samba_dad
Active Member
I am currently using the Red Sea Reef Care Program and would like to switch over to the Aquaforest product line. I am primarily interested in SPS with some LPS. What is the best way to transition to the Aquaforest products?
Aquaforest Transition
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jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
I started with the @Aquaforest 1+2+3 balling method, then after 2 weeks seeing the difference I switched over to the components A,B,C, then 2 weeks after that I switched over to the reef salt. I am also dosing the NP-Pro.
tjnorthdakota
Active Member
Following, also very interested in starting this up, I wish there was a cut and dry info sheet of bare minimum to get started. Cut and dry you need these products. They are too vague.
OP
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samba_dad
Active Member
The name changes are very confusing also. Aquaforest themselves talk about Bio F and Pro Bio F like they are different products. However, when you read their own guide, you can't find a Bio F only a Pro Bio F.
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samba_dad
Active Member
Slicktop
Active Member
I need to order salt soon myself and want to switch. Have good color now but always want more.. I currently dose alk, cal and kalk.. I am guessing if I switch salts I will need to adjust the amounts I dose?
This really depends on what corals you keep, and how you run your tank. Probiotic Reef salt is designed for mostly sps corals, it has bacteria and other probiotics present, designed to be used with Pro Bio S(Bacteria source) and NP Pro(Carbon Source) to further aid in reduction of N&P. The Reef salt is also for sps but mixed as well. It would be compared to a typical reef salt, with the advantage of mixing with close to NSW values. This salt is a good choice for someone who is happy with their N&P reduction methods, and merely want to switch to a higher quality salt, at the same cost point as other common brands. There is also Sea salt, but it is mostly for use with fish only tanks. Please read over the PDF product guide and we are here to support you with any further questions. Cheers!
eg8r210
Well-Known Member
I worry you might run into an issue with overdosing components ABC if you are already using components 1+2+3+. ABC is already included in the 1+2+3+ so there is no need to add components ABC.
1+2+3+ is the full method for dosing macro and micro elements. Component ABC is useful for those using a calcium reactor or those dosing two part using RHF formula or BRS dry goods.
OP
OP
samba_dad
Active Member
@Perry
I did read through the guide multiple times. I need to transition a stable tank with LPS and SPS from Red Sea (Coral Pro Salt) to Aquaforest. I have...
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
0.1 phosphate
10ppm nitrate
10.8 Alk
480 Cal
1530 Mg
8.2 pH
77 deg F temp
What is the recommended process for switching over to Aquaforest product line? Just start at step 1 in the guide? Do I use Bio S if I have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite?
I did read through the guide multiple times. I need to transition a stable tank with LPS and SPS from Red Sea (Coral Pro Salt) to Aquaforest. I have...
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
0.1 phosphate
10ppm nitrate
10.8 Alk
480 Cal
1530 Mg
8.2 pH
77 deg F temp
What is the recommended process for switching over to Aquaforest product line? Just start at step 1 in the guide? Do I use Bio S if I have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite?
OK awesome. First and foremost, I would allow Ca, Mg, and Kh to fall inline with NSW values, or as closely as possible. Try and shoot for the following:
6.8-7.5dkh
390-420Ca
1280-1350Mg
1.025-.026 Specific Gravity
If you are dosing 2 part, simply don't dose until you get the lower values. Let this happen naturally, sps corals usually are ok with a gradual drift downwards, but do not like spikes upwards. You do not need to dose Bio S unless you are establishing a new tank, it speeds cycling time. If you want to go Probiotic route, I would get the values in line, then start with maybe a 20% water change using the Probiotic Reef Salt. From there, you can begin using Pro Bio S and NP Pro to control nutrients. You can also use Carbon and Phos minus to further aid in reduction of nutrients. In use with this program you can also use Coral Supplements. The Component 123 system maintains macro and micro elements and is an AIO dosing. If you want to use parts of the system, that is fine too. It is really up to you
Cheers
6.8-7.5dkh
390-420Ca
1280-1350Mg
1.025-.026 Specific Gravity
If you are dosing 2 part, simply don't dose until you get the lower values. Let this happen naturally, sps corals usually are ok with a gradual drift downwards, but do not like spikes upwards. You do not need to dose Bio S unless you are establishing a new tank, it speeds cycling time. If you want to go Probiotic route, I would get the values in line, then start with maybe a 20% water change using the Probiotic Reef Salt. From there, you can begin using Pro Bio S and NP Pro to control nutrients. You can also use Carbon and Phos minus to further aid in reduction of nutrients. In use with this program you can also use Coral Supplements. The Component 123 system maintains macro and micro elements and is an AIO dosing. If you want to use parts of the system, that is fine too. It is really up to you
Cheers
OP
OP
samba_dad
Active Member
OK awesome. First and foremost, I would allow Ca, Mg, and Kh to fall inline with NSW values, or as closely as possible. Try and shoot for the following:
6.8-7.5dkh
390-420Ca
1280-1350Mg
1.025-.026 Specific Gravity
If you are dosing 2 part, simply don't dose until you get the lower values. Let this happen naturally, sps corals usually are ok with a gradual drift downwards, but do not like spikes upwards. You do not need to dose Bio S unless you are establishing a new tank, it speeds cycling time. If you want to go Probiotic route, I would get the values in line, then start with maybe a 20% water change using the Probiotic Reef Salt. From there, you can begin using Pro Bio S and NP Pro to control nutrients. You can also use Carbon and Phos minus to further aid in reduction of nutrients. In use with this program you can also use Coral Supplements. The Component 123 system maintains macro and micro elements and is an AIO dosing. If you want to use parts of the system, that is fine too. It is really up to you
Thanks @Perry. That is what I was looking for.
