Dose all for reef or dose individual?

[Funtrader]

So I knkw dosing all for reef is tricky when you first start but I also read that once you get the science part and your levels are not going up and down then it good. I have been thinking of using all for reef but currently I am working on bring one of me perimeters level down. I am currently dosing mag and calcium manually but been thinking of buying myself a redsea dosing unit but not sure if inshould get the 4 head one or the two head one because I am thinking thag ones I get all my water perimeters to where they should be just to dose one thing instead of multiple. Would the group recomend getting the 4 head and dosing individual or just get the 2 head and dose all for reef and something else?

 

[sadrobotz]

i dose individual parts. my reasoning is because dosing all4reef can result in some levels being on and others being thrown wildly off which can in turn make things a heck of a lot harder from you. i was told this by a couple of very serious and accomplished reefers so i trust that advice

 

[Hooz]

i dose individual parts. my reasoning is because dosing all4reef can result in some levels being on and others being thrown wildly off which can in turn make things a heck of a lot harder from you. i was told this by a couple of very serious and accomplished reefers so i trust that advice

"Thrown wildly off" seems to imply that it can happen suddenly which, as I've found in my years of All for Reef use, doesn't happen. Nothing happens quickly with All for Reef. That's kind of the beauty of it.

Since the "big 3" are all added in a "balanced" ratio, there might be some drift in one of them, depending on your tank's demands. In my LPS/softie tank, calcium rises over time because it doesn't get consumed as fast as the alkalinity or magnesium. But I wouldn't call a rise over several months "suddenly" or "wildly". In fact, it's nothing that bi-weekly testing wouldn't detect and a water change wouldn't correct.

I would say that All for Reef is probably a good easy solution for all but the most demanding SPS tanks. Unless you're chasing that acro dragon, give it a shot.

As a side note: One of my tanks has a 5 head doser, and I'm currently using a whole TWO of them (All for Reef and Acropower).

 

[anthonymckay]

People have great success with AFR. I personally prefer to dose individually just because I like to have control over every aspect.

 

[GARRIGA]

"Thrown wildly off" seems to imply that it can happen suddenly which, as I've found in my years of All for Reef use, doesn't happen. Nothing happens quickly with All for Reef. That's kind of the beauty of it.

Since the "big 3" are all added in a "balanced" ratio, there might be some drift in one of them, depending on your tank's demands. In my LPS/softie tank, calcium rises over time because it doesn't get consumed as fast as the alkalinity or magnesium. But I wouldn't call a rise over several months "suddenly" or "wildly". In fact, it's nothing that bi-weekly testing wouldn't detect and a water change wouldn't correct.

I would say that All for Reef is probably a good easy solution for all but the most demanding SPS tanks. Unless you're chasing that acro dragon, give it a shot.

As a side note: One of my tanks has a 5 head doser, and I'm currently using a whole TWO of them (All for Reef and Acropower).

Wouldn't dosing AFR based on calcium consumption solve the concern with calcium rising then just adjust alkalinity as needed along with trace off ICP? I recall Lou saying to determine dosage off calcium which makes sense to me.

 

[Hooz]

Wouldn't dosing AFR based on calcium consumption solve the concern with calcium rising then just adjust alkalinity as needed along with trace off ICP? I recall Lou saying to determine dosage off calcium which makes sense to me.

He recommended that as a way to start with All for Reef since the alkalinity can take a while (even days) to show up on a test when you first start dosing AFR. Once you've been rolling with AFR for a while, the alkalinity shows up mush faster on test kits. It's still not instant, but it's much more manageable.

If I tried to dose long term based on calcium, at least in the tank I mentioned above, I'd constantly be supplementing additional alkalinity and magnesium since they are consumed at a faster rate than calcium in that tank. If I'm dosing 3 things, why use All for Reef at all? Kind of defeats the purpose.

Just to clarify... most people shoot for calcium levels in the 450 range. RHF has stated here that anything under 550 is perfectly fine. So what I do is when my calcium hits 500+, I do a water change with a salt that has a lower concentration of calcium (Regular IO and Tropic Marin Classic are both in the 380 range) to knock my calcium down a bit. It's super easy to do, and much less time and energy than managing multiple dosers with multiple additives.

 

[Funtrader]

I am currently working on lowering my alkalinity as it shooted up. I am guessing that if I do decide to dose just AFR I should get my alkalinity to the lowest and start from there. Go by what they suggest to be the starting dose and then increase it by 2.5 ml every week until it levels out?

 

[Hooz]

I am currently working on lowering my alkalinity as it shooted up. I am guessing that if I do decide to dose just AFR I should get my alkalinity to the lowest and start from there. Go by what they suggest to be the starting dose and then increase it by 2.5 ml every week until it levels out?

