank you for that info, I knew there would be some fancy tech for Nanos. (I regret going nano )

Do you think reef ab my mysis feedings and hikari is enough for my stock? Or should I maybe grab some reef roids or coral frenzy?

Want to get a few more zoas and let em grow and maybe a scoly which is why I ask about foods.

Much love all!

great params, whatever you're doing you're keeping just a small amount of phos and nitrates. I wouldn't change anything you're doing outside of starting AB dosing.

with the AB dosing i imagine you'll spike them a little higher, and you should be fine. The corals should take and use those extra nutrients.

Depending on the size and age of your tank, the BB will either grow and you'll have to up dosing or it will stay the same and you can keep dosing as it is. The only way to know this would be to continue testing.

Re: CUC I understand.

a lot of times as well the CUC is just keeping algae under control from blooming again as well, it's a unique balance between CUC death, and too much algae. Time helps figure that out.

 

[Glass Algae]

great params, whatever you're doing you're keeping just a small amount of phos and nitrates. I wouldn't change anything you're doing outside of starting AB dosing.

with the AB dosing i imagine you'll spike them a little higher, and you should be fine.

Depending on the size and age of your tank, the BB will either grow and you'll have to up dosing or it will stay the same and you can keep dosing as it is.

Re: CUC I understand.

a lot of times as well the CUC is just keeping algae under control from blooming again as well, it's a unique balance between CUC death, and too much algae. Time helps figure that out.

Tysm for all the info!! Glad myboarams have stayed very even throughout my tanks life. Havnt had any wierd spikes, I followed light acclimation guides and didn't over stock too quickly and was DILLIGENT in dip procedures for coral.

 

[dbjonesjr]

Yes I test nitrates, they are usually pinned between 5 and 10 respectively
This is what I figured. Already planned to over test a bit after I started dosing to check trates, my Phos has been pinned at .01



The only reason I took it as a sign of hunger is when I got all my snails I was on the downside of my initial algae bloom and the snails killed it in a week now my tank looks fairly "sterile" and the algae is kept under meticulous control since from the snails. As I said above my Phos stays at .01so I figures that in conjunction with my pinned 5 to 10 nitrates was the results of my restrictive feeding as the algae bloomed.

Either way thank you for that info, I knew there would be some fancy tech for Nanos. (I regret going nano )

Do you think reef ab my mysis feedings and hikari is enough for my stock? Or should I maybe grab some reef roids or coral frenzy?

Want to get a few more zoas and let em grow and maybe a scoly which is why I ask about foods.

Much love all!

I think keeping nitrates up above 5 and phosphates between 0.03 and 0.10 is significantly more beneficial than feeding anything in particular as long as your CUC can handle any algae growth due to raised nutrients. I myself and many fellow local reefers have done this with great success in terms of growth and colors. You will likely see good benefit from the addition of AB+, and are safe with nitrates up to 15ppm (that’s just my personal preference for nitrate level).

 

[terraincognita]

Tysm for all the info!! Glad myboarams have stayed very even throughout my tanks life. Havnt had any wierd spikes, I followed light acclimation guides and didn't over stock too quickly and was DILLIGENT in dip procedures for coral.

sounds like you're doing great.

most important is to stay consistent.

If you have great husbandry now, don't let it slack.

The only exception IMO is after a year or so the tank gets more and more mature, and a little more forgiving but dont ever take that for granted.

 

[Glass Algae]

sounds like you're doing great.

most important is to stay consistent.

If you have great husbandry now, don't let it slack.

The only exception IMO is after a year or so the tank gets more and more mature, and a little more forgiving but dont ever take that for granted.

Noted!! I'm ready and in it for the long haul. I'm a glassblower by trade so succeeding from past failures is a STAPLE of my habits now!

I think keeping nitrates up above 5 and phosphates between 0.03 and 0.10 is significantly more beneficial than feeding anything in particular as long as your CUC can handle any algae growth due to raised nutrients. I myself and many fellow local reefers have done this with great success in terms of growth and colors. You will likely see good benefit from the addition of AB+, and are safe with nitrates up to 15ppm (that’s just my personal preference for nitrate level).

Roger that! I've even had my lfs bring up they keep their nitrates between 15 and 20 just for spectrum feeding of all the diff tanks etc etc.

Yall are the best! ♥