125g conversion

[Syntax1235]

Hello,

This is my first post as a new member of the reef2reef community. I've been a member of RC since 2003 and decided it was time to expand my information database. I've been reefing on and off since 2001 and currently have a 125 gallon sps/lps tank with a few softies... My main focus are acropora, I keep the other corals to keep the wife happy .

I've been doing quite a bit of research on the Aquaforest method and am interested in giving it a go; however, i've got several questions first.

My current method of reefing is fairly traditional, weekly water changes, dosing 2 part, vacuum top of substrate once a month or so and I usually turkey baste the rocks before a water change. I started the tank two years ago with Aquavitro Salinity but have just purchased a bucket of Tropic Marin Reef Pro (mainly due to its low alk).

Current tank specs:

Current Tank Info: 125g sps dom, 40b sump, Reeflo Dart, Apex, Aquamaxx co2, Pacific Sun Pandora S-3, Pacific Sun Kore 5th doser, Tunze ATO, Ranco controlling 800 watt Finnex tube, 2 Maxpect Gyre 150XF with Ice Cap Controllers and battery backup, Bean Animal drain

My current parameters are:

Alk: 7.4
CA: 420
Mag: 1300
Nitrate: .1 (salifert)
Phosphate: .04 (Red Sea)

I've ordered the following products:

Phosphate minus
Pro Bio S
NP Pro
Coral A,E,V and B
Kalium
Component A,B and C.

I currently use a dosing pump with BRS supplements for the big 3.... It has been stable using this system and I'd rather not try to fix something that is not broken at this point.

Questions:

1) Should I use the Phosphate media to reduce my Phosphate until it is .01 before I begin begin the system?
Should I begin using all the products or begin with the bacteria first with ABC before adding the supplements?

2) I plan on going pretty slow implementing the system and take detailed notes of my observations of the effects of the products on my system. My colors and growth on most of my acros are pretty good... I would say that I have a couple acro's that I would classify as spectacular in color.... the others are good to fair. I'm looking to improve color and growth in all my acros.



Here's my dosing schedule for the first few weeks: Please feel free to comment, make comments/suggestions and ask clarifying questions.

Dosing Schedule

Monday
Kalium (1 drop)
Pro Bio S (1 drop)
NP Pro (1 drop)
Coral A and V (2 drops)

Tuesday
Kalium (1 drop)
Pro Bio S (1 drop)
NP Pro (1 drop)
Coral B and E (2 drops)

Wednesday
Kalium (1 drop)
Pro Bio S (1 drop)
NP Pro (1 drop)
Coral A and v (2 drops)

Thursday
Kalium (1 drop)
Pro Bio S (1 drop)
NP Pro (1 drop)
Coral B and E (2 drops)

Friday
Kalium (1 drop)
Pro Bio S (1 drop)
NP Pro (1 drop)
Coral A and v (2 drops)

Saturday (water change day)
Kalium (1 drop)
Pro Bio S (1 drop)
NP Pro (1 drop)
Coral B and E (2 drops)

Sunday
Kalium (1 drop)
Pro Bio S (1 drop)
NP Pro (1 drop)
Component ABC (1 cap full)

 

[Perry]

Welcome Syntax1235, good to see you over here too As we have chatted on the other site, I find your schedule to be well thought out, using similar dosing to myself. Only thin I would advise is to use NP Pro and Pro Bio S at 2-3 drops instead of 1. This is still half your system volume requirements, so I think you will still be safe. The Coral supplements, I find that to be a great starting point

Questions:

1) Should I use the Phosphate media to reduce my Phosphate until it is .01 before I begin begin the system?
Should I begin using all the products or begin with the bacteria first with ABC before adding the supplements?

You will be very surprised at how gentle Phosphate Minus is, so there would be no problem for use straight away, same with AF Pro Bio S, and AF NP Pro. These will control the nutrients and will have bearing on trace supplementation through use of AF Component ABC. I converted a 120 gallon system and in less than a week I was using AF Probiotic Reef Salt, AF Pro Bio S, AF NP Pro, AF Phosphate Minus, AF Carbon, AF Zeo Mix for nutrient control. My reef ran similar numbers to yours, and never did I see any stress. I also used straight away, AF Energy, AF Vitality, AF Build, AF Amino Mix, and AF Powerfood. I only saw increased polyp extension and color shifting started within 2 weeks for me.

