How much should all for reef increase alk?

[Jake_the_reefer]

So I am trying out all for reef in my 20g tank and I just did my first round tonight. My alk tested at 6.2 and I tested it 30 mins later and it only tested 6.4 on my hannah checker.

I added 4ml to my 20g tank for an increase of .2 alk. Is that correct? Should I add more now? Did I test too soon after adding? My daily usage is .3dkh.

 

[eaquintero]

You definitely don't want to go up too fast.over the next couple of weeks aim for consistent dkh of 7-8 and stick with it.

 

[Albertan22]

Keep in mind that your tank will use some of that all between now and when you dose tomorrow. You want to figure out what your consumption is, then dose at least that to maintain, and a bit more to slowly bring your level up.

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

You definitely don't want to go up too fast.over the next couple of weeks aim for consistent dkh of 7-8 and stick with it.

Sounds good. My biggest question is how much does all for reef raise alkalinity? 4ml of all for reef only gave me .2dkh while 5ml of seachem gives me 1dkh

 

[Moscar]

Sounds good. My biggest question is how much does all for reef raise alkalinity? 4ml of all for reef only gave me .2dkh while 5ml of seachem gives me 1dkh

Tropic Marin products are super quality and based on a gentle, long term method. Slow is good if things are not too stressed out at your present numbers.

E mail Tropic Marin if you want - they will answer.

 

[eaquintero]

I've had it raise from 7.2 to 7.8 on my test a week after by increasing the dosage by 0.5 but I have a 15g nano

 

[Hydrored]

You have to give all for reef time to work, it’s not instant alk

 

[Moscar]

I've had it raise from 7.2 to 7.8 on my test a week after by increasing the dosage by 0.5 but I have a 15g nano

Great, so you're almost there! Go easy and enjoy!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You understand you cannot detect the alkalinity it adds right away, correct? You need to give time for bacteria or other organisms to metabolize it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

From Tropic Marin:

ALL-FOR-REEF - Tropic Marin®

ALL-FOR-REEF is an easy- to-use, highly concentrated solution for the supply of ALL essential minerals and trace elements in reef aquariums.

www.tropic-marin-smartinfo.com

500 ml ALL-FOR-REEF contain 20,000 mg calcium, 950 mg magnesium, 390 mg strontium, 2,800 °carbonate hardness and 17 mg iodine.

That sentence has some technical issues relating to the alk part “concentration”, but I can figure out what it is trying to say based on how such a product works. Curious that it is not perfectly balanced calcium to alkalinity. It is more like limewater (kalkwasser) with a slightly over abundance of calcium.

That said, 10 mL contains 400 mg of calcium and if you add 10 mL to 100 liters of aquarium water, it will boost calcium by 4 ppm calcium and alkalinity by 0.56 dKH.

 

[najer]

I tried a bottle but it worked out really expensive for my tank, my understanding is that it is great for maintaining levels but you need to buffer to your desired level first.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I tried a bottle but it worked out really expensive for my tank, my understanding is that it is great for maintaining levels but you need to buffer to your desired level first.

I agree it can be expensive, and it may be easier to boost alk first and then maintain it, but the product can also be used to raise alk just fine. Same effect as using both parts of a two part or kalkwasser or a CaCO3/CO2 reactor to boost alkalinity.

None of these methods would be good for a substantial calcium boost as the alk would get too high. The reverse generally isn't true.

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

I agree it can be expensive, and it may be easier to boost alk first and then maintain it, but the product can also be used to raise alk just fine. Same effect as using both parts of a two part or kalkwasser or a CaCO3/CO2 reactor to boost alkalinity.

None of these methods would be good for a substantial calcium boost as the alk would get too high. The reverse generally isn't true.

So would the best route be to boost my levels to the desired amount via 2 part then keep the levels stable with the all for reef?

 

[Hydrored]

So would the best route be to boost my levels to the desired amount via 2 part then keep the levels stable with the all for reef?

Yes

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So would the best route be to boost my levels to the desired amount via 2 part then keep the levels stable with the all for reef?

Either way is fine for alk. The two part is faster to know you got it right. If calcium needs a boost, a calcium only supplement is needed.

 

[Cbones1979]

Yes

I’m trying to do this but my alk will go from 8 to 8 then using Hanna down to 7.4 over a few days of testing. Dosing 8 ml all for in a 45 gallon.
Going away next week so was hoping to dial it in to keep it from dropping by then…