Tropic Marin All-For-Reef: Any downsides to it?

[Isaac Alves]

Tropic Marin makes some great products! They are, however, rather expensive (in all rights because they use phenomenal materials in all of their products), so I don't use the All-for-Reef. I would go broke on my 120g DT/150g system volume mixed reef tank (and even more when I upgrade to around 300ish system volume/180g DT). I use the pro reef salt and it is awesome. It mixes extremely well very quickly and I have never had the parameters be way off. But with that being said, I'm switching over to Fritz blue box because 1.) the price and 2.) it is a little closer where I want to be parameter wise once I incorporate a calc reactor and stop dosing 2-part, and go back to 2% daily water changes.

If the cost is worth it to you, then by all means go for it as you will not be disappointed with any TM product, but check out BRS video on DIY All-for-Reef and it'll save you some money:

DIY All-For-Reef Recipe from Tropic Marin! Thanks Zack!

Did you know you could make your own Tropic Marin All-For-Reef....cheaper than the premixed solutions?? @Zack@BRS put together the list of ingredients and demonstrates how to mix your own All-For-Reef for a fraction of the cost and the BEST part is that it's scaleable! Make a little or make a...

www.reef2reef.com

I've been using the All-For-Reef for nearly a couple months -- down to the bottom of my 1000ml bottle. Just noticed the settlement at the base of my dosing container. Seemed odd.

 

[Quietman]

Good point...should've mentioned that. Definitely a big fat "NO" on big or high demand tanks unless you like just pouring money into your tank.

Personally, I think I'd be ok up to 20-30 ml a day but somewhere around there or shortly after, I'm switching to something else. If I never get there, fine I'll use it as long as they keep selling it to me.

 

[Quietman]

Awesome. Please share your findings and results. I'm very curious as well.

Findings? Results? Well, I didn't run any scientific tests or anything. But here goes...I have a low demand mixed reef (LPS dominant) RSR 170 (about 37 gallons of water). I dose about 5 ml of AFR daily. It keeps my Alk rock steady. I was at 8.5 but recently dropped it to 8.0. Just skipped two days of dosing. No dose, I use the bottle and I like that. Lets me adjust without programming. No precipitation that I've noticed. Ca is high (480ppm) but that's because I'm using HW Marine Reefer salt mix more than AFR (it was high before I added corals). So I do see a balanced add to Ca and Alk.

I just bought a 1L to replace my 500 ml bottle so I'm a fan. It does what I expect, no surprises, very little learning curve. If you have smaller tank or newer low load tank, I highly recommend it...for now.

Hope that helps.

 

[S.Pepper]

As in the entire DIY solution is tinted "brownish/rust" in color? Or, there is a settlement at the bottom that is this rusty color?

sediment at the bottom of the container.

 

[jurgenph]

As in the entire DIY solution is tinted "brownish/rust" in color? Or, there is a settlement at the bottom that is this rusty color?

it settles to the bottom.
i contacted TM and asked why this was, if it was me mixing it wrong or something else.
they told me that it was mostly iron percipitating out of solution, and that it's perfectly safe to dose like that.

J.

 

[SDK]

My bottle is still crystal clear as well

I would also like to see those ICP results when they come in....

 

[Quietman]

My bottle is still crystal clear as well

I would also like to see those ICP results when they come in....

Oh, the ICP test results...duh. Sheesh, need more coffee...or less.

Yeah, I'll post those on build thread. Look for them in March.

 

[SDK]

Is it possible to put this into an ATO system?

Yes in theory, but how would you control it? One of the leaning curves you see a lot of new reefers going through is separating dosing and ATO.

You would be better off testing weekly, seeing what your system is going through with regards to Alk and Cal and then coming up with a weekly dose.

 

[SDK]

Oh, the ICP test results...duh. Sheesh, need more coffee...or less.

Yeah, I'll post those on build thread. Look for them in March.

Great, a cliffhanger. I will tune in for the March sequel

 

[jlts21]

Is it possible to put this into an ATO system?

Yes in theory, but how would you control it? One of the leaning curves you see a lot of new reefers going through is separating dosing and ATO.

You would be better off testing weekly, seeing what your system is going through with regards to Alk and Cal and then coming up with a weekly dose.

Right. The problem with dosing right into your top off is that evaporation isn't really "consistent". Evaporation is affected by many things that do no coincide with alk/cal consumption (room temp, humidity, etc.)

