All for One Reef vs 2 Part vs Kalkwasser

[Stinson Beach Aquatics]

Hello everyone!

I am curious what your guys’ personal preference is between Tropic Marin’s All for One Reef, 2 Part, or Kalkwasser. I would be setting up my first tank (likely Waterbox AIO 35.2) and I want to plan for buying a dosing pump. Once the tank is established, I would definitely start out with lps and softies but plan for sps at a later date. For me personally, the All for One Reef’s simplicity, Kalkwasser’s price, and 2 part’s flexibility are all appealing. I’ve seen various threads on the topic but I wanted to open the question for all three solutions. What do you guys recommend for a first saltwater tank? Also, I’ve heard of some people using multiple solutions in tandem. What is the benefit of this over just got using two part?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Formulator]

You won’t need to dose anything for quite a while. Your water changes will keep up with consumption in a tank that size until you start getting coralline algae and corals really start growing.

That said, IMO a basic 2 part is good for beginners. Sometimes newer tanks don’t have balanced consumption and the 2 part allows you to adjust alk and calcium separately. Save your money on the dosing pump though. You seriously won’t need it for at least a year, probably more. When you do start dosing, it will be very small adjustments every couple days and you can just measure and pour it in.

 

[rtparty]

I have ran them all over the years.

All for Reef is super simple. One dosing pump and you're set. Dose is based upon alkalintiy or calcium. This is where I had issues with AFR. I dosed it based on alkalinity and my calcium would climb to the moon and never stop. I later learned I should base it on calcium in this case but I already gave up on it.

2 part is super simple as well. Dose based on your consumption of each. They should be equal or very close if it is a proper 2 part.

Kalkwasser is also very easy but a little more work since you need to try and not dose the slurry. I don't like Kalkwasser in my ATO at all. Inconsistent, hard on pumps, and a mess. I prefer using a continuous duty pump and pulling from a kalkwasser reservoir. I would add 9-10 gallons of water, add like 5-6 TBSP of kalk, stir vigorously, and let my dosing pump pull an inch or so above the slurry left at the bottom.

With all that said I absolutely loved my dosing setup I had on my last tank. I used BRS 2 part balling hybrid method and my kalk setup from above. It requires 4 pumps but my water was superb and stable as can be this way.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Hello everyone!

I am curious what your guys’ personal preference is between Tropic Marin’s All for One Reef, 2 Part, or Kalkwasser. I would be setting up my first tank (likely Waterbox AIO 35.2) and I want to plan for buying a dosing pump. Once the tank is established, I would definitely start out with lps and softies but plan for sps at a later date. For me personally, the All for One Reef’s simplicity, Kalkwasser’s price, and 2 part’s flexibility are all appealing. I’ve seen various threads on the topic but I wanted to open the question for all three solutions. What do you guys recommend for a first saltwater tank? Also, I’ve heard of some people using multiple solutions in tandem. What is the benefit of this over just got using two part?

Thank you in advance!

AFR is very good for smaller tanks - I use it on my Nano Evo 13.5.
Single dosing pump works great.

It gets expensive for larger tanks.

For my 90 gal system I use a 3 part system.

Never tried Kalk, seems too fussy for me.

 

[Stinson Beach Aquatics]

Sorry if this is a stupid question but if I go with 2 part can I mix Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium together with one dosing pump or do I need three dosing heads for each?

 

[Pistondog]

I started with 2 part for simplicity, but only needed to after 8 months or so.

 

[bakbay]

I've started with 2-Part: great success, very predictable. Tried All for Reef once on a 60g -- worked well but upgraded to 150g and it was going to be cost prohibitive. I've tried Kalkwasser -- too messy for me.

For larger tanks (150g and now doing a ~500g) calcium reactor is my go-to setup.

For your current tank size, I would recommend either 2-part or All for Reef. Both should work...

 

[Oldreefer44]

I use both AFR and Kalk. Kalk helps with PH and AFR helps with trace elements stability for the big 3.

 

[dakoop]

Sorry if this is a stupid question but if I go with 2 part can I mix Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium together with one dosing pump or do I need three dosing heads for each?

Separate dosing for each. Mag is probably not going to need a dosing pump as it can be done manually

 

[cilyjr]

I started with 2 part for simplicity, but only needed to after 8 months or so.

Nope. A pump for each

 

[Stinson Beach Aquatics]

Nope. A pump for each

Okay, that’s what I thought. Just wanted to make sure.

