Aquaforest

[John L]

I've been using probio s and np pro for about 4 months now. I stopped using it for a couple of weeks as I thought it was a waste of money. My nitrates and phosphates shot up within a week.

 

I then started back up using it, adding extra the first week, now my phosphates are consistently 0.03 nitrates less than 2. I swear it's helping keep things nicely in check. . I've got new sponges appearing too. Powerful stuff, and natural which is even better.

[davy jones]

Wow. Thats odd!

 

Any chance the red sea is expired?

Good idea to get a third check.

 

You would see some significant issues at 60ppm, not only corals being unhappy but some algae.

Judging by the look of some of the coral im gonna guess that 0 is closer to correct than 60.. however 60 also makes sense as to why if i a coral gets damaged some how it never recovers.. hmm lol hopefully i can get in to a LFS this week to confirm.

[davy jones]

Gonna try to get some pictures tonight, as for an update i havent noticed any change. No shift in colors, no improved health nothing. The only thing i noticed is i now get a brown algea that grows on my glass after a few days, but no green algea anywhere in the tank.

 

Gonna keep using the product until i run out, but early opinion is that i wont be continuing with the program. Time will tell though as its still very early!!

 

On a side note, I think im gonna do a large waterchange tomorrow, and might even get a triton test done one of these days. The acros just arent healthy and there is almost 0 consumption of ALK, i dose using an apex DOS and its at the equivelent of .2dkh a day, and my alk is slowly creeping up doing that. Last test was a few days ago at 7.5dkh

[Hexadron]

 

I tried this for quite some time, and with my life, schedule and general personality when less became more, it ended up staying less.

 

i.e. I ended up neglecting it. Lost a fish and a few coral because i was lazy and distracted. Dont want to do it again, so i try to do something with the tank every night. I keep my hands out of the display as much as i can but i like needing to look at it or check the skimmer or clean the glass or dose something by hand type of thing i guess. To each his own!

 

 

Are you me?! I installed an Apex some time ago and now that everything is automated I got extremely lazy and besides feeding pellets daily and doing the occasional water change, I was severely neglecting my tank.

 

I started AF a while ago, and although I haven't seen the results that i'm after yet, it was getting me more involved with my tank again. Although i'm not intentionally running ULNS I am a light feeder, but have decided I need higher Nitrate and phosphate readings for happy corals so I am feeding A LOT more, but will continue to use AF products. I will be switching from Probiotic to Reef Salt once it runs out and I no longer dose any of the Bacteria products as I feel I'm starving my corals

 

I'm now looking to use:

Reef Salt

A, V, (twice/week) B, E (once/week)

Components 1+, 2+, 3+

Feeding ridiculous amounts to get Phosphate ~0.03 and Nitrate 2-5ppm

 

I guess you could say Aquaforest light

 

Thanks for sharing your progress!

[Droy008]

I just did a large 40% water change in my 10g yesterday. I dosed 1 drop of pro bio S, and one drop of NP pro.

 

I came to work today and it looks like I've got a small bacterial bloom. The water is all hazy white, and my skimmer was overflowing.

 

I cleaned everything up, and bumped up my flow.

I had a similar issue in my small 5g at home.

Hopefully this will dissipate in a day...

[davy jones]

I just did a large 40% water change in my 10g yesterday. I dosed 1 drop of pro bio S, and one drop of NP pro.

 

I came to work today and it looks like I've got a small bacterial bloom. The water is all hazy white, and my skimmer was overflowing.

 

I cleaned everything up, and bumped up my flow.

I had a similar issue in my small 5g at home.

Hopefully this will dissipate in a day...

Be careful with the bacterial issues. Make sure to have lots of surface agitation and keep the skimmer going no matter what, the issue with a bloom is they consume all the oxygen in the tank and kill fish and coral which lead to other issues Hold off on feeding np pro until the bacteria bloom settles.

 

 

Are you me?! I installed an Apex some time ago and now that everything is automated I got extremely lazy and besides feeding pellets daily and doing the occasional water change, I was severely neglecting my tank.

