Use probiotic or reef salt?

[bubbaque]

I am in need of new salt since my old salt ran out. I am wanting to switch to aquaforest but don't know which salt to pick up.

My tank normally has po4 of .o1 and nitrates will go to 0 if I stop doing no3 for a few days, and then colors start losing color.

Should I pick up the probiotic or will it give me issues because it will lower my nitrate more than I would want it to?

 

[Anirban]

In short, the probiotic salt contains probiotic bacteria, vitamin and amino acid in addition to reef salt and generally recommended for SPS heavy systems. As far pictures and other details concern please feel free to ask and you can also find a lot of information in this thread...

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tanks-based-on-aquaforest-products.231650/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aquaforest-reef-salt-vs-probiotic-reef-salt.261918/#post-3196020

 

[bubbaque]

I have read those and I follow those threads but I am still confused on the answer. Is it possible the probiotic salt will drive my nitrates to low? It seems most people have issues keeping nitrates and phosphates low, so the probiotic will help them. In my case it naturally goes to 0.

 

[Anirban]

Ok, so you need a long answer....lol...
Af is a probiotic system which depends heavily on bacterial population to lower the nutrient level. The objective is to achieve ULNS (ultra low nutrient system). So the nitrates will be close to zero but may be 2 or 3 ppm. If your system is running with lot of SPS then probiotic salt will keep the PO4 and NO3 quite low and hence the SPS will thrieve with nice colour. Now once you achieve ULNS you need to be very carefull about the nutrient maintenance level as with low alkali (dkh 8) if your nutrient is too low and you put a high PAR light fixture you will bleach your corals quite easily. Also to supply a bit of nutrient to SPS or other corals you now need to supplement with amino acid and vitamins. In case of probiotic salt all these come as a package mixed in the salt.
On the other hand if you run a system with mostly LPS and less SPS then reef salt will be just fine. In both cases you need to dose NP Pro and Probio S.

 

[bubbaque]

Thanks for taking the time to help. I think my best bet is to go with the reef salt, since I am dosing potassium nitrate now to keep nitrates between 2-5ppm. I think the probiotic will drive it to zero and will give me issues. Makes sense?

 

[Anirban]

Thanks for taking the time to help. I think my best bet is to go with the reef salt, since I am dosing potassium nitrate now to keep nitrates between 2-5ppm. I think the probiotic will drive it to zero and will give me issues. Makes sense?

Stop feeding the system KNO3 instead feed more or use a small or half dose of amino. It will boost your system overall health. I use reef salt and supplement the system with other components. @jsker is currently trying to reduce his water changes frequency using the system and so as I. My target is once a month water change and from there may be after every two months. Till now I am documenting that in my latest build and will keep that updated.

 

[bubbaque]

Thanks for your help!

 

[jsker]

Stop feeding the system KNO3 instead feed more or use a small or half dose of amino. It will boost your system overall health. I use reef salt and supplement the system with other components. @jsker is currently trying to reduce his water changes frequency using the system and so as I. My target is once a month water change and from there may be after every two months. Till now I am documenting that in my latest build and will keep that updated.

Every 15 to 17 day now.

 

[Flavio Carpi]

@Anirban could you explain more why to stop to use KNO3 and put more vitamin and amino acid?

Sorry because i'm facing issues with PO4 but i've already have NO3 at 0, so dose KN03 should be option

 

[Anirban]

@Anirban could you explain more why to stop to use KNO3 and put more vitamin and amino acid?

Sorry because i'm facing issues with PO4 but i've already have NO3 at 0, so dose KN03 should be option

Can you please tell us more about the system. What are your nutrient parameters? Do you run fuge or how you control your nutrient? What you feed the system and how often including the corals?

 

[Anirban]

@Anirban could you explain more why to stop to use KNO3 and put more vitamin and amino acid?

Sorry because i'm facing issues with PO4 but i've already have NO3 at 0, so dose KN03 should be option

I will suggest you to read this thread very carefully....with all the references
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-triton-experiences-so-far.261180/#post-3103212

Also it is very common to run out of NO3 while trying to take down the PO4, but in my experience running a system with very low PO4 (0.01) and very low NO3 (0-1 ppm) never fades out coral unless you miss some elements or balanced lighting.When you introduce just NO3 in the form of KNO3 you are actually creating a disturbance in the normal cycle of the tank. If you read Randys article about general availability of nitrate in ocean water you will find its very low (less than 0.01ppm).
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

If you want to lower down your phosphate using KNO3 then you are relying on bacteria. But in that case you need carbon source for them to perform well. KNO3 with higher PO4 level will drive algae growth as they are much more efficient to use them up compared to any coral.
I am not saying it will be bad but I am trying to point out that you need to understand the whole process very deeply or else you will be in a bigger mess. A healthy coral will show its beauty through nice growth and colour but we can achieve it naturally. Try to fix the problem at the root and then only you will see the nice fruit.

Before I shifted to AF I was always wandering about how we can run a reef without doing a weekly water change but now I dont do it. I will do my first monthly water change tomorrow. I dont see any bad effect on my corals including SPS. They are nice and colourfull. I observe them daily very closely. I see if their polyps are fully extended during the day time or not. They tell me what they want. If I see my Pikachu turning greenish know iodine is high and I stop it. I see within next 3-4 days its back to yellow. I observe how they encrust, how their colour changes everything.
So, the summary is that look at your system it will tell you a lot about its need. They can not speak but trust me they can express...