Help with using All-For-Reef

[vlangel]

Hey all, I have been reading about All for Reef in R2R. I decided to order some but it did not come with instructions so I am a bit unsure how to use it. Could someone help me out, please?

 

[Tahiti]

Hey all, I have been reading about All for Reef in R2R. I decided to order some but it did not come with instructions so I am a bit unsure how to use it. Could someone help me out, please?

To prepare the liquid mineral mixture, dissolve 6 level scoops (approx. 160 g) of Tropic Marin® All-For-Reef Powder in approx. 900 ml of reverse osmosis water, resulting in a total of 1 l of dosing solution.

And here is calculator to show you how much you dose.

https://www.tropic-marin-smartinfo....re the liquid mineral,1 l of dosing solution.
And a helpful video on how to mix. :)

 

[Noodles_Jefferson]

Hey all, I have been reading about All for Reef in R2R. I decided to order some but it did not come with instructions so I am a bit unsure how to use it. Could someone help me out, please?

What Tahiti said. Also i recommend getting a magnetic stirrer. It takes a while to fully dissolve and you can get a magnetic stirrer off amazon for $25 and let it do all the work. All-for-reef includes trace elements so if you were already dosing trace elements you won't need to anymore or you risk overdosing.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Hey all, I have been reading about All for Reef in R2R. I decided to order some but it did not come with instructions so I am a bit unsure how to use it. Could someone help me out, please?

Dig in the powder a bit. They are usually buried in there with the scoop.

 

[vlangel]

Dig in the powder a bit. They are usually buried in there with the scoop.

Yep, found it. Thank you all. That was helpful.

 

[Evil1]

Yep, found it. Thank you all. That was helpful.

Key is to have your parameters where you want them before you start the AFR.

 

[Noodles_Jefferson]

Key is to have your parameters where you want them before you start the AFR.

This is the problem I'm dealing with. I recently switched from Red Sea to all-for-reef. Ran it 5 ml per day (29 gallon tank but with rock and coral, it's closer to 25 or 26 gallons). ALK got up to 12 dkh, calcium at 460 and mag at 1380. Not crazy high but I'm trying to be in the 9/450/1350 range. I stopped dosing altogther. it's been over a week and nothing is budging. the corals aren't consuming anything but they are blooming and look great. It's the strangest thing.

 

[vlangel]

Key is to have your parameters where you want them before you start the AFR.

My tank is predominantly a macroalgae/softie tank and I never dosed at all. I did a 7% or so water change weekly to make up elements plus I dosed a capful of Coral vite for trace elements. I use IO salt so I know that it's low on the big 3 compared to other salts but since the coral I had did not consume much it worked great. Now the tank is 8 years old and very stable because of maturity I am not doing as many water changes, about 5 gallons a month in an 80 gallon system. That is why I am starting All for Reef. I doubt that I am going to need very much, less than most folks.

 

[RFGuy_KCCO]

My tank is predominantly a macroalgae/softie tank and I never dosed at all. I did a 7% or so water change weekly to make up elements plus I dosed a capful of Coral vite for trace elements. I use IO salt so I know that it's low on the big 3 compared to other salts but since the coral I had did not consume much it worked great. Now the tank is 8 years old and very stable because of maturity I am not doing as many water changes, about 5 gallons a month in an 80 gallon system. That is why I am starting All for Reef. I doubt that I am going to need very much, less than most folks.

Just start with a small dose and work your way up. The recommended starting dose is too high, unless you have a tank full of SPS. For example, I use only 6ml daily in my Reefer 300 G2 with mixed softies and LPS to maintain 8.5/430/1300.

 

[vlangel]

Just start with a small dose and work your way up. The recommended starting dose is too high, unless you have a tank full of SPS. For example, I use only 6ml daily in my Reefer 300 G2 with mixed softies and LPS to maintain 8.5/430/1300.

That is my plan to start out with a small dose and maybe every other day. Do you know about how many gallons your tank is? My tank is also a mixed softie/LPS display.

 

[vlangel]

Another question,,,when I figure out what is the right dose for my tank, can I just add a week's worth in my ATO reservoir since it lasts for a week?

 

[magallonbuckinbulls]

There's lots of good YouTube videos by Luo Ekus talking about All-for-reef

 

[vlangel]

There's lots of good YouTube videos by Luo Ekus talking about All-for-reef

Thank you, that was a very good video and it helped me understand why things worked the way I knew they did. I am weak in chemistry. Biology is where my strength is. He showed how the chemistry and biology worked together which is cool.

 

[magallonbuckinbulls]

Thank you, that was a very good video and it helped me understand why things worked the way I knew they did. I am weak in chemistry. Biology is where my strength is. He showed how the chemistry and biology worked together which is cool.

Theres a lot more interview videos worth watching. Also watch Dr Tim’s all-in-one from the same event MASNA

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

This is the problem I'm dealing with. I recently switched from Red Sea to all-for-reef. Ran it 5 ml per day (29 gallon tank but with rock and coral, it's closer to 25 or 26 gallons). ALK got up to 12 dkh, calcium at 460 and mag at 1380. Not crazy high but I'm trying to be in the 9/450/1350 range. I stopped dosing altogther. it's been over a week and nothing is budging. the corals aren't consuming anything but they are blooming and look great. It's the strangest thing.

Which means you'll be using very little AFR once the alk drops. If it doesn't drop, you do not need AFR at all.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Another question,,,when I figure out what is the right dose for my tank, can I just add a week's worth in my ATO reservoir since it lasts for a week?

Deepnds on what the demand ends up being.

If you need more than 0.2 dKH worth of alk per day, I'd dose every day. Rising and falling alk is not ideal.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Nothing against Lou who is often a valuable Reef2Reef contributor, especially about TM products, or Tim who generally knows bacteria , but remember that when folks from reef companies give talks, make videos or write articles, they are often not the most unbiased sources of info about which products do what and which are needed and useful and which are not.

 

[Pistondog]

Another question,,,when I figure out what is the right dose for my tank, can I just add a week's worth in my ATO reservoir since it lasts for a week?

Not a good idea since evaporation rate and afr consumption are not the same.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Not a good idea since evaporation rate and afr consumption are not the same.

Worse, the AFR will begin bacterial decomposition when diluted. The TM folks do not recommend such a use, nor do I.

 

[apb03]

Ya stay away from using AFR with top off.

AFR is a great product but it can be tricky to dial in due to the formate needing to be metabolized. You can't dial in your parameters simply by dosing and testing, it will take time for the AFR to take effect.

Test often, try to baseline your alk before you dose and then add slowly until you reach a level of stability. Lou at TM says he prefers to track via Calcium but I respectfully disagree and track AFR solely with Alkalinity despite the aforementioned delayed Alk change.