All for reef

[ShoeCrew]

Hello,

I am building a mixed reef with Zoa and mushroom focus, total water volume about ~150g. I have some lps(no euphilia) and some montipora. I am planning to use the All for reef from tropic marine for dosing using a KH director. I am also planning to do occasional 10% water changes once a week to once in 2 weeks. Do you see any red flags? What is all for reef best for? Is anybody else using this product, which corals do you have in your tank? 

Thanks

 

[youcallmenny]

I'm switching to AFR next week after ~6 years on BRS 2-part. @Flash21is using it to great effect. Seems like a solid product though maybe a little pricier than the alternatives. 

[Flash21]

My system is about 140 Gallon Total using on two tanks and love the product. Follow Directions and bump up accordingly.  It took me maybe 3 weeks to dial in.   
Some Pics.  I have been using for about 6 months…before I was using BRS and was having nothing but issues.   

Edited May 18, 2022 by Flash21

[Emerald525]

I have it in my tank and have had good results. I have 25 gallon Nuvo and this is the first time I have been able to keep acros in a small tank.I just hand dose 5 ml daily. The biggest downside is since it’s an all in one mix you can’t individually adjust different parameters. Like I noticed my magnesium was dropping. I talked to Lou Ekus and he recommended just adding the tropic marin magnesium supplement separately and I do 1/2 teaspoon of this and mg is where I want it to be.

The other downside is expense with a bigger tank but really in my mind what i have lost in coral because of alk swings etc the simplificity is worth it . I also don’t know what I’m dosing with some of the supplements but corals are all doing well.

Lou Ekus is also a good source of information

[ShoeCrew]

Thanks a lot. This is great info and beautiful tanks!! Now, this gives me confidence. I am still scared of acros. I haven’t had any luck with them.

Thank you!! 

[Jeff.Tichenor]

One thing to note on AFR is the components don't get released immediately after dosing. It may take a day or two for all of it to be measurable. I would recommend manual daily dosing until it's stabized for a couple weeks.

I've ran afr for a couple years now and have to manually add CA and Mg monthly for some reason. I've just switched to dosing separate parts instead.

[Emerald525]

27 minutes ago, jtichenor said:

One thing to note on AFR is the components don't get released immediately after dosing. It may take a day or two for all of it to be measurable. I would recommend manual daily dosing until it's stabized for a couple weeks.

I've ran afr for a couple years now and have to manually add CA and Mg monthly for some reason. I've just switched to dosing separate parts instead.

That’s a good point. I initially wild overshoot my alk and Lou (the Tropic Marin ) rep said it was because the alkalinity formulation gets taken up by the coral so efficiently.  I would dose wait 2 days and then test ñ.

I also do weekly water changes of 4 gallons (roughly 20 percent)  I could probably get by with less but im also cleaning the sand.

[Qqtran]

All for reef is what I use on all my tanks. Since you're running a large water volume, I would recommend getting the powder and mixing yourself. It saves a ton of money in the long run. I personally mix with a magnetic stirrer and beaker off of amazon

[Totroc3]

I have been using the All For Reef powder since October. It took me several weeks to dial in the right amount to use because I was nervous to ramp it up too quickly. I use it on all 3 of my mixed reef tanks and my corals and fish are all thriving. I highly recommend it.

[ShoeCrew]

It seems like this is the way to go. Thanks a lot. It seems like I need to monitor the mg and ca once in a while though which is something perfectly fine. Also beginning with manual dosing sounds to be the key until the tank stabilizes. I ordered the powder, I was planning to mix it like salt; with a power head but a magnetic stirrer is a neat solution. 

[Jeff.Tichenor]

The afr dose amount is almost exactly the same as your current alk+ca dose amount, which makes it easy to switch.

[youcallmenny]

33 minutes ago, jtichenor said:

The afr dose amount is almost exactly the same as your current alk+ca dose amount, which makes it easy to switch.

The amount of each added together? Yoof, that puts me at over 100mL/day. That seems like so much more than what I've seen a lot of people using. 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

After dosing for a couple of years and switching to a CalRX my experience has been that nothing is easier to track, more stable, and error proof than a CalRx. 

800 gallon system, one huge reactor, little to no water changes.  Mostly just 20% every couple of months, 

[Jeff.Tichenor]

8 hours ago, youcallmenny said:

The amount of each added together? Yoof, that puts me at over 100mL/day. That seems like so much more than what I've seen a lot of people using. 

No, just one - like Alk (assuming you are using brs soda ash recipe. 

Here is a link to my thread on r2r wh where I was calculating going to 2part from afr... 

Thread 'How to calculate 2part dose from existing AFR consumption?' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-calculate-2part-dose-from-existing-afr-consumption.902288/

[youcallmenny]

I switched over today. I have Balling A and B on hand as needed. I hope this proves a little easier to keep stable than 2-part.

Edited May 25, 2022 by youcallmenny

[Emerald525]

41 minutes ago, youcallmenny said:

I switched over today. I have Balling A and B on hand as needed. I hope this proves a little easier to keep stable than 2-part.

Welcome to the All for Reefers club! 
Let the initiation begin !!!

[youcallmenny]

58 minutes ago, Emerald525 said:

Welcome to the All for Reefers club! 
Let the initiation begin !!!

I admit I'm pretty nervous swapping such a foundational aspect on an established tank but I've given it a lot of thought and the 2-part just isn't serving me the way it should. I get tired of using two timers. Either alkalinity or calcium is alternately sliding around and that's not ideal.  Chris blew me away at the meeting when he showed me his recent progress so I'm hopping on board. 

Your tank looks great too Kim! 

[Emerald525]

9 hours ago, youcallmenny said:

I admit I'm pretty nervous swapping such a foundational aspect on an established tank but I've given it a lot of thought and the 2-part just isn't serving me the way it should. I get tired of using two timers. Either alkalinity or calcium is alternately sliding around and that's not ideal.  Chris blew me away at the meeting when he showed me his recent progress so I'm hopping on board. 

Your tank looks great too Kim! 

I think you will have better results. I tried hand dosing with 2 part in a nano tank before and couldn’t get the colors right in the sps because it’s a bigger challenge to keep stability in a small tank as you know. LPS it doesn’t seem to matter as much but acros and montis just wouldn’t hold their color.  It is nerve wracking for sure to make changes. Chris definitely is getting better color in his corals. I think it has to do with all the supplements.  The new powder form makes it more affordable. I have been using it for over a year now in a new tank and I expect some sensitive corals to die but so far haven’t lost any corals other than the ones that got buried under the sand for a week when I was out of town. 

[youcallmenny]

1 hour ago, Emerald525 said:

I think you will have better results. I tried hand dosing with 2 part in a nano tank before and couldn’t get the colors right in the sps because it’s a bigger challenge to keep stability in a small tank as you know. LPS it doesn’t seem to matter as much but acros and montis just wouldn’t hold their color.  It is nerve wracking for sure to make changes. Chris definitely is getting better color in his corals. I think it has to do with all the supplements.  The new powder form makes it more affordable. I have been using it for over a year now in a new tank and I expect some sensitive corals to die but so far haven’t lost any corals other than the ones that got buried under the sand for a week when I was out of town. 

I appreciate the encouragement! I'll keep y'all posted. Anecdotal at best but we woke up to a very happy tank. Happier than what we went to sleep with last night for sure. The corals seem to be enjoying it so far. 

[Flash21]

You’ll be fine. Take slow and bump up every couple days or so if need. I believe it took me around 3 weeks to get to a level I liked.  
I think my tank is at 28mls a day. [language filter] is growing like weeds!