what would you suggest adding to a FO, FOWLR and a Reef tank as far as like Purple Up or is something like a simple all in one trace elements additive good enough? my Reef really does not have any coral in it, i just have a ton of live rock and those horrible EVIL nuisance anemones (that I like lol, so I leave them alone) and I do not plan on killing them (apastatia I believe). But is a basic trace element additive good enough for all three, or what are your suggestions?
In that small of a tank, regulate with water changes. It doesn't take much and will keep everything balanced. You will not have enough livestock in there or coraline algae to deplete your calcium to the extent that you need to self dose. Of course it really does depend on your levels. You should test before dosing ANYTHING to make sure it needs it as there is a balance to the water chemistry and too much of one element may deplete or prevent the increase of another element and really mess things up. Also, what elements depends on what corals. Xenia will want more iodine and be less reliant on calcium than an acropora for example. Use a nice sand that will help buffer the tank and keep the calcium up (like crushed coral or similar composition substrate) anad reef based salts, like Reef Crystals will keep things at the levels you need.
It always depends on what you're keeping. For example, in my 75 gallon soft coral reef, I don't use any additives. I don't need them. But back when I used to keep a claim, I was adding calcium. My understanding of Purple Up is that it's supposed to somehow increase the growth rates of coralline algae. However, if you need any help at all to grow the stuff, you're already doing something wrong. Coralline algae grows whether want it to or not; heck, I spend time every day scraping the stuff off of one part of the aquarium walls while my Diadema urchin feeds on another section. And as for aiptasia, you might not mind them now, but just wait until they're wormed their way into every nook and cranny on every surface of the aquarium. I mean, if you still like them, more power to you, but if you think you ever might dislike them for any reason, you're better off getting rid of them as soon as possible.
