Scroll back to post #228 where I explain it. :)

Nice improvements Myka. I have alot of trouble taking photos with my Samsung S5 so I dont usually bother any more.

Hey for your component 1+ 2+ 3+ the Alk seems to be sodium bicarbonate rather then Sodium Carbonate according to the dose/dkh rise. Am I right in assuming this? Its another reason I stick with my own mix as I like to use soda ash which ends up being about 1/2 the liquid dose of sodium bicarbonate. If I'm dosing 85mls right now id probably be dosing closer to 170mls of Component 1+ 2+ 3+ and it would end up being very pricey.

Found it, thanks! Any idea if they changed the formulas or just the names?

Just the names

Yes, it's bicarb. Component 1+2+3+ is NOT cost effective. It really only makes sense for nano tanks and new tanks where the demand isn't very high yet (like mine). Some people go through the Component 1+2+3+ in like 3 weeks, and by my calculations that's like $1000 a year. :lol:

As far as I know, when you buy the AF Calcium, KH Buffer, and Magnesium powders they are just raw materials - the same as most other powder recipes, and nothing special. However, if you're using "raw" materials, you should also be using the Reef Mineral Salt and the Components Strong for all the heavy metal and microelement additions.

Component 1+2+3+ is equal to:

RO/DI, Calcium chloride, Sodium bicarbonate, Magnesium (I'm not sure on the sulfate/chloride mix), Reef Mineral Salt, and Components Strong all mixed together in RO/DI in three handy totes.

OK that's what I thought. I buy bulk soda ash and calcium chloride from reefsupplies Canada then buy the AF mineral salt and component strong for balling method. I dose magnesium by hand when needed.

Well I'm at a loss...

After discovering that my salinity was off I have spent the past couple of weeks getting it back up to normal levels. After a water change today, I calibrated my refractometer with the Pinpoint solution and measured the salinity in my tank at 1.025. Not the 1.026 I was hoping for but definitely within reason.

A couple of hours later I went to the grocery store to buy a jug of distilled water then used my Hanna checker to measure calcium and.....381. Hrmph. I feel like I'm back where I'm started. I'm still not seeing calcium levels others are seeing.

There are three variables that might be throwing stuff off:

- Pinpoint solution. Does this stuff expire? It's a couple of years old but was never opened until two weeks ago. Should it be shaken before use?

- Refractometer. Should I compare it at the LFS? Is it "spoiled" since I've only used RO/DI for calibration up to this point?

- Bad batch of salt mix? I'm at the end of the current bucket and will have to open a new bucket next week. Maybe wait and see what I measure from that before taking next steps?

I feel like I'm missing something obvious or maybe just have a bad batch of salt.

Bingo! Although not spoiled, you can recalibrate it.

Give this a read and step away from the RO/DI!

Buy some calibration fluid stat!

Thanks Jordon. I should have been more clear. Up until two weeks ago I had only used RO/DI water for calibration. But I am using American Marine Pinpoint calibration fluid now. I'm measuring 1.025 salinity now (up from 1.021) but am still measuring lower than expected calcium levels.

Oh gotcha!

Have you tested both freshly mixed salt water and your tank? I'm at a loss why the Calcium would be so low. Have you tried a different test kit?

I have the Hanna Calcium checker, and always get results all over the place. I think unless the Distilled water is "lab grade" its contaminants can mess up the results.

I'd be trying a different test kit. I haven't seen a bucket that low in any of the three Aquaforest salts.

I have a 40g mixed reef that I've had going for a year, it's sumpless with a Tunze 9004 skimmer and an Aquaclear 70 that I use for carbon and phosguard. I started using the AF reef salt a few weeks ago and all was good. I then stared using the Pro Bio S and NP Pro almost 2 weeks ago. I dose one drop of each one night and then 2 drops each the next. Since I started on this I've started to get a light fluffy algae on my rocks and tank glass, does this seem like a normal process when starting with this stuff? I've since taken out the Phosguard as I read not to use alumina based phosphate removers with AF products so I don't know if that is a cause. I'm hesitant to get the coral additives until this algae disappears. Phosphate levels are 0.03 or less when tested with a Hanna Ultra Low Phosphorus checker. Alk is around 7dkh and Calcium is a bit high at 468. Any thoughts?

Jordon/Myka, thanks for your replies and your patience. I think I'm going to have to get a new test kit. I stupidly threw out my Red Sea test kit when I got my Hanna checker. Myka, you mentioned that you use a Nyos test kit. I'll see if I can find one of those online.

That's what we're here for!

LOL, I did the same thing when I got my Hanna checker. Got a little too excited to "easy" tests. Needless to say I bought a salifert test a few tests later!

I don't use Nyos. I use Salifert for calcium (I used to use Elos, but they are hard to find these days). I test alkalinity with both Hanna Checker and Salifert. I haven't used the Red Sea Pro kits for calcium and alkalinity yet, but I'd like to give them a shot. I love the RSP Nitrate kit, but their Mg kit is annoyingly complicated, so I prefer Salifert for Mg. Honestly, you can't go wrong sticking with Salifert for all your testing needs other than PO4.