Wow, nice tank and already great colors Beautiful anthias too! Basically the addition of fresh bacteria(Pro Bio S) which are fed by a carbon source(NP Pro). They are designed to allow for low nutrient conditions where you can feed fish heavy and supplement with coral food sources. Some will add mediums like siporax or matrix, which creates very efficient surface area for denitrifying bacteria to grow, in most systems, with ample live rock and sand, this alone could be enough. But for systems that use little live rock and run bb, these mediums expand the biological filtration. I use both, and use zeolites, they too create surface area for bacterial growth. Cheers!
Beautiful anthias too! Basically the addition of fresh bacteria(Pro Bio S) which are fed by a carbon source(NP Pro). They are designed to allow for low nutrient conditions where you can feed fish heavy and supplement with coral food sources. Some will add mediums like siporax or matrix, which creates very efficient surface area for denitrifying bacteria to grow, in most systems, with ample live rock and sand, this alone could be enough. But for systems that use little live rock and run bb, these mediums expand the biological filtration. I use both, and use zeolites, they too create surface area for bacterial growth. Cheers!
OP
OP
samba_dad
Active Member
So, I am making progress on my transition to the NSW values for my Alk, Ca & Mg. Yesterday, I purchased the following products...
Component 1+, 2+, 3+
Pro Bio S
NP Pro
Pro Bio F
Coral A
Coral B
Coral V
Coral E
The only thing I did not purchase yet was the Aquaforest Probiotic Reef Salt. The reason why is that I had just purchased the large container of Red Sea Coral Pro salt and I wanted to try to finish it before switching over to the new salt.
On 28 May, I turned off all dosing pumps except for NoPox to let my parameters drop from Red Sea recommended values to the Aquaforest recommended values. My current tank parameters as of yesterday are...
Alk - 8.2 dKH (Tank consumes 0.49 dKH/day without dosing)
Ca - 460 ppm (Tank consumes 8.57 ppm/day without dosing)
Mg - 1500 ppm (Tank consumes 24.29 ppm/day without dosing - probably some measurement error here)
I have 2 questions.
1) Should I continue with Red Sea until I get Alk, Ca & Mg at desired levels of 7.15dKH Alk, 405 ppm Ca, 1315ppm Mg? The Red Sea dosing products are not balanced and I can dose these separately to control values somewhat independently.
2) Help with the dosing math for Component 1+. So, the information from Aquaforest states, "50ml raises of 9 mg Ca/100 l and 0,6 mg Mg/100l ". Randy Holmes Farley defines "For exact purposes, mg/L = ppm * specific gravity (like sg = 1.026)". That would mean that 50ml of Component 1+ would raise Ca levels by only 0.09ppm for a 27 gal aquarium. I have an 65 gal tank with a 15 gal sump for a total of 80 gal water volume. That would mean that 50ml of Component 1+ would only raise Ca by 0.03 ppm. That would mean I need 14 l/day just to makeup for daily consumption. Where is my math wrong?
Thanks for the help @Aquaforest
Component 1+, 2+, 3+
Pro Bio S
NP Pro
Pro Bio F
Coral A
Coral B
Coral V
Coral E
The only thing I did not purchase yet was the Aquaforest Probiotic Reef Salt. The reason why is that I had just purchased the large container of Red Sea Coral Pro salt and I wanted to try to finish it before switching over to the new salt.
On 28 May, I turned off all dosing pumps except for NoPox to let my parameters drop from Red Sea recommended values to the Aquaforest recommended values. My current tank parameters as of yesterday are...
Alk - 8.2 dKH (Tank consumes 0.49 dKH/day without dosing)
Ca - 460 ppm (Tank consumes 8.57 ppm/day without dosing)
Mg - 1500 ppm (Tank consumes 24.29 ppm/day without dosing - probably some measurement error here)
I have 2 questions.
1) Should I continue with Red Sea until I get Alk, Ca & Mg at desired levels of 7.15dKH Alk, 405 ppm Ca, 1315ppm Mg? The Red Sea dosing products are not balanced and I can dose these separately to control values somewhat independently.
