Should I stop dosing All for Reef?

[ReefRookie22]

Should I stop dosing All for Reef on my 30gal?
I started dosing 5ml every other day as I got my first LPS and SPS corals, then, as my Ca wasn't rising I increased it to 7.5ml every other day.
My Ca hasn't really increased much but my alk is getting quite high (currently 11.4)
I don't want to be chasing numbers but I'm concerned that the A4R is just going to keep increasing my alk.
Incidentally in that timeframe my frammer has started bailing polyps.
Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[tzabor10]

Mag is low. And has been historically low.
Calcium is low. Quite low.
Here is a dirty secret with AFR.
You might need to dose to supplement it.
You could probably do Magnesium by hand and put Calcium on a doser.
Good luck

Ps. Clip the screenshots to remove battery life etc.

 

[ronsonb]

I personally dose AFR off of my ALK consumption. I only check my calcium once a month or so because it usually barely budges.

Might take a bit for your corals to start growing so don’t arbitrarily add AFR… cut down your dose until you see your ALK deplete and then maintain base off that.

I was adding 35ML at one point when my coralline was growing like crazy and now I’m at 20ML daily and I’ll add/reduce if ALK creeps up or down.

 

[Rebbel]

Stop dosing AFR? You can dose 2 part and just calcium, while letting your alk drop over a couple days. I stopped using AFR for pretty much the same reason when my tank first started. Not enough corals or Coraline algae consuming alkalinity.

 

[jadedog]

I dose daily all for reef at 5ml for my 60gal. I have to manually dose magnesium and calcium occasionally to keep them stable. If I dose anything more then 5ml my alk will slowly climb. I think it recommends 15ml for my size tank but my alk would be sky high. I think all for reef will keep things stable at the correct dose if you can achieve it without raising alk to high. If you continue to use it I recommend dosing magnesium and calcium separately when needed.

 

[ReefRookie22]

That's what I was afraid of. I just wanted a simple dosing schedule so thought AFR would be the best option but it looks like I need separate Ca and Mg.
If I stop the AFR then my already low Ca and Mg will keep dropping but if I keep going then my alk will skyrocket!
Incidentally while writing this my pistol shrimp snapped so loud it made me jump! Won't be long before he cracks my tank, smh.
Thanks for your replies.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

AFR dosing is based off the alk, not the calcium. use it to keep the alk stable, everything else will be kept stable.

Wether to use AFR or not is your choice, but you've not been using it correctly, so the proper question should be do you try AFR the correct way or just try something else?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Should I stop dosing All for Reef on my 30gal?
I started dosing 5ml every other day as I got my first LPS and SPS corals, then, as my Ca wasn't rising I increased it to 7.5ml every other day.
My Ca hasn't really increased much but my alk is getting quite high (currently 11.4)
I don't want to be chasing numbers but I'm concerned that the A4R is just going to keep increasing my alk.
Incidentally in that timeframe my frammer has started bailing polyps.
Any advice greatly appreciated.

I recommend dosing AFR off of alkalinity and I’d reduce your dose by half and test alk again in a week.

 

[ReefRookie22]

Ok, so aim for stable alkalinity with AFR and if the other parameters are low then dose separately.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Ok, so aim for stable alkalinity with AFR and if the other parameters are low then dose separately.

Yes, but calcium will not regularly need dosing, unless water changes lower it too
much, since AFR overdoses calcium a little.

The magnesium deficit is very small, if any, but in my tank, I just add a few ppm of magnesium to the water change water to make up for it without measuring it.

 

[MnFish1]

That's what I was afraid of. I just wanted a simple dosing schedule so thought AFR would be the best option but it looks like I need separate Ca and Mg.
If I stop the AFR then my already low Ca and Mg will keep dropping but if I keep going then my alk will skyrocket!
Incidentally while writing this my pistol shrimp snapped so loud it made me jump! Won't be long before he cracks my tank, smh.
Thanks for your replies.

From a general perspective I.e. not commenting on All For Reef specifically. It's extremely easy to get a doser or even do it by hand - and by tested level. From reading, and experience, many of the all-in-one products require extra dosing with one of the other (or more) of the elements, and just as much testing - so dosing things individually is likely more cost effective as well as easier to control individual parameters.