 

I started AF a while ago, and although I haven't seen the results that i'm after yet, it was getting me more involved with my tank again. Although i'm not intentionally running ULNS I am a light feeder, but have decided I need higher Nitrate and phosphate readings for happy corals so I am feeding A LOT more, but will continue to use AF products. I will be switching from Probiotic to Reef Salt once it runs out and I no longer dose any of the Bacteria products as I feel I'm starving my corals

 

I'm now looking to use:

Reef Salt

A, V, (twice/week) B, E (once/week)

Components 1+, 2+, 3+

Feeding ridiculous amounts to get Phosphate ~0.03 and Nitrate 2-5ppm

 

I guess you could say Aquaforest light

 

Thanks for sharing your progress!

Lol Thats funny that we did almost the same thing!

 

It must be the cold climates we live in, minnesota is basically canada

[davy jones]

Just had my water double tested at the LFS near by, results are kind of interesting.

 

Turns out nitrates are high, phosphates is .08ppm
Cal is 480
Mag is high
Alk is 7.5
Sg is 1.026
Just took a sample in to new wave

New plan. Just ordered pro bio s, -np pro and the smallest Tunze power head to remove a dead spot, Will be here in a few days.

Doing a 10 gallon wc tonight, and will do another 10-15 gallon tomorrow or Monday. Might set up my doser to dose nopox instead of calcium since it's high.

[Hexadron]

Have you tested the freshly mixed salt water just to see what that reads at?

[Clown79]

I agree. I would test your water change beforehand.

 

Are you only dosing ca because the ca is pretty high and the alk isn't really balanced with it.

[metrokat]

This is a video about a skimmer but the comments about AF are interesting

https://www.facebook.com/stoneaquatics/videos/578376819034211/

[Droy008]

This is a video about a skimmer but the comments about AF are interesting

https://www.facebook.com/stoneaquatics/videos/578376819034211/

 

Interesting video Kat.

I have had issues with both of my tanks since doing large water changes with the AF salt too.

I was really looking forward to this salt, so far not so much.

[metrokat]

 

Interesting video Kat.

I have had issues with both of my tanks since doing large water changes with the AF salt too.

I was really looking forward to this salt, so far not so much.

I haven't used it so I can't comment on the salt. I've been using NeoMarine for over 3 years. Briefly I tried a 10 gallon change with Aquacraft which is also highly recommended. Never again.

 

I just think that our systems get used to the environment we keep them in. Since all systems are unique, no two are alike, some will respond negatively to the smallest change, and some can take major changes and be just fine. Aliens.

[jcreefer]

I've been using the AF probiotic salt after hearing some good things. First thing I noticed is the day after the very first WC using the AF salt was a major bloom. The skimmer went into overdrive (not overflowing) with the same brown residue seen in that FB video. This was expected due to the nature of the salt mix.

 

After nearly exhausting the 22 Kg bucket, here is my impression (coming from a RSPC and HW marine salt user).

 

@ 1.026 SG/IM 30L Tank

 

Cal 430-440

Mag 1430-1440

Alk 7.7-7.9

pH 7.7-8.0

Nitrate 25-55ppm

Phosphate 0.00 (Hanna Low)

 

The salt mixes fast, leaves no residue. After the very first WC, the brown crude doesn't persist in my JNS VS-1 (AquaMaxx WS-1) skimmer. The numbers I posted are after daily 10mL 2-part dosing, so the Ca and Alk are slightly lower if measuring just the mixed salt water. It took about 1.5-2 months for the tank to get acclimated to the new salt. Overall, it's a stable salt mix. I am finally starting to see some better colorations in my Cali tort and Forest fire digi. I do weekly 5 gal WC on the ~27 gal overall volume. Would I buy again? Not sure, I don't know if I should just use the regulate AF reef salt (w/o probiotic additive), since I'm not using the full AF system. It's not any better or worse than the other salt I've used. I do like the fact the dKh is closer to NSW then the RSPC level.

