Kalk or all for reef?

[Dav2996]

The results speak for themselves. Find a user that has had a negative experience using AFR.

I stopped using all for reef because it couldn’t meet my alkalinity and calcium consumption. If I dosed more it would raise alkalinity but not calcium which was low. I stopped using it because it couldn’t meet my needs anymore. I prefer kalkwasser. I manually add my trace.

 

[Dav2996]

The results speak for themselves. Find a user that has had a negative experience using AFR.

I can make 80 gallons of kalkwasser for 20$.

 

[TheyGaveItToMe]

I stopped using all for reef because it couldn’t meet my alkalinity and calcium consumption. If I dosed more it would raise alkalinity but not calcium which was low. I stopped using it because it couldn’t meet my needs anymore. I prefer kalkwasser. I manually add my trace.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say your aquarium isn't a nano like the OPs.

I can make 80 gallons of kalkwasser for 20$.

Yes, yes you can...
I can make 10 liters of All For Reef for $40. 80 gallons of Kalk last you how long? A liter of AFR last me 6 weeks or more. So a little more than a year for $40.
If you are using more than 80 gallons of Kalk in 6 months, then AFR is not the product for your application. And, wasn't designed for your aquarium.

 

[Mortgaged Reefs]

I have been dosing both. In smaller Tanks you will need kalk for the ph boost. I am on a trident so I can closely monitor the levels but the results speak for themselves.

 

[Dav2996]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say your aquarium isn't a nano like the OPs.


Yes, yes you can...
I can make 10 liters of All For Reef for $40. 80 gallons of Kalk last you how long? A liter of AFR last me 6 weeks or more. So a little more than a year for $40.
If you are using more than 80 gallons of Kalk in 6 months, then AFR is not the product for your application. And, wasn't designed for your aquarium.

I am running 20 gallon tank and all for reef could not meet my needs. I also do 0 water changes.

 

[Dav2996]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say your aquarium isn't a nano like the OPs.


Yes, yes you can...
I can make 10 liters of All For Reef for $40. 80 gallons of Kalk last you how long? A liter of AFR last me 6 weeks or more. So a little more than a year for $40.
If you are using more than 80 gallons of Kalk in 6 months, then AFR is not the product for your application. And, wasn't designed for your aquarium.

I think all for reef is a great way to learn to dose and start. I am using kalkwasser and 2 part now to reach my needs. Love the PH riser from kalkwasser it increases coral growth rates. It raises my ph by .3 which helps a ton. Increases coral ability to absorb alkalinity and calcium.

 

[Reefahholic]

I think all for reef is a great way to learn to dose and start. I am using kalkwasser and 2 part now to reach my needs. Love the PH riser from kalkwasser it increases coral growth rates. It raises my ph by .3 which helps a ton. Increases coral ability to absorb alkalinity and calcium.

Honestly, I see A LOT of new reefer’s using AFR, but not many veterans.

I could never use it, because it can’t meet the demands of my reef, or be adjusted.

I love how K+ elements contains ZERO K.

 

[TheyGaveItToMe]

I am running 20 gallon tank and all for reef could not meet my needs. I also do 0 water changes.

Is this the tank that you couldn't reach your demands with AFR? Because, I don't see any SPS or large LPS colonies. What were you doing wrong if you couldn't maintain Calcium in 20 gallons with a few LPS polyps?

 

[i cant think]

So I do wanna start dosing and I know I will have to eventually so I was wondering what would be the better pick? Kalk or all for reef? Does all for reef raise alk, calcium, and trace elements?

I’ve been dozing AFR on my 3’ SPS tank and nothing bad has come from it so far. My trace elements all stay rather high, I believe last time I checked my Mg was 1600.

 

[TheyGaveItToMe]

I think all for reef is a great way to learn to dose and start. I am using kalkwasser and 2 part now to reach my needs. Love the PH riser from kalkwasser it increases coral growth rates. It raises my ph by .3 which helps a ton. Increases coral ability to absorb alkalinity and calcium.

All these members would disagree. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/successful-sps-tanks-using-tm-all-for-reef.886069/

 

[GARRIGA]

You will need additional trace elements on hand. AFR will not keep up.

But I mentioned that in the passage you took this exert from. Why then point it out as if I didn’t consider that? Please go read it again.

 

[Reefahholic]

But I mentioned that in the passage you took this exert from. Why then point it out as if I didn’t consider that? Please go read it again.

Didn’t see it, but I will take your word on it. So what Trace’s will you be using?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You can keep your 14 year old reading material.

And, you are not going to give up on this strawman argument are you?

Strange criticism. My "reading material" may be 14 years old, but it is still 100% accurate.

I'd suggest a different approach if you disagree with my articles.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My best guess is the chemical engineers at Tropic Marin, which happens to have a long proven track record in marine aquaculture going back to 1964, are much smarter than random people on the internet.

lol

Yes, smarter than random people, but not able to solve the problem of a one size fits all, All-in-One product, as they readily admit when asked. That's what smart people do: they acknowledge the limitations of their ideas.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The results speak for themselves. Find a user that has had a negative experience using AFR.