2) Help with the dosing math for Component 1+. So, the information from Aquaforest states, "50ml raises of 9 mg Ca/100 l and 0,6 mg Mg/100l ". Randy Holmes Farley defines "For exact purposes, mg/L = ppm * specific gravity (like sg = 1.026)". That would mean that 50ml of Component 1+ would raise Ca levels by only 0.09ppm for a 27 gal aquarium. I have an 65 gal tank with a 15 gal sump for a total of 80 gal water volume. That would mean that 50ml of Component 1+ would only raise Ca by 0.03 ppm. That would mean I need 14 l/day just to makeup for daily consumption. Where is my math wrong?
Thanks for the help @Aquaforest
Sounds like you have a great plan, look forward to seeing your results As far as dialing in the component123, you need to begin at your desired parameters as your set point. Whenever I am trying to dial in a 2/3 part system, I mainly focus on alk. I began with 80ml as my dose, every morning at the same time, I test alk. Each day I continue to raise the value if it is lower than previous day. When I was at the beginning, I saw nearly a point(dkh) value drop, so I raised my first day to 120ml, the next day I still had a lower value, I bumped by 20ml and repeated the process every day until I could test without a lower value than the previous day. My alk went down as low as 5.3dkh with no signs of irritation to the corals. Once I saw no change from one day to another, this determined my dosing set point. I then buffered manually to raise the value to 6.8 dkh. I am now dialed in, using 220ml per day, and that value is likely going to increase as my corals are growing like weeds. Keep in mind when you do water changes, to keep an eye on alk, as the values for Red Sea Pro are much higher than where you want to keep your parameters, so you may have to suspend dosing for a day or a period of time so the water lowers back to your desired parameters. I would go ahead and switch on over to the component 123 dosing, especially if you feel RS are not balanced. For your tank I would simply start at 40ml and take it from there. This value is likely to increase, but this will keep you in touch with the products and give you more comfort doing so daily. Hope this helps. Cheers
As far as dialing in the component123, you need to begin at your desired parameters as your set point. Whenever I am trying to dial in a 2/3 part system, I mainly focus on alk. I began with 80ml as my dose, every morning at the same time, I test alk. Each day I continue to raise the value if it is lower than previous day. When I was at the beginning, I saw nearly a point(dkh) value drop, so I raised my first day to 120ml, the next day I still had a lower value, I bumped by 20ml and repeated the process every day until I could test without a lower value than the previous day. My alk went down as low as 5.3dkh with no signs of irritation to the corals. Once I saw no change from one day to another, this determined my dosing set point. I then buffered manually to raise the value to 6.8 dkh. I am now dialed in, using 220ml per day, and that value is likely going to increase as my corals are growing like weeds. Keep in mind when you do water changes, to keep an eye on alk, as the values for Red Sea Pro are much higher than where you want to keep your parameters, so you may have to suspend dosing for a day or a period of time so the water lowers back to your desired parameters. I would go ahead and switch on over to the component 123 dosing, especially if you feel RS are not balanced. For your tank I would simply start at 40ml and take it from there. This value is likely to increase, but this will keep you in touch with the products and give you more comfort doing so daily. Hope this helps. Cheers
hotnickz07
Active Member
Full AF tank here with nothing but great results. You will love it man trust me. Sounds like Perry has guided you in the right direction, with tons of good info. As far as the ballin 123, how i started was at 25 ml a day, since i have a 62g with 20g sump. So basically i should have been at around 75ml a day more or less. But the guys over at AF recommend i started at 1/3 - 1/2 the dosage, however even at 25ml proved to be to much for my tank to start. So i ended lowering to about 12 ml a day and raising it gradually to maintain alk at 7.7. After 2 months, my growth has kinda taken off and as a result so has my dosing. Im at 42 ml a day now , and most likely will have to raise it again. Mind you i just did last week, literally double it almost. My when i checked my alk was almost in the 5's. Now its been sitting at 6.7 to 7 dkh. Lets see how long it will be before i have to raise it again. Anyways good luck and enjoy.
OP
OP
samba_dad
Active Member
Sounds like you have a great plan, look forward to seeing your results
Well you predicted correctly. When I did a 10% water change with Red Sea Coral Pro Salt, my alk jumped by 1dKH, 65ppm Ca, and 65ppm Mg. I don't think I can do any more water changes until converting to Aquaforest salt.
One other question for you. I automate my water changes through my Apex. I have a big water change on the weekend and a couple gallons every day through saltwater containers. If I use the AF Probiotic salt and store it in a dark container for a couple weeks for the smaller water changes, will it become anaerobic and kill my livestock? If so, is the AF Reef Salt with dosing pro bios, no pro and pro bio f be effectively the same thing?
Thanks @Perry.
The probiotic salt needs to be used right away, you could do this with the Reef Salt, and yes you can get the same effect with it.
