ATI Essentials Pro

[GillMeister]

Is anyone here using ATI Essentials? I have some that I'll be using for the first time and I'm wondering if I'll be able to stop dosing the Kalk and nitrate I'm using now.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That product is a two part that can replace kalkwasser entirely (though the tank pH will likely decline).

If you are dosing nitrate, you will likely want to continue as it is not a part of that product.

 

[alysak6075]

I use ATI Essentials Pro. Works awesome with a doser. Has nothing to do with Nitrate though.

 

[GillMeister]

It lists nitrogen as one of the major and trace elements. Phosphorus is listed too. I thought the point of maintaining nitrate and phosphate levels was to make these two elements available to the coral. If they're in the ingredients I had hoped I could eliminate the nitrate dosing.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It lists nitrogen as one of the major and trace elements. Phosphorus is listed too. I thought the point of maintaining nitrate and phosphate levels was to make these two elements available to the coral. If they're in the ingredients I had hoped I could eliminate the nitrate dosing.

Where do you see that?

You'd have to check with them to see how much and what nitrogen form is present. I doubt it is enough to replace dosing of, say 3 ppm nitrate a day, since that would be undesirable for folks who do not want more, but let us know if you find anything out.

 

[alysak6075]

There are 2 sides to the ATI dosing regiment.

ATI Essentials Pro = Micro and Macro elements, have nothing to do with Nitrate and Phosphate.

ATI Nutrition = Is N: Nitrate, P: Phosphate, C: Carbon

Which one do you have?

Or do you have both?

 

[GillMeister]

There are 2 sides to the ATI dosing regiment.

ATI Essentials Pro = Micro and Macro elements, have nothing to do with Nitrate and Phosphate.

ATI Nutrition = Is N: Nitrate, P: Phosphate, C: Carbon

Which one do you have?

Or do you have both?

 

[GillMeister]

These are the listed ingredients. It's not broken into ratios.

 

[alysak6075]

Huh I stand corrected. All I can say is there is probably not enough Nitrogen and Phosphorus in there to make a difference. I've been using ATI Essentials Pro on 2 different tanks and never had issues with nitrate. Phosphate was high before I started with ATI so I'm not attributing it to them at all

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I would not assume the amounts are as high as one normally doses. Might even just be impurities listed as a benefit (which other companies in the hobby apparently do).

 

[GillMeister]

Yeah, ATI says I must be confused as well. Even though it says N & P on the label, it contains neither. Could be nothing more than water I guess.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

I’ve been using it for the past two years and it’s working well.
I’ve seen some speculation about it containing some sort of a carbon source but never seen any actual proof.

 

[GillMeister]

ATI customer care checked with the German Overlords and they confirmed it does contain traces of N & P. These aren't ingredients that do anything substantial for your system. Dosing nitrate continues.

 

[GillMeister]

I have been dosing with this system for about 6 months. I have a couple observations to share.

As long as I continue testing calcium levels and increase the dose regularly my calcium stays right around 450.

Dosing both parts equally doesn't come close to maintaining alkalinity. I find that I have to dose soda ash every second week to maintain ~8.5. I do water changes monthly and I carefully match alkalinity in the mix to the water in my tank so I'm positive the ATI is not keeping up with consumption.

If I keep the alk stable this stuff has had a noticeable impact on my coral growth and color. I'm not crazy about the lack of polyp extension on some of my sticks but I'm not sure if this is water quality or light intensity.