Reef Tank Accessories: What Each One Does and When to Use It

Introduction

Algae doesn't just cover rock and glass.

The Reef Essential® Aqua Care Guide™ says it can also block your filter. That may add unnecessary maintenance and turn your hobby into a chore.

The Guide's advice for the whole hobby is simple: the key to aquarium keeping is taking your time, making small adjustments and keeping your husbandry consistent.

Most accessories are for specific moments: a water change, a new tank, a low pH reading, a new coral or a sick fish.

In this article, we break down the setup the Guide recommends, then what each product in our Saltwater Accessories collection does and when to reach for it.

What Equipment Does a Reef Tank Need?

The Guide opens with its recommended setup for a reef aquarium, because the initial setup can influence your tank's short- and long-term performance. Here's what it lists:

• Return and circulating pumps: stagnant water can build up toxins.
• Lighting: zooxanthellae in corals use light and nutrients to make biomolecules, many of which the coral consumes.
• Protein skimmer: the Guide calls a protein skimmer an efficient way to filter out excess proteins from waste that can otherwise lead to nuisance algae.
• Nitrifying media: houses bacteria that convert toxic ammonia, ammonium and nitrite into less toxic nitrate.
• Denitrifying media: houses bacteria that, with nitrate removers, help turn nitrate into inert nitrogen gas.
• Temperature control: the Guide recommends ~25 °C (~77 °F) for a reef aquarium.
• Dosing pumps (optional): a dosing pump doses at a more consistent rate, which can help reduce shock and improve stability.
• Filter wool, sock or roller mat: filters out solid particles to help improve water clarity.

One rule of thumb applies to every product below that you dose into a tank: dose for the total volume of your aquarium and external filter, minus the space taken up by media, rock and ornaments.

For a new tank, see the order to introduce the 5 steps.

Filter Socks and Media Bags for Reef Tank Filtration

In the Guide's setup, filter wool, filter socks and roller mats catch solid particles so the water stays clearer. That's mechanical filtration.

Loose media works on what's dissolved instead. The Guide says Bio-Active Carbon™ helps remove coral toxins, organic waste, unwanted nutrients and discoloration.

Its directions: add the required amount to a media bag, rinse it in RODI water, place it in a high-flow area and replace it every month.

Polyester Reusable Zipped Media Bags fit that step. The manufacturer describes them as heavy-duty, reusable 800-micron polyester bags with a zipper: fill, zip, rinse and place in your aquarium.

For how carbon fits with the other Step 2 products, see our guide to nitrate and phosphate levels.

Water Primer™ and Water Stabiliser™: Conditioning and Cycling

Water Primer™ is a concentrated water conditioner. The manufacturer says it removes or detoxifies ammonia, chlorine, chloramine, nitrite, nitrate and heavy metals, from tap water or from fish waste and organic decay.

It has two doses. The routine dose treats tap water for a water change. The emergency dose is for an ammonia or nitrite spike after an inhabitant death, a pH swing or another major parameter swing.

The Guide gives that emergency dose as 25 mL per 300 L (79 gal). It says this can bind toxic ammonia and give you time to remove the source, add oxygen and finish your water changes.

Water Stabiliser™ has a different job: cycling. The Guide says it has the bacteria and full spectrum of nutrients needed to help your aquarium cycle right the first time, which helps prevent new tank syndrome.

Turn off UV and ozone, then dose it in the morning with the lights on and the tank well oxygenated. Test ammonia, ammonium and nitrite the next morning, before the next dose.

Your tank may be cycled from as early as day 3, but the Guide recommends following the regimen to day 7. After that, add fish slowly so the bacteria can keep up with the extra bioload.

The Guide also notes that Water Stabiliser doesn't need refrigeration, so it can sit in your aquarium cabinet, ready to use. The manufacturer says neither product can be used on a dosing pump.

When to Use pH Up in a Reef Tank

The Guide's pH target for a reef aquarium is 8.3–8.5. You'll find it with the other Step 1 targets in our article on reef tank water parameters.

