Tropic Marin All For Reef

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Due to the alk lag with afr, i dont think this is advisable.
I dose each hour, 24/7. I check the alk and calcium weekly and adjust based on the trend of alk. If its going down, more afr. I use common baking soda to bring the alk closer to target, if low.
When determining your dose check alk every 2 or 3 days. Alk and calcium are used mostly at the same rates, per the chemistry.
Use the afr powder to lower your cost.
Adjust afr to the alk trend. Use something else to get to target dkh.

I agree. I do not recommend fully automated measurement and dosing of AFR.

On the other topic, AFR, like kalkwasser, is a little calcium heavy relative to alk, so if water changes do not beep it from getting too high (it may well) then a little less AGR plus some normal alk will do the trick.

 

[dolpator]

Sorry about the size of the graph but the yellow measurement is at a 11 ml dose of ESV Transition Elements. The Green lines represent the dosing of AFR. That starts at 0900 and ends at 2000. It takes the total and doses it across the timeline. So each of the small green lines are dose/shots of AFR.

I don't know what is the best way to dose it to be honest. I'm just sharing how I use it and my experience. I've been using it a couple of years now and find it works well for me. This is a 7 year old reef with 2 ppm phosphate and 30 to 40 pm nitrate. I'm lowering phosphates a bit but with how much is bound up in the rocks or substrate it is a slow process. I don't want to make any suggest change(s) that may affect or shock the corals.

What is the Yellow and white fish. Looks like some kind of Angel.

 

[dolpator]

What is the Yellow and white fish. Looks like some kind of Angel.

Beautiful Tank.

 

[areefer01]

Beautiful Tank.

The larger of the yellow fish is a Pyramid Butterfly fish. It has the black face, white body, and yellow fins. There is a similar fish and it is a Zosters butterfly fish. That one is white body with black face and tail section and a bit of yellow outline on the top fin area. There is a medium sized yellow fish with a black stripe over its eyes and tail section and has black dots on it. That is a Hawaiian captive bred Milletseed Butterfly fish from Biota. All three of these are in the video.

Also thank you for the kind words. Still work in progress as a try and balance out the corals in there. I made some mistakes with my selections that are now causing me some minor headaches. Keeps me on my toes I guess.

 

[dolpator]

The larger of the yellow fish is a Pyramid Butterfly fish. It has the black face, white body, and yellow fins. There is a similar fish and it is a Zosters butterfly fish. That one is white body with black face and tail section and a bit of yellow outline on the top fin area. There is a medium sized yellow fish with a black stripe over its eyes and tail section and has black dots on it. That is a Hawaiian captive bred Milletseed Butterfly fish from Biota. All three of these are in the video.

Also thank you for the kind words. Still work in progress as a try and balance out the corals in there. I made some mistakes with my selections that are now causing me some minor headaches. Keeps me on my toes I guess.

Yea the pyramid butterfly is really cool those are all reef safe.

 

[areefer01]

Yea the pyramid butterfly is really cool those are all reef safe.

I believe it gets labeled reef safe but my experience is more 'with caution'. Please know up front that I've only owned one Pyramid and Zosters so can't speak beyond my personal experience. Having said that the reason why "I" say 'with caution' is that they do eat some corals. Mostly soft.

Xenia doesn't stand a chance in my display or any coral that looks like it. Some zoa's are also suspect although some they have left alone. Few nips at my LPS (Hammer and Frogspawn) but they are so large that they don't seem to care.

So anything that resembles Xenia is usually impossible to keep. I've read a few other occrances by fellow hobbyist so maybe it is part of their foraging habits. I don't know but that is my experience anyway. The fish are calm, active, bright in color, even temperament. Sometimes there is a squabble between the two but nothing ripping fins, mouths, or scales. Chase and break - nothing more. Eat everything I put in be it pellet or frozen.

These appear to be clam friendly as I have a 4" maxima that they leave alone. That was my only fear to be honest.

