Diluting All For Reef by Tropic Marine

[alp5747]

I only have a continuous duty Dosing pump (Kamoer STP-FX) and I am wondering if there would be no problems diluting All For Reef. i would be diluting by a factor of 30.
Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The concern is bacteria growing in it. If you try this, I would not dilute large amounts at once so it is not sitting around for more than a few days, and watch for signs of bacteria growing in it.

 

[alp5747]

The concern is bacteria growing in it. If you try this, I would not dilute large amounts at once so it is not sitting around for more than a few days, and watch for signs of bacteria growing in it.

Thanks for the response. So I would fill the larger container with 2-3 days worth of supplement and clean the container between refills.

 

[areefer01]

What is the reason for dilution? I personally mix up 3600 ml batches which lasts me a couple of months. I have not experienced any degradation over time nor growth in the container. I do rinse and dry out the container between uses. Could also always reach out to Tropic Marin via their portal.

 

[alp5747]

What is the reason for dilution? I personally mix up 3600 ml batches which lasts me a couple of months. I have not experienced any degradation over time nor growth in the container. I do rinse and dry out the container between uses. Could also always reach out to Tropic Marin via their portal.

I run a continuous duty Dosing pump so the smallest dose I can do is 1ml per minute which is 1440ml per day

 

[areefer01]

I run a continuous duty Dosing pump so the smallest dose I can do is 1ml per minute which is 1440ml per day

Go it, thanks. I'm using a Neptune DOS which is different. I've made it a bit stronger without issues. I do make large batches as I mentioned without issues and my alk, ca, and mg are consistent. As RHF suggested you could test easy enough for a couple of runs and see how it goes. To me it would seem no different than making a larger batch but I've not tried it as you are wanting to, diluted.

@Lou Ekus or @Hans-Werner could you provide any information on the OP's question (first post) on diluting?

 

[Hans-Werner]

Go it, thanks. I'm using a Neptune DOS which is different. I've made it a bit stronger without issues. I do make large batches as I mentioned without issues and my alk, ca, and mg are consistent. As RHF suggested you could test easy enough for a couple of runs and see how it goes. To me it would seem no different than making a larger batch but I've not tried it as you are wanting to, diluted.

@Lou Ekus or @Hans-Werner could you provide any information on the OP's question (first post) on diluting?

Randy has given exactly the right answer. The problem could be growing bacteria. At higher concentrations it are black fibery colonies. The color is most likely melanin and seems to have a protective function against high concentrations. Diluting 30 fold would be a very strong dilution, so microbes or color developing at this concentration could differ.

alp5747 can just give it a try with a limited amount. Nothing bad will happen if it goes wrong except that microbes may form biofilms in the storage container, pumps and hoses. Since you have no problems maybe he is lucky and also has not problems with microbial growth.

 

[areefer01]

Randy has given exactly the right answer. The problem could be growing bacteria. At higher concentrations it are black fibery colonies. The color is most likely melanin and seems to have a protective function against high concentrations. Diluting 30 fold would be a very strong dilution, so microbes or color developing at this concentration could differ.

alp5747 can just give it a try with a limited amount. Nothing bad will happen if it goes wrong except that microbes may form biofilms in the storage container, pumps and hoses. Since you have no problems maybe he is lucky and also has not problems with microbial growth.

Thanks. By the way I was not trying to discount or say RHF provided the wrong answer. I apologize to both of you if it came across that way.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

maybe try a cheap smart plug like Kasa so the doser only runs as much as you want