All for Reef Users: How much does your tank use?

[Orito]

I have alot of sps but no big colonies. I agree with sps having high demand. I would look into also dosing kalk. You’ll save alot.

Already dosing about half a gallon per day

 

[Hemmbone20]

can you add a very small amount without having the concerns of having a stirrer and not gumming up your pump?

I do it with no problems… I add 3tsps to my 5 gallon ATO reservoir and that seems to keep things stable for me. I average 1/2 gal of evaporation a day. My tank is newer so the majority of my consumption at this point is coralline algae. As I get more SPS I’ll add more. Since the solution isn’t saturated I think it would be fine.
The pump gets a little chalky but I soak it in citric acid every once in a while and it cleans right up.

 

[Science/G]

Why not just use more AFR to maintain alk?

I think I should. When I started the addition of Balling B my Calcium was 440 on my Hanna Checker, and my alkalinity dropped below 8.

 

[ElementReefer]

65 ml in a 110 gallon system

 

[joeoliver]

62 ml of AFR in 110 gallon mixed reef tank. keeps dkh at 8.

 

[Turmoil619]

Using the powder AFR in my 80g tank I dose about 18ml everyday throughout the day

 

[Chaos reef]

I'm at 94 ml a day plus just under a gal of max saturated kalk a day in a 75 gallon tank. Going up about 5 ml a month avg. Mixed reef. But I have several 15+ inch acro colonies, and a sitosa that's over 20 inches long. Might need to trim a bit... lol

 

[robottaway]

Just a single ml per day right now. Fluval evo 13.5 acans, duncan, chalice, gonis, zoas and blastos. Getting really great growth since I started it up!

 

[AliCell]

you can diy afr yourself

 

[reefallday]

I dose 55ml a day for my 125G.
ALK: 8-9
CAL: 400-480
MAG: 1400-1500

 

[cloud9aquariums]

Before stating an absurd amount, I'll pre warn I mix my afr 4 scoops to 1L so it's a little watered down but I like how much better it mixes.

Currently dosing 200ml daily along with 1L Kalk overnight (250 gal sps dominant)

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

Before stating an absurd amount, I'll pre warn I mix my afr 4 scoops to 1L so it's a little watered down but I like how much better it mixes.

Currently dosing 200ml daily along with 1L Kalk overnight (250 gal sps dominant)

we found our AFR king

 

[cloud9aquariums]

we found our AFR king

She's a hungry hungry hippo

 

[OfficeReefer]

I am really just curious but I have a 130 gallon tank with a good amount of corals and I dose 40ml. AFR daily. I also have to dose 50ml. magnesium daily to keep that stable. How does that compare to others? What size tank do you have and how much do you dose? And do you need to supplement with Magnesium or does the AFR keep that up too?
Thanks!

Hi, @Vinstr this is a great question. I like A4R, too and based on my knowledge, is calcium formate based. I used to use it and then changed to the balling method and totally went back for my XL nano.

While it's true there's likely other compounds in A4R, the thing to remember is that it's not immediate and is not the same as the other methods. The formate has react with bacteria to be oxidized and then with water as the end result bicarbonate. 1 gram of calcium formate adds ~1.2 dKH per 100 L but you need to know what the load on your system is. I recommend to measure your tank each day over three days, same time and temp with keeping the process as routine and similar and possible. Do not dose over this time and do not dose A4R for at least 48 hours prior. Whatever the difference is from each day over three days, assuming all else such as lighting and people in the room, open doors, etc. are equal. is your consumption. You need to remove that from calculated dose and that's about it.

 

[LiquidSpace]

I’m dosing 2.5 oz daily. The aquarium is a very lightly stocked 200 gallon.

 

[Science/G]

9.8 mls AFR and .3 mls Balling B (alk) in my 3 year old 30 gallon mixed reef. Alkalinity 8.4 Calcium is 450. I recently backed off the Balling B and increased the AFR until my calcium went up to 490. I found a sweet spot for now.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Before stating an absurd amount, I'll pre warn I mix my afr 4 scoops to 1L so it's a little watered down but I like how much better it mixes.

Currently dosing 200ml daily along with 1L Kalk overnight (250 gal sps dominant)

what does that keep your kh at?

 

[cloud9aquariums]

what does that keep your kh at?

I'm running around 8.4 but because I switch to kalk overnight to help limit my pH drop my kh does swing throughout the day

 

[56longroof]

I single dose 40ml in the morning and use half strength kalk in the ATO. This is on a 150 gallon mixed but mostly sps tank. Alk stays right at 8.3 and calcium and mag are 450 and 1350. Every once in a while for some reason my calcium and mag will drop to around 420/1290. But it's easily remedied with separate dosing of BRS mag and carbo calcium.

 

[Science/G]

I just saw a post of mine on this thread from last year. I was adding 9.8 mls of AFR. Now, I'm adding 25 mls daily! I'm still adding some Balling B to keep up with alkalinity consumption while keeping my calcium in the 450-475 range. My corals are sucking it up. I have very little coralline algae btw.