Aquaforest Support

[Anirban]

The "probiotic program" that aquaforest has is the only place I see to use np pro and pro bio s, the one with high demand sps. Under their lps and sps program I doesn't have it listed to use it, just the reef salt, components 123 and the additives amino mix, build, energy and t he other one I can't think of.

Yes, their programme is mix of two things. First the probiotics and second the balling. Now the bio s helps in nitrogen cycle but the in case of probio s it helps in reducing phosphate and nitrate by converting them into biomass which will be skimmed off. So, if you just seed your system with bio S your nitrogen cycle will be fine but there will be phosphate and nitrate which needs to be taken care. So less demanding system can survive with bit more phosphate and nitrate but higher end heavy sps system needs very low level of these so using pro bios will reduce it further. If you are just keeping LPS or very few SPS you can just seed with bio S and then use balling to maintain the level.

 

[drheacock]

Good to see a little back and forth on the pro-biotic and carbon source strategy in a system that measures low nitrates. Is it necessary in this case? Or, as you say, can I seed with the Probio-S and then discontinue? I would describe my system as 50% soft, 35%LPS, 15%SPS. SPS is on the increase. How long do I "seed" the system?

 

[Anirban]

Good to see a little back and forth on the pro-biotic and carbon source strategy in a system that measures low nitrates. Is it necessary in this case? Or, as you say, can I seed with the Probio-S and then discontinue? I would describe my system as 50% soft, 35%LPS, 15%SPS. SPS is on the increase. How long do I "seed" the system?

Bio S seeding is for 2 weeks at the beginning of system...

 

[eg8r210]

Good to see a little back and forth on the pro-biotic and carbon source strategy in a system that measures low nitrates. Is it necessary in this case? Or, as you say, can I seed with the Probio-S and then discontinue? I would describe my system as 50% soft, 35%LPS, 15%SPS. SPS is on the increase. How long do I "seed" the system?

My recommendation is to pay attention to your system and make changes as needed. If you have no desire to drop your nutrient levels then no sense in spending money on products that reduce nutrient levels. They reference heavy SPS systems because there is a large group of people that try to get NO3 and PO4 down super low, almost starving out the corals so that they can then dose back in specific nutrients to support the coral and in some cases modify the colors. Others use the probiotic process to keep levels exactly where they are currently. The whole system is 100% customizable based on what you are looking to do.

 

[bubbaque]

I just wasn't sure if I should be dosing the np pro and pro bio s because it lowers nutrients. In their guide it says unless your doing the full probiotic salt to keep nitrates between 2-5ppm and mine are currently 3ppm. If I started dosing then I imagine mine would drop out of the range.

I started dosing tonight with the amino mix and coral V, I did one drop of each to start with in a 80gl total system. I have the np pro and the pro bio s but I think I am going to hold off On those for now.

 

[eg8r210]

I just wasn't sure if I should be dosing the np pro and pro bio s because it lowers nutrients. In their guide it says unless your doing the full probiotic salt to keep nitrates between 2-5ppm and mine are currently 3ppm. If I started dosing then I imagine mine would drop out of the range.

I started dosing tonight with the amino mix and coral V, I did one drop of each to start with in a 80gl total system. I have the np pro and the pro bio s but I think I am going to hold off On those for now.

I think you will be fine holding off. If you notice they go up then you can start dosing them. One word of caution, carbon dosing doesn't happen over night. It can takes weeks to build up the bacteria to start being effective so if you notice your nitrates start rising then begin dosing. Give the dosing plenty of time to start working because your nitrates will not disappear over night.

 

[drheacock]

5 days of dosing 150 ml CA+ brought level from 400 to 480
5 days of dosing 150 ml MG+ brought level from 900 to 1300

Alk dropped from 8.9 to 8.5
Temp constant at 80

Sounds like I should DC the CA+
Should I also DC the MG?

One week into seeding with ProbioS and NP Pro 8 drops each every morning.