The Guide says the most common causes of a pH drop are carbon dioxide build-up and alkalinity fluctuations. They're likely when oxygen runs short, from overstocking, power outages or restricted flow.

pH Up raises pH temporarily, until that cause is under control. The Guide covers it under Step 1 – Environmental Parameters™, and the manufacturer says it raises pH without promoting algae.

The manufacturer's dose is 1 capful (~10 mL) per 100 L (26 gal), which raises pH by about 0.1. Add smaller amounts, test and adjust. Don't go above pH 8.5, and don't raise pH by more than 0.2 a day.

pH Up is the short-term fix.

The long-term fix is finding the cause.

pH Up isn't the only accessory that runs on a test result. Water Stabiliser is checked against ammonia, ammonium and nitrite, and Parasite Remover against copper, so steady water testing and reliable test kits sit behind several of the products here.

Coral Dips and Fish Quarantine: Dual Dip™ and Parasite Remover

Reef Essential® Dual Dip™ is a coral dip with two uses. The manufacturer says it works as a pretreatment for new corals and a remedy for existing ones, and that treating corals before they go in reduces the risk of outbreaks and stress.

It targets coral parasites including flatworms, bristleworms and nudibranchs, and helps treat tissue necrosis and bacterial infections.

Dissolve 12 g (2 level scoops) per 1 L (~0.26 gal) of aquarium water in a separate container. Submerge the coral for no longer than 5 minutes with gentle circulation, then move it straight to the display with no rinse.

The dip solution never goes into the main aquarium. Dispose of it safely after use.

Parasite Remover is for fish, and it stays out of the display too. The manufacturer describes a copper-based treatment for fish parasites, used only in a separate, fish-only treatment tank (a quarantine tank).

The treatment range is 0.15–0.20 ppm copper. Don't use it in your main aquarium, in a tank with low pH or alkalinity, or on scaleless fish.

During treatment, the manufacturer advises testing at least twice a day for copper, ammonia and ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, alkalinity and pH. Once the parasite is gone, keep the fish quarantined for at least 4–8 weeks.

In that time, stop dosing and use Bio-Active Carbon with frequent water changes to help remove copper.

Cleaning Aquarium Glass and Soaking Fish Food

White Film Remover Pads are high-density melamine sponges. The manufacturer says they remove white film and algae without scratching your glass, are safe on glass and acrylic tanks, and need only your aquarium water, with no harmful chemicals.

Fish Enhance™ is a food soak for fish. The Guide explains why: phosphate may be present in fish foods as a preservative, and once it reaches the tank it can lead to algae issues.

Straining food in RODI water helps reduce that phosphate, but it may also wash out beneficial ingredients.

Fish Enhance puts them back with amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates, protein, fatty acids, energy and appetite enhancers. Add 1–2 drops per cube of fish food, soak for at least 5 minutes, then feed as normal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Normal Water Primer™ Dose for a Water Change?

The manufacturer's water change dose is 5 mL per 300 L (79 gal), the same rate as 1 mL per 60 L (16 gal). If chlorine or chloramine levels in your tap water are high, it says a double dose may be used.

Should I Keep Dosing Water Stabiliser™ After My Tank Is Cycled?

The Guide says not to cycle an aquarium that's already cycled. For cycled tanks, the manufacturer gives a separate dose of ½ capful per 100 L (26 gal) of water change volume once a month for the 250 mL, 500 mL and 1 L bottles (it notes that 1 capful is about 10 mL). It says to skip it if you use one of its Macro Probiotic salts, run a water-change-less system, or use natural seawater.

How Often Should You Change Carbon in a Media Bag?

The Guide says to replace Bio-Active Carbon every month. Its monthly amounts per 100 L (26 gal) are 15 g (30 mL) for lightly stocked tanks, 25 g (50 mL) for moderately stocked tanks and 50 g (100 mL) for heavily stocked tanks.

How Much Dip Does One Tub of Dual Dip™ Make?

The manufacturer says the 300 g tub makes up to 25 L (~6.6 gal) of dip solution. One level scoop holds about 6 g.