Triton Core7 Other Methods

Much like the Triton Core7 Base Elements, the Core7 Reef Supplements for other Methods is a complete package solution to supplementing your tank with major elements like Alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium as well as providing your corals with minor and trace elements that are commonly depleted from the tank over time, all with the goal of maintaining your water parameters as close to natural seawater as possible.

For those of you who can’t utilize the full Triton method, which requires a large refugium for nutrient control, you can still use Triton 4-part supplements along with your reef husbandry approach and also get the benefits of concentrated forms of major, minor and trace elements in order to maintain your tank water as close to natural seawater as possible. The Core7 Supplements for Other Methods is specifically formulated without certain elements that are beneficial for growing macroalgae in a refugium, which may not be desired when utilizing other nutrient export methods like carbon dosing, de-nitrators, water changes or really anything that doesn’t rely on algae-based filtration.

Along with that you can also use the Core7 Reef Supplements alongside of Triton ICP/OES Testing and Trace Base elements, in order to continually monitor elevated or depleted elements from your tank and get very specific recommendations for how to correct any deficiencies or elevated levels!

ACCESSORIES YOU MAY WANT WITH TRITON CORE7

There are a few accessories that we would recommend, to help you utilize the Core7 Reef Supplements on your tank. Since all four parts of the reef supplements should be dosed in equal amounts, to make sure you dose them accurately, picking up a dosing pump can be a significant benefit. With that in mind, you could pick up a few of the BRS 1.1ml per minute Dosing Pumps which are specifically designed to dose at ultra-low speeds like a slow drip, to not only save from accidental overdosing, but also to maintain stable water chemistry by adding the solutions to the tank at a very slow and controlled rate. If you are looking for a dosing system that is a bit more of an all-in-one system, the Kamoer X4 Dosing System is a good option which also offers built-in wifi programmability to set the specific days and times you want to dose. However, if you have an aquarium controller like the Neptune Apex, our top choice would be the Neptune DOS Fluid Metering System, they provide exact dosing at adjustable speeds and can be controlled from nearly anywhere in the world as well as provide you with email and text alerts if something changes in your tank!

Dosing Pumps

Outside of dosers and dosing systems, reservoirs to hold the additives can also be a convenient accessory. Triton Core7 requires three reservoirs at a minimum since part 3a and 3b can be mixed into a single container. Dosing containers come pre-built in all shapes and sizes, and we have really grown to like the Trigger Systems Dosing Containers and also the Skimz DLC4, but if you wanted to DIY your own reservoir, picking up a few OXO FlipLock Storage Containers, Mur-Lok Push-Connect Bulkheads, and some Clear Acrylic Tubing, you can make really nice dosing containers for very little money.

It may also be a good idea to pick up Triton's Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium increasers like these, which are used to make larger initial or periodic changes to target those specific major elements on their own without increasing all of the other minor and trace elements that are included in each Core7 solution.

Finally, since you’ll need to dial in and maintain a specific dosage of Triton Core7 Reef Supplements by following trends in alkalinity levels in your tank, you may want to pick up an easy to use test kit. We recommend the Hanna HI772 dKH Checker as a great option as it provides a digital readout and really only takes about 60 seconds to perform.

READY TO USE TRITON CORE7?

Setup and use of the Core7 Reef Supplements, the first thing you’ll want to do is test your water’s current levels for Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium and make any necessary adjustments to them before dosing the Reef Supplements. For this, we recommend targeting about 8dKH for Alk, 450ppm for Calcium and right around 1400ppm magnesium. We highly recommend using Triton's Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium increasers to make any changes in your major 3 elements.

One of the key components to starting the dosage to your tank is to get a good idea of your tank’s daily alkalinity consumption and make adjustments to the recommended starting dosage based on that information. Triton recommends a starting dose of 2mL per 26-gallons of water, so for a tank like the BRS160 with 160-gallons of total water volume, a starting dose would be right about 12mL to 13mL.

The primary goal of adjusting the dose to meet your specific tanks demands is to target an alkalinity level somewhere between 7-9 dKH. We recommend shooting for 8 dKH which will allow for minor fluctuations and possible errors in testing. One thing to keep in mind here, as you make adjustments to the dose, make sure to adjust each solution equally to maintain a balanced approach.

For those of you with new tanks or reefs with a low demand for alkalinity, you may find that the recommended starting dose is a bit too much, so spreading it out over a few days may help to keep your levels more stable. On the opposite side of that, for larger tanks or high demand tanks, the starting dosage may be far too low, and you’ll quickly find that you may need to make more substantial adjustments early on.

As I mentioned before when starting any new system for supplementing major elements like alkalinity and calcium, it’s always best practice to test your alkalinity levels daily, preferably at the same time each day. We found that weekly alkalinity testing and only testing weekly for calcium and magnesium was more than enough to get the tank dialed in.

LONG TERM USE

As with nearly all approaches to reefkeeping maintenance and monitoring are expected and are simply best practices to follow. With that in mind, keeping up with trends in your tank and taking action if necessary to correct and balance your water chemistry should continue to be a regular part of your husbandry practices.

Testing can be pretty easy to do by utilizing the Triton ICP/OES Tests and following the recommendations for elevated or depleted elements in your tank’s water. Ideally, you’ll want to send in a test every few months to keep up with trends in your tank’s chemistry, however, if you have specific concerns you could send one in more frequently than that to ensure your reef tank’s parameters are right where they should be.