 

[helldiver]

Can you tell me more about phosphate remover what is is and how much to use

 

[eg8r210]

5 days of dosing 150 ml CA+ brought level from 400 to 480
5 days of dosing 150 ml MG+ brought level from 900 to 1300

Alk dropped from 8.9 to 8.5
Temp constant at 80

Sounds like I should DC the CA+
Should I also DC the MG?

One week into seeding with ProbioS and NP Pro 8 drops each every morning.

That seems unlikely to raise Mag 400 points with such a little amount of mag dosing, but if your test says that is the level then go with it. Once your current two part runs out you can switch to the 123+. At that point you shouldn't have a need for the CA+ or MG+.

 

[G8trBait16]

I have a quick question for the dosing masters. It is my first time using a doser, which I bought the Bubble Magus BM-T11. It is a lot better than manually dosing the components 1+,2+,3+. But what I am wondering is how many doses per day do I set it for. Currently I am dosing 60ml over a 24hr day, so basically 2.5ml an hour. Should I dose 60ml over a shorter period 8 or 12 hours. Didn't know if there was a better way of doing this. Thank you for all of the help.

 

[Perry]

Matt,
The more doses the better, think of it like this, once per day manually, you were allowing for consumption to drop in between doses, and while the water volume was larger, there still was a shift. If you can deliver upon every hour, or 24 cycles if you will, this will most certainly allow for better stability. During the non-photosynthesis hours, it is possible that alk will rise ever so slightly, but not significant enough to cause harm, perhaps a bump in ph too. I was speaking with the CEO of Pac Sun, and he indicated that the Kore 5th delivers drop increments, so in theory, you could automate to the minute, again, less fluctuation. This idea is phenomenal for a pic or nano tank, as the parameters can shift quickly. All in all, every hour dose is tremendous and your corals will thank you. You will see a bump in consumption as the corals will probably take off, due to the more stable environment. Stability is key

 

[G8trBait16]

Wow, thank you @Perry for the quick response!

 

[Barry Bowen]

Can comp 1+2+3+ be used with other brands of salt or even natural salt water ?
Pro biotic salt ain't available as yet in my LFS and my bucket of AF reef salt has a Mg reading of 1500+ so I'm not real keen to keep using this bucket of salt

 

[seargentslice]

Is coral B same as kz coral snow? Besides the description any info on what it exactly is or does in conjunction with the AF program?
thx

 

[Perry]

Is coral B same as kz coral snow? Besides the description any info on what it exactly is or does in conjunction with the AF program?
thx

I believe it to be similar to that of Coral Snow, my own impression though. I also believe that Energy seems similar to that of Coral Vitalizer too, and also smell similar

 

[Armydogracing]

I am about to switch to AF reef salt I currently have a mixed reef.

My question is about Pro bio S and NP Pro

I dose vinegar now and have been for quite sometime. Is it advised to stop doing that and switch to these products? Or can I continue carbon dosing for the same effects?

Thanks in advance

 

[Anirban]

I am about to switch to AF reef salt I currently have a mixed reef.

My question is about Pro bio S and NP Pro

I dose vinegar now and have been for quite sometime. Is it advised to stop doing that and switch to these products? Or can I continue carbon dosing for the same effects?

Thanks in advance

You can dose vinegar with pro bio S but its not recommended. Also dont dose Vinegar and NP Pro together.as they both are carbon source.

 

[Armydogracing]

Thank you for the fast reply.

I eventually would like to switch fully to the af products fully but I purchased a lot of vinegar in bulk and don't know what I'd do with it all I have around 5 gallons left lol

 

[traxxonwaxx99]

Hi, I have a question. I’ve been balling with your products and Strong Component B used to be a light red color. It would turn my Ca Mg Solution a rust color. I just picked up a new box of Components ABCK and the B component is now clear. Is this okay?

 

[Aquaforest]

Hi, I have a question. I’ve been balling with your products and Strong Component B used to be a light red color. It would turn my Ca Mg Solution a rust color. I just picked up a new box of Components ABCK and the B component is now clear. Is this okay?

Yes, it's ok.
Some brown dust you can see sometimes - it's excess of iron.