switching from Aquavitro Fuel to Acropower

rck329 · Nov 14, 2017

Hey guys,

Does anyone have experience switching from Fuel to Acropower?

I've been dosing Fuel manually for the past few months but would like to make the switch to Acropower since it doesn't need refrigerated and I can put in on a doser.

Just wondering if anyone has done the same and what their experience has been.

thanks!
Ryan

elishapep · Nov 14, 2017

I switched from fuel to acro power with out any issues

DSC reef · Nov 14, 2017

I never noticed any positive effects from using fuel. I'm a big fan of aquavitro and use there other supplements for dosing. Acropower hands down has worked well for our reef. Coral growth has always been good but the colors improved. I know it might be anecdotal but we can see the difference. Acropower is dosed daily and never noticed any algae increase. 10-30ml daily.

rck329 · Nov 15, 2017

DSC reef said:
I never noticed any positive effects from using fuel. I'm a big fan of aquavitro and use there other supplements for dosing. Acropower hands down has worked well for our reef. Coral growth has always been good but the colors improved. I know it might be anecdotal but we can see the difference. Acropower is dosed daily and never noticed any algae increase. 10-30ml daily.

DSC, what is your system volume? Do you spread out your dose throughout the day? I was thinking starting dosing an hour or so before lights out.

I started Fuel because I always had a problem very pale colors (actually, mortality as well!) and with low Nitrates - I did dose Nitrates for a a little while but figured maybe an amino might be better. I'm lightly stocked and don't feel I can feed enough to provide enough coral nutrition. With Fuel I feel my colors are ok but growth is still slow, but I'm in the process of ramping up my lights and maybe a little more alk to try to spur it on.

DSC reef · Nov 15, 2017

It's a 75 gallon with a 20 gallon sump. I dose before the lights go on and do it in one shot. Look into feeding a mixture of reef nutrition oyster feast and reef roids if your looking for additional nutrients for your tank and corals.

DSC reef · Nov 15, 2017

What's your alk at currently? With low low nutrients and more light raising alk to much could cause issues.

nautical_nathaniel · Nov 15, 2017

Following along, I currently use Fuel and was considering going to M.E. Coral Polyp Extender or Acropower.

Fuel just isn't meeting expectations for me and it has to be refrigerated (something I found out a month after opening it).

DSC reef · Nov 15, 2017

nautical_nathaniel said:
Following along, I currently use Fuel and was considering going to M.E. Coral Polyp Extender or Acropower.

Fuel just isn't meeting expectations for me and it has to be refrigerated (something I found out a month after opening it).

IMO, I'd avoid polyp extender. Mostly vinegar from the smell. I'd use fuel over polyp extender any day, acropower over all.

nautical_nathaniel · Nov 15, 2017

DSC reef said:
IMO, I'd avoid polyp extender. Mostly vinegar from the smell. I'd use fuel over polyp extender any day, acropower over all.

I used a sample of Polyp Extender that I got from MACNA and my corals loved it, best PE I've seen from my millis since I got them. However, I'll probably just go with Acropower since it has a bit more substance behind in terms of success with hobbyists. Is it the same color as Fuel, that brownish looking color? Something about the color of fuel just sort of threw me off a bit.

DSC reef · Nov 15, 2017

Acropower is clear with no smell at all. When I talked to mark at reefapalooza he told me that polyp extender was great for people who don't carbon dose or have no nutrients at all. I carbon dose so no polyp extender for me.

nautical_nathaniel · Nov 15, 2017

DSC reef said:
Acropower is clear with no smell at all. When I talked to mark at reefapalooza he told me that polyp extender was great for people who don't carbon dose or have no nutrients at all. I carbon dose so no polyp extender for me.

That makes a lot of sense then. I don't carbon dose but I also don't have a ULN system with my tank. I'll give the Acropower a shot!

rck329 · Nov 16, 2017

DSC reef said:
What's your alk at currently? With low low nutrients and more light raising alk to much could cause issues.

I am running around 8 dkH - nutrients are not super low anyone - NO3 3ppm and PO4 0.02. I'm running a single Radion XR30 G4 on a 40B (yes, the right and left sides of the tank are not well lit, but I've got all of the corals in the sweet spot). Currently at 42% intensity and I was going to continue ramping up to 50-60% over the next couple months. Peak PAR number when I was back at 35% were around 200 near the top. The tank is mostly monitpora (toward the top) and LPS (bottom and fringe).

A couple of months back my alk had unintentionally climbed up to 10 and although I slowly got it back down to my target of 8, I swear I was seeing better growth at that point. Hard to say for sure though. I've been trying to follow the postulate of lower nutes/lower alk/lower light - higher nutes/higher alk/higher light, but I guess every tank is different at the end of the day and you just have to find what works best.

DSC reef · Nov 16, 2017

Finding that balance is what matters IMO. Our tank has always done it's best when alk is 9.5-10 dkh. I run biopellets and have for years. I like to feed heavy and nitrates sit around 15ppm.