 

[Quietman]

Yes in theory, but how would you control it? One of the leaning curves you see a lot of new reefers going through is separating dosing and ATO.

You would be better off testing weekly, seeing what your system is going through with regards to Alk and Cal and then coming up with a weekly dose.

I started with 1/4 of recommended dose (I always start with 1/4 of recommend anything in my tank - if not less). Increased to get levels I needed over a few weeks. Never did more than 2x a week testing for Alk.

Directly in display section of tank.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Can I get a clarification from someone regarding the precipitate at the bottom? From this thread and the links out it appears that it is most likely IRON precipitating out of solution? But it's ok to continue the dosing? Otherwise, the parameters in my 40G have been rock solid.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Bump I’m still using it but just wanted to clarification. Is Tropic Marin on the forum? Maybe they can answer? This is not the DIY. I’m using the factory direct 1000ml bottle.

Cheers,
Isaac

 

[jurgenph]

Bump I’m still using it but just wanted to clarification. Is Tropic Marin on the forum? Maybe they can answer? This is not the DIY. I’m using the factory direct 1000ml bottle.

Yes, they are. @Lou Ekus


J.

 

[Lou Ekus]

Can I get a clarification from someone regarding the precipitate at the bottom? From this thread and the links out it appears that it is most likely IRON precipitating out of solution? But it's ok to continue the dosing? Otherwise, the parameters in my 40G have been rock solid.

Yes, it is prefectly fine to keep dosing. Many of the bottles of both Carbocalcium and All-For-Reef have some amount of undissolved solids at the bottom of the bottle. This is mostly because the solution is super saturated. Those solids do not effect the concentrations in the solution. And do not cause any problem or issue, even if they end up transmitting into your tank system.

 

[FishEngineer]

Right. The problem with dosing right into your top off is that evaporation isn't really "consistent". Evaporation is affected by many things that do no coincide with alk/cal consumption (room temp, humidity, etc.)

A good point about using ATO water to dose. I have a DOS that I'm using for continuous water change. Thoughts on adding it to the make-up salt water there. Understand and appreciate determining the proper level first, but once things have settled, any downsides to just dosing the saltwater make-up tank? Thanks

 

[Reef Management LLC]

I love all for reef i use it on my 28 aio.

Nothing brown on bottom of my bottle i just finshed my first bottle.

Id contact tropic marin they have helped me alot in past amazing company!!

I use thier pro salt, reef actif additive, their bio pellets in a reactor, and np balance additive!

 

[danieyella]

I love it, use it on my 90g as its still low requirement so not too costly to run right now. Levels are still super consistent across the board. I switched to this and their pro salt and noticed an immediately "perk up" in my corals. I'm about to buy my third large bottle and haven't noticed any sediment that stood out to me at least...

 

[damselindistress]

At the end of my first 1000 ml bottle and have seen a remarkable difference in my 60 gallon mixed reef. Every single coral has responded positively. I was doing red sea 2 part before with a dosing pump but I did some serious damage to my system bc my pump wasn't dialed in as tightly as it needed to be, or I was not making the proper adjustments, I don't know which. But AFR saved my tank. I also switched to buying natural sea water at the same time instead of mixing my own, that has helped turn my tank around too.

Just ordered my second bottle of ARF. No sediment in the first bottle.

 

[YankeeTankee]

So I'm looking at various dosing pumps, trying to find one with enough heads to dose the various potions I've been trying out (Fusion 1 and Fusion 2, Ions (for magnesium), Vibrance (for iodide), and maybe even the Pax Bellum Magic Nitrate potion. Then I see Tropic Marin has an all-in-one product, namely, All-For-Reef, which includes "calcium, magnesium, strontium, and carbonate hardness elements, but also other less common elements like iodine, bromine, fluorine, selenium, molybdenum, & vanadium." So I'm thinking this is too good to be true! Given that you can use one potion for all these components (with just a single-head dosing pump), why would you NOT use this product in place of the other individual products??

While I've not used the product, based on it's chemistry I foresee the following effects:
1. A small drop in ph
2. A small carbon dosing effect
3. Some oxygen depletion
I think this is why they suggest ramping up dosing over time and have set a maximum recommended dosage. I think these effects will be small, and it's a great product, you just need to be careful/go slowly in tanks with heavy Ca/alk demand. As more people use the product we'll see just how far you can take it.