Red Sea Reef Mature vs Dr Tim's One and Only

[Apayson]

Hi there,

is the Red Sea Reef Mature Starter Kit & Dr Tim's One and Only
manufactured to do the same thing?

I'm wondering if it's a waste to have all of these products.
Does the Red Sea Reef Mature Starter Kit place the need for
Dr Tim's One and Only + Vibrant (which removes algae)

Would love some advice here!

Thanks y'all

 

[Spare time]

Red Sea's contains ammonia and bacteria for cycling, as well as nopox (carbon dosing), and KH Coralline Gro which is a blend of alk, potassium, iron, and such. Nopox requires a skimmer and requires close monitoring of nitrate and phosphate), and KH Coralline gro is only handy once you start seing alk drop from coralline but are not yet dosing for stony corals (such as in fish only or soft coral tanks)

One and only is just the cycling bacteria. You need an ammonia source (ammonium chloride is my preferred chouce). Vibrant is a bunch of heterotrophic bacteria, possibly one that eats algae, and a few other things. Vibrant in small doses is handy in new tanks to help provide competition against algae but you have to make sure not to bottom out nitrate and phosphate (that is where the negative vibrant experiences come from).

You can combine them all, but you need to know when and if to use vibrant, KH Coralline Gro, and nopox.

 

[GARRIGA]

According to Dr Tim it’s best to mature the nitrification before adding heterotrophic bacteria which will displace autotrophs. For that reason I’d prefer going with something that just provides that then later adding heterotrophic along with a carbon source.

 

[GARRIGA]

BTW, I use NoPox without a skimmer. Tank goes cloudy for a day or two then clears. Do have a very large media base for size of tank which might be why I get away with it.

 

[Spare time]

BTW, I use NoPox without a skimmer. Tank goes cloudy for a day or two then clears. Do have a very large media base for size of tank which might be why I get away with it.

Be careful with that. I used nopox years ago and killed like 360 bucks worth of fish because my skimmer stopped for a day

 

[GARRIGA]

Be careful with that. I used nopox years ago and killed like 360 bucks worth of fish because my skimmer stopped for a day

Been dosing it on and off since September. No issues. Just started again yesterday at recommended 3 ml per 25 although my tank volume closer to 16. Did two applications. No cloudiness yet. Could just be my biological media is mature. Plus no skimmer to stop since I don’t use one.

Don’t know what happened in your scenario but to get nitrates down from 180 ppm post cycle I purposely overdosed NoPox just to see what would happen. Dosed around 15 ml. Went cloudy then cleared up in a couple of days. Although nitrate didn’t drop until phosphates added. Did drop quickly afterwards. Best to stress test when Fishless as there’s no harm that can come of it.

 

[Spare time]

Been dosing it on and off since September. No issues. Just started again yesterday at recommended 3 ml per 25 although my tank volume closer to 16. Did two applications. No cloudiness yet. Could just be my biological media is mature. Plus no skimmer to stop since I don’t use one.

Don’t know what happened in your scenario but to get nitrates down from 180 ppm post cycle I purposely overdosed NoPox just to see what would happen. Dosed around 15 ml. Went cloudy then cleared up in a couple of days. Although nitrate didn’t drop until phosphates added. Did drop quickly afterwards. Best to stress test when Fishless as there’s no harm that can come of it.

Yeah I'm not sure what exactly happened overnight but I was relatively new but it was overnight that it happened.

 

[GARRIGA]

Yeah I'm not sure what exactly happened overnight but I was relatively new but it was overnight that it happened.

If your water turned cloudy then that’s likely an indication of a bacterial bloom which is somewhat expected which could deprive the tank of oxygen. Why I tested before adding fish. It’s also advisable to start first dose with half or quarter recommended. Every system is unique and unpredictable what will actually happen.

 

[Dburr1014]

Hi there,

is the Red Sea Reef Mature Starter Kit & Dr Tim's One and Only
manufactured to do the same thing?

I'm wondering if it's a waste to have all of these products.
Does the Red Sea Reef Mature Starter Kit place the need for
Dr Tim's One and Only + Vibrant (which removes algae)

Would love some advice here!

Thanks y'all

Well, what is it you are trying to do? Need some information before trying to help you decide.
If you are just starting a tank, I wouldn't use anything but some flake food and time.

 

[Spare time]

If your water turned cloudy then that’s likely an indication of a bacterial bloom which is somewhat expected which could deprive the tank of oxygen. Why I tested before adding fish. It’s also advisable to start first dose with half or quarter recommended. Every system is unique and unpredictable what will actually happen.

I know it was a bacterial bloom. Carbon dosing is dangerous without a skimmer and something happened with my skimmer at the time which led to them building up rapidly not being able to be removed which in turn suffocated the fish. It was quite a while ago so I have no clue what my current dosage was at the time.