Considering the switch.

Davy Jones · Nov 8, 2016

Been running my tank for about a year and a half now, Had plenty of ups and downs and changes but recently it just hasnt been sitting well with me. No growth on anything, colors are Meh at best and im not sure where the issue is.

Salinity is at 1.025 via refractometor
alk is around 7.8dkh via red sea and hanna checker
Cal is around 430
Mag is around 1400ppm however i do not dose it.
Nitrates are between 0-5ppm tested monthly
phos always comes up as 0 via red sea and hanna checker

Right now my maintenence and tank practices include:
waterchange of about 10 gallons every week, using hw marine mix reefer salt
Apex DoS dosing 5ml ESV B-Ionic 2 part daily
Scrape glass every 2-3 days
Feed 1 mysis shrimp cube daily (most of the time)
Empty skimmer weekly
Change filtersocks weekly

My skimmer is oversized for the tank, and i have about 1 litre of seachem matrix stones scattered in the sump in varous chambers (they didnt stay put but whatever, only had them in there about a week or so)

Now i not here for a "quick fix it" thing, i just personally think i do better when i have some form of instructions to follow. However all of the instructions i read for the product are for "Starting up a new tank"

Following the guide for aquarium type 3, LPS and less demanding sps (mixed reef) i would want
Bio S
Probiotic Reef Salt
Phosphate & Carbon (not sure i am going to run these, havent decided yet)
Compenent 123+
Fish V and Garlic oil
AF Energy
AF build
AF amino Mix
AF Vitality
EDIT: I think the above additives have had name changes? Which corralate to what?
AF power food (already have)
Ricco Food

I am not shooting for ULNS, just a healthy system.

Now all that is easy enough, However i do have some questions about the products.

EDIT2: I can only dose 2 components via the DoS, and not willing to spend the cash on a second DoS, so Can part 3 be done manually 2 times a week to equal the same dosage as part 1 and 2? I.e. I do waterchanges on sunday. If i dose 10ml daily of part 1 and 2 (just an example) could i dose 35ml part 3 on wednesday and 35ml on saturday or something similar? How important is it that all 3 are dosed equally?

If i dose amino's, coral food and viatmins via the products, do i need to shut off my skimmer before/during/after dosing? Or leave it running 24/7 like i do currently?

The dosing seems very easy, 1 drop per 27gal every day or every other day for all of the additives, how can 1 drop of liquid add enough of anything to effect the tank?

If i purchase all the components, how do i make the transition? I would guess start dosing Bio S per instructions, then switch to the salt after 7 days of dosing, switch to the component 123+ by the first water change 7 days later and begin feeding and dosing the additives on day 21 after the second waterchange?

Perry · Nov 9, 2016

@Dirtrider225
I will explain with detail later today. Sorry for the delayed response.

Davy Jones · Nov 9, 2016

Perry said:
@Dirtrider225
I will explain with detail later today. Sorry for the delayed response.

Not a problem! I don't plan on switching until the beginning of december, I'm just trying to decide between this, RCP and zeo. Zeo being the least likely lol

Perry · Nov 9, 2016

Following the guide for aquarium type 3, LPS and less demanding sps (mixed reef) i would want
Bio S (Designed to seed the tank, a nitrifying bacteria that speeds up cycling time)
Probiotic Reef Salt(You could use Reef Salt too, if you do not plan to use the Probiotic Method, then Reef Salt is a better choice)
Phosphate & Carbon (not sure i am going to run these, havent decided yet)
Compenent 123+(Yes, a great choice to replace minerals and trace minerals)
Fish V and Garlic oil
AF Energy(Yes ok to use, start 1/2 dose every other day)
AF build(Yes ok to use, start 1/2 dose every other day)
AF amino Mix(Yes ok to use, start 1/2 dose every other day)
AF Vitality(Yes ok to use, start 1/2 dose every other day)
EDIT: I think the above additives have had name changes? Which corralate to what?(these are the correct names, used to be Coral A, E, B, and V)
AF power food (already have)(Continue use)
Ricco Food(Not necessary, but if you feed, alternate with AF Power Food)

I am not shooting for ULNS, just a healthy system.(Then use of Probiotic Method is unnecessary, depending on bio-load and skimmer size. That said, I think without using NP Pro and Pro Bio S, it is better choice to use Reef Salt as discussed above)

Now all that is easy enough, However i do have some questions about the products.

EDIT2: I can only dose 2 components via the DoS, and not willing to spend the cash on a second DoS, so Can part 3 be done manually 2 times a week to equal the same dosage as part 1 and 2? I.e. I do waterchanges on sunday. If i dose 10ml daily of part 1 and 2 (just an example) could i dose 35ml part 3 on wednesday and 35ml on saturday or something similar? How important is it that all 3 are dosed equally? (Yes dose equally is the design, and I see not problem with manual dose, but daily at the least)

If i dose amino's, coral food and viatmins via the products, do i need to shut off my skimmer before/during/after dosing? Or leave it running 24/7 like i do currently?(You do not have to shut down the skimmer with any of the products, however, I would set the skimmer to dry if you use the Probiotic Method)

The dosing seems very easy, 1 drop per 27gal every day or every other day for all of the additives, how can 1 drop of liquid add enough of anything to effect the tank?(Due to the design and the concentration of each product, I would follow the directions as closely as possible.)

If i purchase all the components, how do i make the transition? I would guess start dosing Bio S per instructions, then switch to the salt after 7 days of dosing, switch to the component 123+ by the first water change 7 days later and begin feeding and dosing the additives on day 21 after the second waterchange?(Dialing the Component 123 system is as easy to do as you would with any other ABC dosing. Start by testing your alk, record that number. Begin dosing by choosing a realistic number, then test the next day at the same time, for example test at 7.8dkh, set the doser to 50ml, then test the following day at the same time, this gives you a 24 hour consumption. If the value is 7.0 the next day, you would raise to 60ml, and test the next day, and opposite if your value was higher, lower the amount and test the next day. So the next day, if your alk is 6.8, then raise the doser to 65 ml, and check again the next day. If the value is 6.8, you have found the dosing set point, these values for the other 2 components intended to be dosed in equal values to that of your alk. I believe in the begining if you are using smaller frags and such, maybe water changes replace the minerals and trace, however, I would convert based on your alk readings. Hope that makes sense, let me know if you have any further questions.)