 

[areefer01]

I personally don't recommend anything until the hobbyist understands their displays demand. It is sort of like the cart before the horse. New systems, 1/4" frags, a water change may be more than enough. Especially if the hobbyist matches water chemistry to their salt mix.

AFR is very good for smaller tanks - I use it on my Nano Evo 13.5.
Single dosing pump works great.

It gets expensive for larger tanks.

All for Reef has no display limit. Only budget. The 1600 g powder container makes 10 liters at $75 US dollars. Easy to calculate how long it will last once you get the daily dose figured out.

Now I will agree that there are other options that may be cheaper. however as a fellow hobbyist who uses AFR on a medium sized mature 7 year old reef at 210 gallons it works fine. The display in question here AFR would last a good while.

 

[Stinson Beach Aquatics]

I have ran them all over the years.

All for Reef is super simple. One dosing pump and you're set. Dose is based upon alkalintiy or calcium. This is where I had issues with AFR. I dosed it based on alkalinity and my calcium would climb to the moon and never stop. I later learned I should base it on calcium in this case but I already gave up on it.

2 part is super simple as well. Dose based on your consumption of each. They should be equal or very close if it is a proper 2 part.

Kalkwasser is also very easy but a little more work since you need to try and not dose the slurry. I don't like Kalkwasser in my ATO at all. Inconsistent, hard on pumps, and a mess. I prefer using a continuous duty pump and pulling from a kalkwasser reservoir. I would add 9-10 gallons of water, add like 5-6 TBSP of kalk, stir vigorously, and let my dosing pump pull an inch or so above the slurry left at the bottom.

With all that said I absolutely loved my dosing setup I had on my last tank. I used BRS 2 part balling hybrid method and my kalk setup from above. It requires 4 pumps but my water was superb and stable as can be this way.

If you base it off of calcium could there be a negative effect from more Alkalinity/Magnesium?

 

[areefer01]

If you base it off of calcium could there be a negative effect from more Alkalinity/Magnesium?

AFR instructions.

Tropic Marin | Aquarium | Produktinformationen

Tropic Mairn - The aquatic life science company. Wir stellen hochwertige Salze, Additive und Wassertests vorwiegend für Meerwasseraquarien her. Korallen, Fische und Wirbellose in Ihrem Aquarium fühlen sich mit unseren Produkten wohl.

www.tropic-marin-smartinfo.com

 

[Stinson Beach Aquatics]

AFR instructions.

Tropic Marin | Aquarium | Produktinformationen

Tropic Mairn - The aquatic life science company. Wir stellen hochwertige Salze, Additive und Wassertests vorwiegend für Meerwasseraquarien her. Korallen, Fische und Wirbellose in Ihrem Aquarium fühlen sich mit unseren Produkten wohl.

www.tropic-marin-smartinfo.com

Good to know, thank you!

 

[SliceGolfer]

Hello everyone!

I am curious what your guys’ personal preference is between Tropic Marin’s All for One Reef, 2 Part, or Kalkwasser. I would be setting up my first tank (likely Waterbox AIO 35.2) and I want to plan for buying a dosing pump. Once the tank is established, I would definitely start out with lps and softies but plan for sps at a later date. For me personally, the All for One Reef’s simplicity, Kalkwasser’s price, and 2 part’s flexibility are all appealing. I’ve seen various threads on the topic but I wanted to open the question for all three solutions. What do you guys recommend for a first saltwater tank? Also, I’ve heard of some people using multiple solutions in tandem. What is the benefit of this over just got using two part?

Thank you in advance!

There’s another alternative you might consider, and that is the two part solutions which include a variety of trace elements. It’s like AFR, but with added flexibility to keep Alk or Ca in check separately.

Three companies come to mind: Dutch Synthetic Reefing (DSR) EZ2Go method, Captiv8 Reef Blueprint Coral8 Yin and Yang, and Quantum Easy E and Easy Z.

I have been using DSR EZ2Go with good success. Will be trying Reef Blueprint Coral8 Yin and Yang very soon.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Good to know, thank you!

I don’t agree that calcium is the way to dose AFR. It moves too slowly and is too variable. It is much better to determine the AFR dose based on alkalinity. Calcium and magnesium will follow along fine, with an occasional adjustment as needed.

 

[Stinson Beach Aquatics]

Thank you guys very much for the info! I greatly appreciate it!