 

Jeff

[davy jones]

Have you tested the freshly mixed salt water just to see what that reads at?

I have not but i will do that monday when i mix the next batch.

 

I agree. I would test your water change beforehand.

 

Are you only dosing ca because the ca is pretty high and the alk isn't really balanced with it.

I was using marine mix reefer for about 8 months prior to this and dosing esv bionic 2 part, those are why my cal was super high. I havent really been dosing it at all lately and am letting it come down naturally as well as through waterchanges. Mag was about 1500 last test as well so i think the 2 part i was using wont work for my tank with such little consumption right now. I switched to just dosing alk

 

This is a video about a skimmer but the comments about AF are interesting

https://www.facebook.com/stoneaquatics/videos/578376819034211/

Interesting about the salt, so far i havent had any sort of brown residue or crud in the tank after a waterchange, but ive only done 2 of them since switching to the salt.

 

The nitrate issue was there long before the aquaforest products. I just didnt believe the test kit since all the signs pointed to low nutrients and not super high. I have 0 algae growth but nitrates around 60... I feed 1 shrimp cube a day, and do a 10 gallon waterchange almost every week so im not sure how they build up. As well i have bare bottom and siphon out any detritus i find during the WC.

 

 

Interesting video Kat.

I have had issues with both of my tanks since doing large water changes with the AF salt too.

I was really looking forward to this salt, so far not so much.

My issues were prior to the change, i just finally got a chance to have my water double tested at the LFS.

[davy jones]

Ive changed about 40-50 gallons of water since i bought the salt, so far i do like it. Mixes really fast and clear, and 0 cloudyness when it goes into the tank. Something i didnt like about the hw marinemix salt from before.

First dose last night of pro bio S and -np pro, did 4 drops of each product. This is to start the probiotics and bring the nutrients down while establishing the bacteria that the corals will consume (or so the product guide says)

Tested EVERYTHING last night after the waterchange.

Cal 470ppm
Mag 1520-1560 ppm
Alk 7.6dkh
SG 1.026
Nitrates ~32ppm (down from 60+)
Phosphates .04-.08 (FINALLY HAVE A READING!!!!)


I stopped all dosing of the aminos, energy, fishv and coral food until the levels drop.

Dosing 6ml a day of n03po4x using the apex Dos. The reccomended dosage is around 10ml, And i will continue to lower the dosage to about 3 ml daily. The reason for this is i am often gone on weekends or for ~3 days at a time, when im away i wont be able to hand dose the AF products like pro bio s and -np pro (liquid polymer). I understand nopox is different but for now its the best i can do, atleast until i get a second Apex dos and idk if i want to do that.

Got the tunze powerhead but unsure if im gonna use it, The physical size is way more than anticipated. I think im gonna keep my eyes open for a WAV kit and ditch the vortechs. Or maybe just go 2 mp40's. I dont like the uneven flow of the mp40 and mp10.

PS. Sorry if this is sounding more like a tank build, a lot of the stuff i type in here is kind of a reference for myself as well.

[Droy008]

After giving my tank a couple days to settle down, I can say 2 things.

 

First, My water is VERY clear.

 

Second, my skimmer is working overtime!

 

Seriously, I am amazed at what is coming out of this tank now.

I have the IM Ghost skimmer, which is notorious for being mediocre at best. But with the dark brown wretched smelling skimmate being produced as of late, I am impressed.

 

One thing to note, I also dose 1.5ml of NoPox twice a week.

 

After testing my params yesterday, I will have to either cut down my dosing of NoPox or start feeding more. Because my nitrates have dropped down to almost undetectable levels.

This has helped with my sps' health, and also allowed everything to really color up.

I know its only been a week, but I'm happy with it so far.

[davy jones]

After giving my tank a couple days to settle down, I can say 2 things.

 

First, My water is VERY clear.

 

Second, my skimmer is working overtime!

 

Seriously, I am amazed at what is coming out of this tank now.

