Brightwell aquatics liquid reef question

[Bruce7267ad]

So Is this a good product? It claims to be a all in one reef product.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No. Run away from it.

It cannot work as claimed since aragonite will not dissolve in seawater, and, if it is even possible to be worse, look at their own claim:

Technical Background
Brightwell Aquatics Liquid Reef has twice the calcium relative to carbonates as compared to natural aragonite, making it a very powerful calcium source. The active components of Liquid Reef are provided by a combination of sources and include natural aragonite, increasing the solubility of the solution and the effectiveness of the method.

What possible use is a product that adds twice as much calcium as needed? Makes no sense at all.

 

[Bruce7267ad]

No. Run away from it.

It cannot work as claimed since aragonite will not dissolve in seawater, and, if it is even possible to be worse, look at their own claim:

Technical Background
Brightwell Aquatics Liquid Reef has twice the calcium relative to carbonates as compared to natural aragonite, making it a very powerful calcium source. The active components of Liquid Reef are provided by a combination of sources and include natural aragonite, increasing the solubility of the solution and the effectiveness of the method.

What possible use is a product that adds twice as much calcium as needed? Makes no sense at all.

I dossed it once last night in my 40 breeder with a 29 gal sump. One capful is 50 gal treatment

Is there a all in one product you recommend?

 

[Krully]

People seem to be happy with All For Reef, biggest complaint seems to be the cost in the long run. There's even a DIY recipe for it here.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

People seem to be happy with All For Reef, biggest complaint seems to be the cost in the long run. There's even a DIY recipe for it here.

Yes, that or similar products based on calcium acetate such as Salifert All In One.

 

[Bruce7267ad]

Do you guys have any experience with red sea powder abc all in one?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Do you guys have any experience with red sea powder abc all in one?

I cannot tell well from the description, but it sounds just like a dry mix of supplements that cannot be dissolved before adding. That's not optimal, IMO, if true.

 

[Bruce7267ad]

I cannot tell well from the description, but it sounds just like a dry mix of supplements that cannot be dissolved before adding. That's not optimal, IMO, if true.

Check this out at Amazon.com Red Sea Fish Pharm ARE22007 Reef Foundation Salt Water Conditioners for Aquarium, 1kg

Here it is. What do you think?
Thank you.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Check this out at Amazon.com Red Sea Fish Pharm ARE22007 Reef Foundation Salt Water Conditioners for Aquarium, 1kg

Here it is. What do you think?
Thank you.

I've read all the blurbs from Red Sea. I cannot tell exactly what it is, but as I said, it looks like a dry mix of additives which precludes dissolving in fresh water before you add it and I'd suggest other products for that reason.

i discuss that sort of technology here:

The Many Methods for Supplementing Calcium and Alkalinity - REEFEDITION

One-part balanced additive systems: Salt Mixtures

Another type of balanced one part additive is comprised of a simple dry mixture of sodium bicarbonate (or carbonate) and calcium chloride. Just as with the two-part additives described below, this type of system can be further formulated to have a natural seawater residue after removal of calcium carbonate. Tropic Marin’s Biocalcium seems to fall into this category, though its written descriptions are notoriously difficult to interpret. It costs about $18 for 510 grams (estimated to contain about 1800 meq of alkalinity), so that puts the cost at about $9.70 per thousand meq of alkalinity. It claims to add 70 trace elements to the tank, along with the calcium and alkalinity, but doesn’t specify amounts for any of them.

You cannot mix this type of additive in water prior to adding it to a tank. If you do, the calcium will react with the carbonate present to form insoluble calcium carbonate. Consequently, the directions advise adding it directly to the tank. If you do, be sure to add it in a high flow area away from corals (like a sump), as the solids are reported to irritate corals if they land on them.

If you use a product like this, be sure to keep it as dry as possible, even to the extent of keeping it in a sealed container to keep out atmospheric moisture. If moisture enters the mixture, it may allow the formation of undesirable calcium carbonate.

Continual use of products like this will increase the salinity in the tank. The rise in salinity over time can be roughly calculated, though not knowing exactly what is in it makes the calculation only a ballpark figure. For every 1000 meq of alkalinity added in this fashion these products will deliver on the order of 60 grams of other ions to the tank. In a tank with a low calcification demand (defined below to be 18.3 thousand meq of alkalinity per year in a 100-gallon tank (0.4 dKH/day)) this effect will raise the salinity by 3 ppt per year (compared to a normal salinity of S =35). In a high demand tank (defined below to be 219 thousand meq of alkalinity per year in a 100-gallon tank (4.4 dKH/day), the salinity will rise by 35 ppt in a year, or approximately doubling the salinity. Consequently, the salinity should be monitored closely in using this type of additive, especially in a tank with high calcification rates.

 

[Bruce7267ad]

I have my eye on that salifert product you mentioned. Looks good