BACKGROUND:
@Lou Ekus - as the manufacturer, any input you can provide would be appreciated.
- I have a 145 gallon (total water volume) mixed reef ... predominantly LPS and Softies but expanding my SPS collection .. the tank has been running for >1 year
- I am using Tropic Marin's Pro-Reef salt mix
- I used to run a refugium for nutrient control but recently switched to carbon dosing ... I've found more success at controlling nutrients, my sump is "cleaner" without the refugium and my life is simpler without having macroalgae and associated growth lights to maintain. Right now I am using NOPOX through a DOS unit and adding 15ml over 24 hours. For the past month my Nitrate and Phosphate have settled in around 5ppm and 0.01ppm, respectively
- I am currently using traditional 2-part dosing to maintain alkalinity and calcium via another DOS unit (using BRS' pharma-grade soda ash and calcium chloride). I use a Trident to control how much of each component I dose in order to maintain my targets of 9 dKH and 420 ppm, respectively.
- While I am getting "OK" growth and color from my corals, I'd like to see if I can do better. I admit that judging "good enough" is highly subjective, so I really just want to know that I'm doing everything I can to protect my investment in corals. In particular, I travel quite frequently and would like to know my biofilter is very robust and that my corals get as much nutrition from my lights and water column as they can (so they don't have to rely on target feeding regularly).
- I'd like to further simplify my life and move from 2-part dosing to All-for-Reef (hoping I will get more "balanced" minerals, add trace elements, and eliminating one dose)
- As long as I'm moving to Tropic Marin's solution for minerals, I'd also like to switch away from NOPOX to NP-Bacto-Balance. I've been frustrated with the amount of evaporation I get with NOPOX (given the high amount of ethanol in the product) and I've recently discovered that NOPOX can NOT be stored in my DDR (go ahead - ask me how I know)
- Finally, after reading up on Reef-Actif I'm keen to give it a try as well. If I understand it correctly, the biopolymers in the product help improve nutrient uptake by the corals and other microflora. I'm hoping that this product will further help me stabilize nutrient levels without further stressing dissolved oxygen levels (which seems to be an inevitable byproduct of carbon dosing) with the added bonus of making nutrients int he water column more available to my corals
- Is the combination of Pro-Reef Salt + All-for-Reef + NP-Bacto-Balance + Reef-Actif overkill? It is not 100% clear to me if Reef-Actif adds anything that isn't already provided by the combination of the first three. Also, since I'm already at 5ppm/0.01ppm Nitrate/Phosphate, can I realistically expect further benefits from adding it?
- Is it safe to combine all four of these products in my tank?
- Is there a logical sequence to implement these products? Can I implement all three of them at once, or do I need to start with one and implement the others a few weeks apart? If so, which one should I start with?
@Lou Ekus - as the manufacturer, any input you can provide would be appreciated.
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