2) I plan on going pretty slow implementing the system and take detailed notes of my observations of the effects of the products on my system. My colors and growth on most of my acros are pretty good... I would say that I have a couple acro's that I would classify as spectacular in color.... the others are good to fair. I'm looking to improve color and growth in all my acros.

I too had great colors, they were a bit over-saturated, I have always preferred being in between saturated and pasteled. The main thing I have seen is pop, the colors seem to really pop out at you, blues are very blue, reds almost hot pink, just very interesting glow the corals have. If you have been in the sps game for awhile, do use caution, but you will quickly find out that the system is not harsh, like others out there.

 

[Syntax1235]

Ah yes. I do have a post on RC as well. I was just looking for as many experienced users' views as possible.... No offense intended.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Perry]

Hey Syntax1235, no worries, I totally understand wanting to gather as much information as you can, as well as more user experiences. You can also go to the FB group page for AF, as there are many people posting there too I take no offense, and am here to assist in any way I can, so please post any and all questions wherever you would like, Gary Wilkinson and Debora are also here as well Cheers!

 

[Syntax1235]

I'm starting my second week of dosing and I have been dosing 2 drops of Pro Bio S and NP Pro along with 2 drops of B,E and A,E on alternating nights.

I haven't noticed a positive or negative difference in this short period of time so I think I will up my dose of Bio S and NP by one drop. Sound good?

 

[Perry]

Have you noticed increase or change in PO4 and NO3? If increase, yes, then up dose and OBSERVE 1st, and next test. I do not see any harm in upping your dose, I would push it to 3 drops and monitor. Allow this to happen with all normal husbandry maintenance. Your results of testing and the appearance of the corals will tell you your next move You will be around 5 drops daily at normal dose, just going by your display, I know we have sumps, but we also have rock, so I usually factor my display volume for my dosing set points. I do not think being exact with any of the products is really that necessary, based on using the system for 7 months. The development of bacteria and balance of running any bac or probiotic system takes time. With Zeovit, it is recommended to not go outside basic 4 for the 1st 6 months. While I noticed changes in the tank straight away, I still feel that balance is not 100% yet, but close, patience is key with anything we do in the aquarium, I know you know this, I look forward to seeing your tank transition Cheers!

 

[jsker]

I made my switch in February 02 2016 I am dosing 1+2+3+, compoentes a,b,c, NP-Pro all on auto doser and phosphate minus in the sump flow tray. I am also using the AF Reef Salt. I have a 80gal volume system.
I dose 1+2+3+ 45 ml twice a day
I dose A,B,C 8 ml every two days
I dose NP-Pro 5 ml twice a day
I dose Pro bio S 8 drop when ever I can remember
Feb 2 2016

July 12 2016

 

[Syntax1235]

Just tested my P04 and NH3... they are both zero. I've got some cyano so i'm not sure that I trust the zero reading. I tested my water on July 30th and got a .01 P04 reading before feeding the tank, and a .04 reading a couple hours after... the water coming out of the reactor containing the carbon and phosminus was reading 0 in P04. I'll check my P04 in a couple of hours and see if the food brings it up.

My acros look good besides one relatively new frag that pailed out on me, I think I may have started it too high in the tank.

I'm only feeding my tank once a day a generous portion of rinsed frozen mysis or a homemade mixture of mixed seafood. I'm not adding any coral foods at this point, only the coral A,B,E and F.... 2 drops a day.

 

[Syntax1235]

Ive been doing a lot of research on the Redfield ratio and how it can effect the corals I our tanks. I've discovered that my tank is Nitrate deficient, I test 0 via Salifert.

I've been battling cyano lately and it is now gone from my tank, replaced by some diatoms on the sand bed. A few days ago I decided to feed my tank more to try to raise my nitrates a little. I also stopped running my skimmer 24/7, it is now on for 12 hours a day.

I noticed the cyano was gone yesterday and my nitrates were around .02 and Po4 .03. It may be coincidence that the cyano disappeared when I had measurable Nitrates, I can't say for sure.

I'm going to keep this going and see if some of my pale corals start to color up.

