Red Sea reef complete vs aqua forest 1+2+3+

[BigKatuna]

I’m looking to start dosing my 90 gallon waterbox and I’m trying to decide between the new Red Sea 4 part of the aqua forest 1+2+3+. I have done a decent amount of reading on both and they seem to both achieve the same goal while the aqua forest products seems more economical but I can buy Red Sea from my lfs and I’ll have to order Af products. I’m leaning towards the AF 1+2+3+ is there anyone in here that has experience with both? Am I missing something? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[DanyL]

I don’t know how the pricing compares between the two, however given that AF basing their balling variant on Sodium Bicaronate and the ratio between the components are 1:1:1 - it’ll be significantly less potent than Red Sea’s method, which is something to consider.

Alternatively, you can also make your own DIY method for the 3 major components and add commercial trace elements. It’s far easier than it may seem at first, and significantly more economical.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I don’t know how the pricing compares between the two, however given that AF basing their balling variant on Sodium Bicaronate and the ratio between the components are 1:1:1 - it’ll be significantly less potent than Red Sea’s method, which is something to consider.

Alternatively, you can also make your own DIY method for the 3 major components and add commercial trace elements. It’s far easier than it may seem at first, and significantly more economical.

I believe the AF pre-prepared solutions use either Sodium Carbonate or Hydroxide for the Alk component as it is much stronger than their DIY (based on the dosing instructions).

Might be worth also keeping in mind AF is manufactured in Europe compared to Red Sea manufactured in (I believe) the US, so AF may become significantly more expensive for purchasers in the US.

 

[DanyL]

I believe the AF pre-prepared solutions use either Sodium Carbonate or Hydroxide for the Alk component as it is much stronger than their DIY (based on the dosing instructions).

Might be worth also keeping in mind AF is manufactured in Europe compared to Red Sea manufactured in (I believe) the US, so AF may become significantly more expensive for purchasers in the US.

I had to re-check to confirm, and it seems like they are still using Bicaronate with their liquids, and the potency does roughly match a saturated Bicaronate solution.

 

[BigKatuna]

I believe the AF pre-prepared solutions use either Sodium Carbonate or Hydroxide for the Alk component as it is much stronger than their DIY (based on the dosing instructions).

Might be worth also keeping in mind AF is manufactured in Europe compared to Red Sea manufactured in (I believe) the US, so AF may become significantly more expensive for purchasers in the US.

Thank you for taking time to respond. I’m currently using reef fusion 1 and 2 and aqua vitro ions for mag. Do you have a recommendation for trace elements?

 

[gbroadbridge]

I had to re-check to confirm, and it seems like they are still using Bicaronate with their liquids, and the potency does roughly match a saturated Bicaronate solution.

Okay, looks like I'm confusing with a similar product - perhaps Reef Factory.

Apologies

 

[DanyL]

Okay, looks like I'm confusing with a similar product - perhaps Reef Factory.

Apologies

Might have been confusing it with Red Sea’s powders, which utilize Bicaronate with some polymers that only slightly raise the solubility to 100g/L (including some traces and the polymers themselves).