Reef Actif

[bcarl77]

Was interested in starting a form of carbon dosing (as opposed to the NoPox) since my nutrients are in range. Having trouble sourcing the Reef Actif here in Florida. Is this something vendors normally carry?

Alternatively I can find Bio Actif salts, could I blend TM Pro salt with some of the actif and discard after each water change?

 

[Lou Ekus]

Was interested in starting a form of carbon dosing (as opposed to the NoPox) since my nutrients are in range. Having trouble sourcing the Reef Actif here in Florida. Is this something vendors normally carry?

Alternatively I can find Bio Actif salts, could I blend TM Pro salt with some of the actif and discard after each water change?

You should be able to find Reef Actif at any of our Tropic Marin Preferred Dealers. We have quite a few in Florida. Here is a link to the Preferred Dealer map. See if you can find one near you:

pdp

You could do the Bio Actif Salt thing. But there would not be much advantage in mixing it with Pro Reef. It would probably be better to just use the Bio Actif for your water changes and leave it at that.

 

[bcarl77]

You should be able to find Reef Actif at any of our Tropic Marin Preferred Dealers. We have quite a few in Florida. Here is a link to the Preferred Dealer map. See if you can find one near you:

pdp

You could do the Bio Actif Salt thing. But there would not be much advantage in mixing it with Pro Reef. It would probably be better to just use the Bio Actif for your water changes and leave it at that.

Thanks Lou. Will check my local dealer (luckily have one down the street) and see if they have any in stock. If not, will look into switching salts over to the Bio Actif going forward.

 

[LadyTang2]

@Lou Ekus

I know reef actif says to use once a week. But does this mean if you're using the reef actif salt you should do weekly water changes since there will be no more of the polymers left after a week? Does that make sense? Is that one week figure accurate or will some reef actif polymer stay around for over a week?

 

[Lou Ekus]

@Lou Ekus

I know reef actif says to use once a week. But does this mean if you're using the reef actif salt you should do weekly water changes since there will be no more of the polymers left after a week? Does that make sense? Is that one week figure accurate or will some reef actif polymer stay around for over a week?

The one week is an approximation. all systems will run a little differently. If you do water changes every 2-4 weeks, you should be good. The alternative, if you really want to keep up with it, is you can always do your water change every 3-4 weeks, and use a dose of Reef Actif on your off weeks. That works too. But as with most carbon dosing "less is more
" so the water change scheme at once every 3-4 weeks is usually fine!

 

[bcarl77]

Just to update on this. I have switched over to the Bio Actif salt and saw a ton of improvement over the first month. However I was doing some pretty aggressive water changes at the onset, and got my nutrient REALLY low, 0 N/P for a while. Been dosing some Tropic Marin NP+ and Bacto Balance (now that I am getting some readings). Going forward I am considering alternating between the pro reef and bio actif salts in order to keep nutrients up.

 

[LadyTang2]

Just to update on this. I have switched over to the Bio Actif salt and saw a ton of improvement over the first month. However I was doing some pretty aggressive water changes at the onset, and got my nutrient REALLY low, 0 N/P for a while. Been dosing some Tropic Marin NP+ and Bacto Balance (now that I am getting some readings). Going forward I am considering alternating between the pro reef and bio actif salts in order to keep nutrients up.

I think you can mix pro reef and bio actif, in fact I know someone who does this, so if you want to back off the reef actif a little, a half and half mixture might be perfect, just an idea!

 

[User1]

Just to update on this. I have switched over to the Bio Actif salt and saw a ton of improvement over the first month. However I was doing some pretty aggressive water changes at the onset, and got my nutrient REALLY low, 0 N/P for a while. Been dosing some Tropic Marin NP+ and Bacto Balance (now that I am getting some readings). Going forward I am considering alternating between the pro reef and bio actif salts in order to keep nutrients up.

The bio actif is an amazing salt. I ran into an issue out of my ignorance of how the salt works. I bottomed out my Nitrates to 0 or there about on the Nyos kit. I didn't understand why at the time but it may be due to how the bio actif works. Few of my soft corals showed amazing polyp extension right after the first use. Also saw some test SPS frags I have start to grow vertical instead of spreading. It could be luck or timing and nothing to do with the salt but I did notice a change.

Mixes really well. Always a clean container after. I do about 20 gallons at a time. Pull out the bucket, add the rodi water, count in scoops, let sit over night, measure salinity, correct if necessary, and then do the water change. Usually always within 24 to 30 hours. First time I used it i was surprised by the cloudy water but read a few posts by Lou and videos and it explained it all.

You will love the stuff. I just dose Nitrates now and will either continue to use or switch to the non actif version since it is just awesome salt.

 

[Doreno]

What is difference between carbon dosing with Reef Actif or with Bacto Balance/Elimi NP, what is better? Thanks!

 

[Lou Ekus]

What is difference between carbon dosing with Reef Actif or with Bacto Balance/Elimi NP, what is better? Thanks!

Here is a video that might help explain the differences. It is NOT that one is better than the other. The products you will use will be determined by factors in your tank.