 

[dolpator]

I have been using TM AFR now for several years and do not see Calcium raising over time. 210 gallon mixed reef with large LPS and SPS colonies. I dose 90 ml/day.

I just followed the instructions. I got my chemistry to what I wanted which is close to my salt mix of choice. Corrected manually by adding one or both parts of ESV, calculated the AFR dose, lowered it a little bit, and started the dosing. I waited 24 hours, looked at test results, adjusted dose, and repeated. My system took anywhere from 24 to 36 hours to see change so for me it was just going slow.

If I see anything it is typically Alk that is lower and requires a slight adjustment. If that happens I just use my left over ESV 2 part component and correct it. All in all the product is pretty darn easy to use.

I have a question. I did my first initial dose of 15ml yesterday at 3:00pm. I have scheduled to have the Trident test my Alk @4:00. If the reading goes down, from the noon test is it safe to say the dose is to low, or should I give it more time. I have set up the Trident to test 6 times during the day instead of 4 until I dial in the AFR....

 

[Troylee]

I have a question. I did my first initial dose of 15ml yesterday at 3:00pm. I have scheduled to have the Trident test my Alk @4:00. If the reading goes down, from the noon test is it safe to say the dose is to low, or should I give it more time. I have set up the Trident to test 6 times during the day instead of 4 until I dial in the AFR....

I’d give it a min of 24 hours to adjust… in fact I’d just continue your dose of 15ml for like 3 days and see where your alk goes.. if it goes down then up your dose.. stays in range then you’re good! Up obviously drop the dose.

 

[bubbgee]

Yea we did a large water change already. Reason why I am wehre I am

I have a problem with PH as well. I made a make shift C02 Scrubber that is working great keeps PH at 8.3, I understood that it is yet another medial that I will have to replace every few weeks, but without it my ph is typically 7.9-8. It was suggested to run a tube from the intake of my reactor to the top of the skimmer cup. I am not sure what this does but it is supposed to be a recirculating C02 Scrubber and the media will last longer...

When do you change your resin? I just saw my pH drop all the way down to my original baseline but resin has not changed color yet.

 

[PetitReef]

Watch out for the minimun dose of AFR in comparaison to your consumption.
when i started AFR while having little corals. 15ml / 300L was too high. even now, i am still dosing 12ml to keep my alk level.
i used to follow the calcium, but it's always too high and my alkalinity was going around 7. so i had to supplement alk.
Now i only base on alk and coral are better.

 

[dolpator]

When do you change your resin? I just saw my pH drop all the way down to my original baseline but resin has not changed color yet.

every 2 weeks, going to set up a recirculating set up which is supposed to make the media last longer. The intake of the scrubber goes into the skimmer cap, and all the air is recirculated, at least that is how it was explained to me...

 

[Troylee]

When do you change your resin? I just saw my pH drop all the way down to my original baseline but resin has not changed color yet.

I’m guessing it’s ice cap media and it’s exhausted! It doesn’t seem to change color! Get some soda lime off Amazon it’s cheaper and works better!

 

[dolpator]

Watch out for the minimun dose of AFR in comparaison to your consumption.
when i started AFR while having little corals. 15ml / 300L was too high. even now, i am still dosing 12ml to keep my alk level.
i used to follow the calcium, but it's always too high and my alkalinity was going around 7. so i had to supplement alk.
Now i only base on alk and coral are better.

I have a pretty stocked tank. SPS/LPS

 

[dolpator]

I’m guessing it’s ice cap media and it’s exhausted! It doesn’t seem to change color! Get some soda lime off Amazon it’s cheaper and works better!

Thanks for this. Was already looking to purchasing more.

 

[Reef Puncher]

just start AFR at a low dose and test frequently for first few weeks. keep in mind the alk takes at least a few days to be detectable due to the AFR's alk delivery. also you dont need much AFR. its wayyyyyyyyyy more concentrated than kalk.
im just like you. i was lacking in trace and didnt feel like dosing red seas 4 trace bottles or FM's 12 bottles, so i swapped to AFR. then i noticed my ph was not only lower, but way lower at night.