Uh, that's not much of a challenge. AFR is a fine product, but not a perfect one. It has several issues, such as not allowing independent control of alk and calcium.

Raise alk and calcium with all for reef

Hi there, I just checked my parameters and my alk and calcium are both very low: Alk ~5 dKH Calc ~350 I measured both with Hanna Checker. I ordered some all-for-reef to get into dosing but can I also just add a bit more the first several days to get around 8 dKH en 450 calc? After I get to that...

www.reef2reef.com

"I'm going away from All for reef on my 340 gallon system. My corals looked so much better dosing baked baking soda, calcium chloride, Magnesium Chloride mixed with magnesium sulfate each separately and then a weekly dose of red sea trace elements. AFR just doesn't seem to maintain my coral colors as well as the red sea trace elements."

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Do you not under stand that Kalkwasser doesn't supply any additional magnesium. Are we just going to ignore the OP's original question and continue to build some kind of strawman?

The entire post is literally about the difference between dosing Kalkwasser(calcium hydroxide) and All For Reef. And, in the OP's tank, which is a 15 gallon, All For Reef is a good choice. AFR was designed to maintain Calcium and Alkalinity and provide some trace elements in smaller aquariums between water changes.

His question was literally; Kalk, which is a one part calcium and alkalinity vs AFR, which is one part calcium and alkalinity and trace elements.

Your opinion that AFR is a good choice is a fine opinion. It is not a simple fact that AFR is "better" than kalkwasser.

Each of these methods, as well as all other alk and calcium methods, have their own specific pros and cons.

Pros of AFR:
Simple
Contains some amount of other ions that may be beneficial

Cons of AFR
expensive
very small pH lowering effect
cannot control the dose by alk as readily as other methods
cannot control alk and calcium separately

Pros of limewater (kalkwasser):
Has a substantial pH raising effect
cheap

Cons of limewater
solubility limitations
does not add much in the way of trace elements or magnesium
cannot control alk and calcium separately

 

[Dav2996]

Is this the tank that you couldn't reach your demands with AFR? Because, I don't see any SPS or large LPS colonies. What were you doing wrong if you couldn't maintain Calcium in 20 gallons with a few LPS polyps?

Green corrallline every where back wall rocks, got clams that use a lot of calcium. All my frags grew from 1 inch. They are bigger. All for reef didn’t keep calcium in check for me. It would reach 200. Kalkwasser has higher calcium concentration. I also use 2 part to balance out the kalkwasser with a little extra alk.

 

[TheyGaveItToMe]

Uh, that's not much of a challenge. AFR is a fine product, but not a perfect one. It has several issues, such as not allowing independent control of alk and calcium.

Raise alk and calcium with all for reef

Hi there, I just checked my parameters and my alk and calcium are both very low: Alk ~5 dKH Calc ~350 I measured both with Hanna Checker. I ordered some all-for-reef to get into dosing but can I also just add a bit more the first several days to get around 8 dKH en 450 calc? After I get to that...

www.reef2reef.com

"I'm going away from All for reef on my 340 gallon system. My corals looked so much better dosing baked baking soda, calcium chloride, Magnesium Chloride mixed with magnesium sulfate each separately and then a weekly dose of red sea trace elements. AFR just doesn't seem to maintain my coral colors as well as the red sea trace elements."

"All for reef on my 340 gallon system"

LOL...

 

[Dav2996]

All these members would disagree. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/successful-sps-tanks-using-tm-all-for-reef.886069/

Problem with all for reef is.

1. if your calcium is low and alkalinity is high dosing more all for reef won’t fix it will make it worse if the alkalinity is too high causing a swing.

2. same with the opposite. You can’t control each parameter individually to keep the parameters perfect.

3. It doesn’t raise PH. High alkalinity around 10 raises ph and kalkwasser raises PH. It also increases growth rate if you watch bulk reef supply study on coral growth with higher alkalinity. Bulk reef supply also recommends you keep PH 8.4 for max growth as well. Kalkwasser helps a ton achieving that PH. I also use Co2 scrubber and stuff is growing like weeeds maxing my element absorption. My absorption rate for alk and calcium doubled doing this. My red zoanthids started at 1 inch 6 inches in 3 months doing this.

 

[TheyGaveItToMe]

Green corrallline every where back wall rocks, got clams that use a lot of calcium. All my frags grew from 1 inch. They are bigger. All for reef didn’t keep calcium in check for me. It would reach 200. Kalkwasser has higher calcium concentration. I also use 2 part to balance out the kalkwasser with a little extra alk.

Just stop. Plenty of people have grown SPS dominant full-size tanks with AFR. If you hit 200 ppm Calcium dosing nothing in 20 gallons with a few single LPS frags, then you are doing something very very wrong.