I have the IM Ghost skimmer, which is notorious for being mediocre at best. But with the dark brown wretched smelling skimmate being produced as of late, I am impressed.

 

One thing to note, I also dose 1.5ml of NoPox twice a week.

 

 

 

 

The skimmer and nasty smelling stuff is definitely the bacteria in the water from carbon dosing (nopox and -np pro if you are using that) If i remember correctly the bacteria will produce sulfate as a biproduct (sulfur?) and thats the reason it smells so bad

 

TL;dr

 

Smelly skimmate = bacteria doing their job

[Droy008]

I can tell!

But it's nice to have a physical reaction to tell you it's working.

[Clown79]

Dirtrider, is your tank an aio?

 

How often do you change floss, clean pumps, clean chambers? Those things buildup nutrients pretty quickly.

 

Since you have no sand, thats one problem solved for nutrient levels.

[davy jones]

Dirtrider, is your tank an aio?

 

How often do you change floss, clean pumps, clean chambers? Those things buildup nutrients pretty quickly.

 

Since you have no sand, thats one problem solved for nutrient levels.

Reefer 250 is not, It has a sump.

 

I think my issue was build up under one of my rock piles that i didnt see/siphon. During the last waterchange i took a turkey baster and blasted all the rockwork and got as much debris up as i could. I also blasted the gunk in the sump as there was a little bit of build up next to my skimmer ( nothing crazy down there as i use filter socks. Change them whenever they get clogged, about every 5 days or so)

Dont use floss

Although i did remove the black "bubble sponge" from the sump about a month ago, which i think contributed to the issue im having.

[ninjamyst]

I took out that sponge too plus i have filter floss in that area and it does get dirty so i know the filter socks are not catching everything

[Clown79]

Ok. That sponge may have been a contributing factor to your nitrates. Those things jus collect frap like no other.

 

When i started yrs ago I used one in my filter and couldn't figure out where my nitrate levels wer coming from. It was the sponge

[davy jones]

I'm sure with dosing no pox and -np pro they will come down quickly enough. Too quick I think could be bad. Once it gets to about 10ppm I'll half the dose ofor nopox and see where that gets me. Then I'll half the dose of pro bio s and -np pro. I don't want to bottom out cause that's just as bad as too many. Was hoping to get 1 more waterchange in before the holidays and being gone but it's unlikely. Oh well. I'm probably leaving Thursday night and won't be back until Monday so no aquaforest dosing for 4 days.I'll see if I can get some pics tomorrow for an update so the thread isn't just a bunch of words lol

[davy jones]

Nitrates down to about 6ppm as of last night, phosphates around .04ppm

Alk up to 7.9dkh, might have to adjust dosage if uptake doesnt raise.

 

 

Between everything, almost all of the sticks are now showing growth. Some encrusting, some slowly sprouting new branches or extending the ones they have. Barely. but it is heading in the right direction!

 

Opinions of the products thus far.

-np pro + pro bio s: I like this stuff. At least for me and in conjunction with my tank and what i do it has made a difference in bringing down nutrients as well as keeping them down when im not dosing (was gone 4 days for the holidays and had no dosing) and everything kept par.

 

Reef salt: It mixes quick, numbers match natural sea water pretty close which is nice and so far is nice and clear, no cloudy ness. But this is only 1 bucket.

 

All the rest of the additives.. so far, im not sure that these do anything at all. Its possible that it wont because my tank isnt ULNS but whatever. Still unsure if i will purchase them again or not but time will tell. If the tank looks good and has good growth by the end of my bottles then ill probably buy them again just to keep it up. Even if they really do nothing lol.

 

No pictures yet, cant seem to get any good ones. (HOW ON EARTH DO YOU GUYS TAKE GOOD TOP DOWN PICTURES?!?!)

[ninjamyst]

No pictures yet, cant seem to get any good ones. (HOW ON EARTH DO YOU GUYS TAKE GOOD TOP DOWN PICTURES?!?!)

steady hands, at least 1/100 shutter speed, camera needs to be perpendicular to whatever you are shooting to avoid water distortion