I start new tanks on 1/2 the recommended dose for the tank's capacity. Always, especially in the beginning, dose that same amount daily for three days before adjusting. Try to test at the same time each time and, if you dose by hand, try to do it at the same time each day.

 

[useer10202820]

I have 5 tanks, and dose AFR in 3 of them. The beauty of it, once you figure out your daily alkalinity consumption, the rest stays in sync. I tested alk calc and Mag when first starting AFR, and after months, if my alk was the same, my calc and mag were as well. I only retest things if I add more coral.

I dose 3 times a day 8 hrs apart.

 

[Natural_Reefer]

I like the simplicity of dosing AFR!
My tank is about 2.5 years old. Started AFR 1.5 years ago. Not sure if it is directly due to AFR but my SPS dominant tank seems to thrive.
I am also using Kalkwasser to maintain Alk and Calcium.

 

[nothing_fancy]

AFR is a good product to start with IMO especially for tanks under 100g. I used it for the first nearly 1 year my tank was up and auto dosed it just under the daily recommendation. When consumption goes up it can become costly to use AFR that is the only downside I can see. If you really want to dial in a tight alk swing you may find yourself going in a different direction than AFR down the line. It's a very good product it is just very expensive compared to using baking soda and calcium chloride to maintain cal and alk.

 

[Kevinmj70]

“FNG” question but I am going to start dosing AFR into my new set up 150g with X 10 Hydros. I transferred a few corals but i want to be in a good starting place as the coral load increases. Should I dose to the return pump section of the sump?

 

[Funtrader]

“FNG” question but I am going to start dosing AFR into my new set up 150g with X 10 Hydros. I transferred a few corals but i want to be in a good starting place as the coral load increases. Should I dose to the return pump section of the sump?

Good question. I will also like to know where should I set up the hoses to like what chamber of my sump?

 

[Natural_Reefer]

Good question. I will also like to know where should I set up the hoses to like what chamber of my sump?

I have my dose into the Return Pump Chamber. My Kalkwasser is dosing upstream (near the Skimmer Outlet)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

“FNG” question but I am going to start dosing AFR into my new set up 150g with X 10 Hydros. I transferred a few corals but i want to be in a good starting place as the coral load increases. Should I dose to the return pump section of the sump?

I don’t think it matters much where you dose AFR, but in general you want all additives to becomes diluted by mixing before encountering delicate organisms.

 

[reefadam]

I have 5 tanks, and dose AFR in 3 of them. The beauty of it, once you figure out your daily alkalinity consumption, the rest stays in sync. I tested alk calc and Mag when first starting AFR, and after months, if my alk was the same, my calc and mag were as well. I only retest things if I add more coral.

I dose 3 times a day 8 hrs apart.

What’s your typical dosage ? I’m at 25ml / day on my 75, (which feels high).

 

[ukgeoff]

I use between 10 - 11ml a day on my 30-gallon tank so I'm dosing pretty similar to you. The all-for-reef dosing instructions state to start at 5ml per 100 litres and increase to no more than 25ml per 100 litres (which I think is around 30 gallons).

Dosing 25ml into 75 gallons is no problem, and you can go up to 50ml if needed.

 

[areefer01]

I dose 80 ml/day on my 210 mixed. I've gone as high as 110 ml/day but have since dialed it back a bit. Consumption rate is a bit lower than previously and I think it may be due to slower growth, high phosphates. At least that is what I think is going on.

I take my amount and spread it over the course of lights on. Nothing fancy. I buy the 1600g container and mix up 3600 ml batches which lasts me a couple months. It is a good product and I like the ease of use. Corals seem to be happy. They also seemed happy when I was dosing ESV 2 part. I only switched because I wanted a single dose solution to free up the other one for other tasks.

tl: dr - it works as advertised for me. No issues. Tank looks good. Set parameters where I wanted before first dose. Off and running. ESV 2 part also worked great and I see no difference between the two other than the single dose change. I use it because I like it...

 

[useer10202820]

What’s your typical dosage ? I’m at 25ml / day on my 75, (which feels high).

I am a large softy guy, in my 180 I dose 24 ML a day and the ALK stays at 8. I have a few acros in there. In the 50 lowboys that have acros, I dose 18 ML a day. other tanks are all softies so I just dose 5 ML every couple of days.

 

[teaktoc]

i dose individual parts. my reasoning is because dosing all4reef can result in some levels being on and others being thrown wildly off which can in turn make things a heck of a lot harder from you. i was told this by a couple of very serious and accomplished reefers so i trust that advice

What is your standard dosing ratio for the four AFR components?