All for reef or 2 part

[Acros]

I have a bottle of AFR that I am planning to dose in the new IM25. I am curious about the complexities that Randy mentioned.

 

[maleks.reef]

I have a bottle of AFR that I am planning to dose in the new IM25. I am curious about the complexities that Randy mentioned.

Please keep me updated. Good luck.

 

[blasterman]

All for Reef and similiar products require alk and calcium uptake to be in a pretty consistent ratio of consumption, correct? Some tanks are in this state - others are not. Some younger tanks with decent SPS loads will gradually even out - some never will. More problematic is many reefers assume calcium and alk consumption are in a perfect ratio when they aren't and are stubborn to admit it thinking something is wrong when it's not.

Otherwise you run into the same problem of alk and calcium getting out of whack because you are trying to solve both with one product.

Two parts allow you tweak alk and calcium uptake individually. You are never stuck in the "my alk is low but my calcium is at 500, what should I do" scenario.

"Why not just use kalk given you get a bonus pH boost"

I have a 20gal full of SPS and it would take close to a tablespoon of dry kalk to meet my daily alk needs. I can get away with between 1/2 to a full teaspoon in 24 hours before precip becomes a problem. So, i use a half teaspoon of kalk per day and tweak the rest with two part.

 

[BiggestE222]

If you have good circulation, good aeration and surface agitation then your PH is most likely in the right range.

If you have high CO2 levels in your home than surface agitation is only going GB to introduce more carbon dioxide

 

[maleks.reef]

All for Reef and similiar products require alk and calcium uptake to be in a pretty consistent ratio of consumption, correct? Some tanks are in this state - others are not. Some younger tanks with decent SPS loads will gradually even out - some never will. More problematic is many reefers assume calcium and alk consumption are in a perfect ratio when they aren't and are stubborn to admit it thinking something is wrong when it's not.

Otherwise you run into the same problem of alk and calcium getting out of whack because you are trying to solve both with one product.

Two parts allow you tweak alk and calcium uptake individually. You are never stuck in the "my alk is low but my calcium is at 500, what should I do" scenario.

"Why not just use kalk given you get a bonus pH boost"

I have a 20gal full of SPS and it would take close to a tablespoon of dry kalk to meet my daily alk needs. I can get away with between 1/2 to a full teaspoon in 24 hours before precip becomes a problem. So, i use a half teaspoon of kalk per day and tweak the rest with two part.

Why would the Alk be low and Ca be high though? Isn't their consumption directly proportional?

 

[Lsuhunter]

The extremely complex part about All For Reef is that it is never in stock and has been sold out for months in the US.

 

[BiggestE222]

All for Reef and similiar products require alk and calcium uptake to be in a pretty consistent ratio of consumption, correct? Some tanks are in this state - others are not. Some younger tanks with decent SPS loads will gradually even out - some never will. More problematic is many reefers assume calcium and alk consumption are in a perfect ratio when they aren't and are stubborn to admit it thinking something is wrong when it's not.

Otherwise you run into the same problem of alk and calcium getting out of whack because you are trying to solve both with one product.

Two parts allow you tweak alk and calcium uptake individually. You are never stuck in the "my alk is low but my calcium is at 500, what should I do" scenario.

"Why not just use kalk given you get a bonus pH boost"

I have a 20gal full of SPS and it would take close to a tablespoon of dry kalk to meet my daily alk needs. I can get away with between 1/2 to a full teaspoon in 24 hours before precip becomes a problem. So, i use a half teaspoon of kalk per day and tweak the rest with two part.

You are correct. Experiencing this right now. My calcium uptake is much higher than Alkalinity. So I am using Kalwasser and 2-part right now or going forward for a while

 

[maleks.reef]

You are correct. Experiencing this right now. My calcium uptake is much higher than Alkalinity. So I am using Kalwasser and 2-part right now or going forward for a while

What kind of corals do you have in your tank and how many?

 

[M Stein]

You are correct. Experiencing this right now. My calcium uptake is much higher than Alkalinity. So I am using Kalwasser and 2-part right now or going forward for a while

I have a higher Calcium uptake too. Which is weird because it's usually alkalinity that has a higher uptake. Randy Holmes-Farley has an article explaining higher alk consumption but not Calcium.

 

[Viva'sReef]

I think Randy is referring to the complexity of AFR not having immediate effects on tests because it's a bacterial breakdown process over time. That's my super simple explanation anyway lol I'm sure someone way smarter than me will chime in and elaborate