So now im dosing AFR from 9am to 9pm and dosing kalk from 10pm to 8am. all on 2 dosing pumps. its kept my ph from barely fluctuating and keeping my ph at the critical 8.2 to 8.3 range. im very happy with results so far.

 

[dolpator]

just start AFR at a low dose and test frequently for first few weeks. keep in mind the alk takes at least a few days to be detectable due to the AFR's alk delivery. also you dont need much AFR. its wayyyyyyyyyy more concentrated than kalk.
im just like you. i was lacking in trace and didnt feel like dosing red seas 4 trace bottles or FM's 12 bottles, so i swapped to AFR. then i noticed my ph was not only lower, but way lower at night.

So now im dosing AFR from 9am to 9pm and dosing kalk from 10pm to 8am. all on 2 dosing pumps. its kept my ph from barely fluctuating and keeping my ph at the critical 8.2 to 8.3 range. im very happy with results so far.

SO happy that you have found the balance between kalk and AFR. I eventually want to get there, and will probably in the future if I need it. Currently running a CO2 Scrubber that is pegging my PH above 8.3 during the day and I am happy with that. Now to get AFR stable in the tank and I think I will be much happier in the long run, and when the uptake is greater than what AFR can provide, I will reestablish the Kalk stirrer in the system and run it at night...

 

[areefer01]

I have a question. I did my first initial dose of 15ml yesterday at 3:00pm. I have scheduled to have the Trident test my Alk @4:00. If the reading goes down, from the noon test is it safe to say the dose is to low, or should I give it more time. I have set up the Trident to test 6 times during the day instead of 4 until I dial in the AFR....

Apologies for the delay in responding. I see that @Troylee answered and I was going to say the same. Each system is different in how long it may take to show up. In my system it is anywhere from 24 to 36 hours. Not sure why but since you are automated testing you are covered.

Hope your day is well.

 

[dolpator]

So Started dosing 15ml on June 4th. Last test at 8 am June 6th Alk has been 8.95 - 9.02 Peaking at 9.02 each day. Looks like it is settled here for now. Will continue to monitor of course, but happy that we are back to dosing elements in to the tank. Also Calcium as been between 460 - 480 during this time as will. So these are numbers I can be happy with, now we wait. I would've liked alk a little lower, but 9 is a a good number to stay in and the corals will probably be happy there is we can keep it steady.. It is nice that I can test for a couple of weeks 6 times a day and watch trends in how the tank is responding to AFR.... Thanks for all the help everyone we will post updates and pics, if things start to turn around for the positive. Of course that could be a couple months down the road.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So Started dosing 15ml on June 4th. Last test at 8 am June 6th Alk has been 8.95 - 9.02 Peaking at 9.02 each day. Looks like it is settled here for now. Will continue to monitor of course, but happy that we are back to dosing elements in to the tank. Also Calcium as been between 460 - 480 during this time as will. So these are numbers I can be happy with, now we wait. I would've liked alk a little lower, but 9 is a a good number to stay in and the corals will probably be happy there is we can keep it steady.. It is nice that I can test for a couple of weeks 6 times a day and watch trends in how the tank is responding to AFR.... Thanks for all the help everyone we will post updates and pics, if things start to turn around for the positive. Of course that could be a couple months down the road.

If you want alk lower, why not dose less?

 

[dolpator]

If you want alk lower, why not dose less?

Randy, I was not sure... I was originally just going to let everything settle down to 8-8.5 before starting. But I haven't done anything to the tank for literally a month since number were so high. I really just wanted to get back to some consistency on this tank. It was just suggested to start dosing again, the minimum dosage for my tank was 15ml so it was the starting point. I was actually thinking it wasn't going to be enough and alk would have continually declined, but it looks like 15ml was dead on if it has stayed here for 3 days. 9 isn't horrible I know reefers at 11 and reefers at 7. The Alkalinity of my salt is 8.8 so that is sort of why I think I might just maintain it here. Thoughts??