SIMPLIFY Reef Tank Dosing With Tropic Marin All-for-Reef!
Tropic Marin's All-For-Reef is arguably the simplest approach to maintaining major and minor elements in a reef aquarium. One single solution maintains calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, and all of the trace and minor elements corals typically consume. Everything your reef needs for stable water chemistry, in one solution, dosed daily into your reef aquarium.
Compared to calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate-based dosing solutions like traditional 2-part and the balling method, All-For-Reef is very different in that uses Calcium Formate as the primary source of calcium and carbonates. This is the same compound used in Tropic Marin's CarboCalcium and when combined with the remaining ingredients, AFR won't alter ionic balance or cause an increase in sodium chloride. Additionally, it adds all of the trace elements corals are known to consume so you won't need to add extra solutions as your tank matures.
Which All-For-Reef Should I Buy?
Sounds pretty great, huh? Well, it is but there are some caveats to consider before switching to All-For-Reef. AFR is available in three different forms, you can buy it in a ready-to-dose liquid, get the DIY kit and mix it yourself, or buy the powder version which requires dissolving the powdered concentrate in RO/DI water. All of these result in the same single solution but come at different costs.
Since All-For-Reef maintains all major and minor elements, it is suitable for maintaining any type of reef aquarium, including mixed reef aquariums that contain SPS corals. Tanks with a heavier demand will require more of the solution to be dosed each day to maintain stable parameters. That being said, the liquid version is almost 5x the price of the dry powder version so it's important to consider how much of the solution you will need and your tank size when making a choice for use on your tank.
$140 per gallon
Ready to dose right out of the bottle and is best reserved for nano-sized reef aquariums or aquariums with low demand for supplementation.
$45.50 per gallon
Requires that you accurately measure and mix four separate solutions at home to create a single solution.
$28.50 per gallon
The most economical choice requires dissolving the powder in RO/DI water before dosing. Suitable for all reef tanks including tanks with a heavy demand for calcium and alkalinity.
The above costs are calculated using the price of the largest containers available on BRS.com at the time of publishing this article
How to Use Tropic Marine All-For-Reef
If required, mix your All-For-Reef in a clean container being careful to make accurate measurements. A kitchen scale and graduated cylinders will work great for the DIY Kit. Fill your dosing reservoirs and store the solution in a sealed container, out of reach of children and pets.
All-For-Reef is suitable for manual dosing but can also be delivered via a dosing pump in small increments throughout the day. Add the required amount of solution directly into your reef aquarium each day, preferably into an area of high flow. Test your alkalinity every other day for the first two weeks to dial in your daily dose. Adjust dosage based on your tank's alkalinity test results.
Dosage:
- Start with a daily dose of 5 ml of All-For-Reef per 100 liters (26 US-gal) of aquarium system water volume.
- Increase the daily dosage by 2.5 ml per 100 liters (26 US-gal) of aquarium system water volume on a weekly basis using your alkalinity as an indicator. The goal is to maintain stable alkalinity of 7-9° dKH.
- The maximum daily dosage is 25 ml per 100 liters (26 US-gal) of aquarium system water volume*
*Should your tank's demand exceed the daily dose, seek alternative methods of supplementation such as a calcium reactor, kalkwasser, or the balling method. This will only be applicable to very mature SPS-dominant reef aquariums with a considerable daily demand for calcium and alkalinity.
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