 

[jsker]

Ive been doing a lot of research on the Redfield ratio and how it can effect the corals I our tanks. I've discovered that my tank is Nitrate deficient, I test 0 via Salifert.

I've been battling cyano lately and it is now gone from my tank, replaced by some diatoms on the sand bed. A few days ago I decided to feed my tank more to try to raise my nitrates a little. I also stopped running my skimmer 24/7, it is now on for 12 hours a day.

I noticed the cyano was gone yesterday and my nitrates were around .02 and Po4 .03. It may be coincidence that the cyano disappeared when I had measurable Nitrates, I can't say for sure.

I'm going to keep this going and see if some of my pale corals start to color up.

Great post, I have been reading since I have been battling diatoms now after cyano. I have been running bio pellets and my nitrates have dropped from 20+ to 4 ppm red sea but my phosphates have been moving up a bit. I will read up and the Redfield ratio

 

[Syntax1235]

Great post, I have been reading since I have been battling diatoms now after cyano. I have been running bio pellets and my nitrates have dropped from 20+ to 4 ppm red sea but my phosphates have been moving up a bit. I will read up and the Redfield ratio

Diatoms after cyano as well, interesting. Basically the Redfield ratio infers that the relationship between Nitrate and Phosphate in our tanks should be 16:1 for proper photosynthesis to occur. My belief is that the technology, especially modern skimmers, makes nutrient reduction VERY easy to achieve. Basically, Phosphates without any Nitrates is bad, an inverse relationship of the Redfield relationship leads to problems, I've experienced cyano and pale corals. I'm feeding (what I feel) is way too much food right now; however, the cyano is gone and hopefully my corals will start to color up... How does AF fit into this??? I have no idea right now. I'm going to keep my dosing to 50% of everything and see what happens. At this point I'm not sure if I'm going to increase or decrease AF products.... This hobby can be a real mind scrambler

 

[jsker]

What AF products are you using.

 

[Syntax1235]

I'm currently using about 125ml of phosminus... 2 drops of S and P daily... 3 drops of AEB and F paired together on alternating nights.

 

[Syntax1235]

So I have not tested my alk since 8/16 and it was 7.3, yesterday it was 6.3! I made an extra dose of 10ml and it went up to 6.6. I upped my dosing from 52ml to 65ml of brs soda ash mix. This morning it was back to 6.3... I added 15 ml and upped my dosing to 70 this morning.... It was at 6.4 this afternoon.

Things are taking off.

 

[Perry]

Awesome glad to hear Syntax1235! Seeing these numbers fall means something nice! How about a FTS photo, or a link to a thread Cheers!

 

[Syntax1235]

Alk consumption is up to 90ml a day but I ran into a little issue with fading corals. I changed my carbon and Phosminus and corals we're noticeably paler the next morning. I only used a cup of carbon and about 125ml of Phosminus. I don't think my tank needs either at this point so I took the reactor off and started feeding more.

I was using 4 drops of Probio S and Np Pro... I've backed down to 2 drops. The other additives, AVBE, I'm using five drops now to try to help darken the colors.

I do harvest about a gallon of chaeto every 10-14 days. I'm reluctant to take it out.

I don't have any measurable nitrate and PO4 is as between .01 and 0 according to Red Sea. I'm Nitrate limited. I'm thinking of dosing Spectracide potassium nitrate to help with my nitrate levels.

On a side note: Build depletes much faster than the other additives, Energy is next.... Why the different drop size?

 

[Syntax1235]

Anyone have any advice? Looking at a tank of pale corals isn't very satisfying. I'm feeding around three times a day and using the coral food a few times a week at night. Corals are still pale. I'm having a little bit of cyano return to the tank, it may be related to the redfield ratio and not an indicator of excess nutrients... I believe I am still dealing with a nitrate starved tank. My chaeto may be the reason? I was under the assumption that the chaeto would start to die due to the bacteria and carbon dosing. Thoughts?

 

[Perry]

One may be processing faster than the other, the chaeto will work strong during lit hours, if it were me, I would ditch the chaeto, as it is doing too good of a job lowering nitrates. Likely why the corals are pale. Increase the feeding of nitrates by feeding the fish more, hopefully that helps to balance with PO4. Your corals will benefit from increased nitrates from fish feedings, as they feed on the fish waste. Cheers