Doesn't sound like anything I have experienced or read about anyone else experiencing yet. Why is calcium so high? IMO that's not "a bit high", that's really high. If you're keeping alkalinity around 7.0 dKH, then calcium should be really close to 410 ppm. To put it in perspective, calcium level of 470 ppm has balanced alkalinity of 15.4 dKH.

Hey Mindy,

Any updates with your SPS turning green?

I was using a Hanna Checker for calcium and Alk. Calcium was at 478 on Saturday (after a water change), 468 on Sunday and 450 today using a Salifert kit. I haven't dosed anything just water changes using AF reef salt for the past month (5g weekly). I guess I'll have to mix up a new batch and measure as the numbers on the certificate seem to be way off. So I don't know why calcium is so high but I'm guessing the salt mix.

Mixed new water for a few hours and brought it up to 78 degrees. Salinity is 35ppt, Alk 7.56 (Hanna), Calcium 400 (Salifert, measured twice). I suspect calcium is high due to Reef Crystals previously being used. Tank calcium is now 430-440 and Alk has dropped to 6.66 dkh. I also have AF Component 1, 2, 3 so I guess I just add Component 2 to bring up my Alk to 7.5 and then maintain it at this level until calcium drops to about 420 and then start dosing all 3 components from this point on to maintain levels?

No you can't do this with Component 1+2+3+ because you can't buy the Components separate -they only come in a 3 pack so you have to dose all three equally. You need to dose Sodium bicarbonate to maintain alkalinity until calcium comes down. Once Ca is 410, alk is 7.0, and Mg is 1240 then you can start using the Components 1+2+3+.

I think it's the Hanna Checker. What other salt do you have around? Maybe mix up some IO (since it has lower calcium) and see if you can get the proper reading from it.

No. Maybe it's a phase. I'm hoping anyway! ;)

I don't have any other salt, used it all up before starting with the AF. I used a Salifert test kit on the tank and a new batch of water. For the tank the color started changing at 430 and went fully blue at 440. The newly mixed salt only came out at 400, I did the test twice and got the exact same result. So the AF isn't high on calcium and will require dosing in a few days.

Arm and Hammer it is then! Thanks Mindy, I only recently inherited and then bought a couple more SPS frags. In the last month they have kept nice colors and have grow a bit. I never really bothered testing since most of my corals were soft with a few LPS mixed in so water changes alone always sufficed.

I'm not sure about the fluffy algae I'm getting but I'll let it run its course (it comes off easy with a toothbrush and 5 minutes of time). The AF bacteria seems to be working well as Nitrates are immeasurable and phosphates on my Hanna ULP are showing 0 were they used to show 0.03ppm. Since I removed the Phosguard I've dosed a few drops of Fozdown to try and get rid of the algae but I going to have to stop for awhile. I only have one little fish in the tank so I don't feed much but got some Coral Frenzy to get a bit of nitrate and feed the corals. I guess I can look at ordering the Coral A, V, E, B now to try it out as well.

Sorry, I misunderstood, I thought you said the fresh AF saltwater mixed up with high calcium since you said "I don't know why calcium is so high but I'm guessing the salt mix." If you are indeed getting 400 ppm out of the AF salt mix that should be correct then. AF is designed around natural seawater parameters. Imo, it is not a good salt mix to use for those who just want to use water changes to maintain parameters. AF salt mixes are designed to have parameters that match the tank so there should not be any increases or decreases in the "big three" after a water change.

I'd suggest you don't use Coral A, E, or V until you have the algae under control. Also, unless you have a large SPS load, I think for most LPS and softy tanks the Coral A, B, E, and V aren't really needed and may cause more grief than anything (as they are mostly foods/nutrients).

Fyi, the names have changed:

Coral A = AF Amino Mix
Coral B = AF Build
Coral E = AF Energy
Coral V = AF Vitality

The names and packaging have changed, but the products are the same.

I don't know if this helps, but I was reading a thread over on RC last night about this calibration solution being way off. The poster was doubting it, ended up making his own calibration solution with a recipe found online, and discovered the pinpoint stuff was actually at 38 ppt :surprise:. If yours is also high this would explain why your calcium is low. I am using the AF reef salt and it mixes in the 410 - 415 range @ 1.026

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...ation+solution

:frusty:

You just can't make this up.

This is good information though. The container of fluid that I have is about two years old and I acknowledge that it could be off. I had already planned on ordering a new bottle of calibration fluid the next time I placed an order.

Hey guys,

Just got all my supplies for the switch. I have a 20g mixed reef and was wondering what you guys recommend for my first water change with the Probiotic Reef salt.

Should i start slow at around 10% or should I do more initially?

My parameters are very close to the AF target valued i.e.:
@ 1.025
Alk: 7 dKH
Calcium: 410

What would you guys recommend?

Just do what you do normally.

I do 25% every 2 weeks. I've switched from IO, to IO RC, and now to AF Reef. Never noticed any ill effects from changing salt... ever.

Careful with doing really large water changes with the probiotic reef salt as it may cause a bacterial bloom. You won't get this with the regular reef salt.

I use the probiotic and have done up to 30% water change with the probiotic reef salt but already have a well established bacterial colony in my tank.

I am glad I found this thread. I saw this companies salt on Amazon but had never heard of them so wasn't sure, but seems like a good deal and with Amazon's free shipping makes it pretty much a win.

I think i'll start with a 10% water change to "test the waters" :mrgreen: and then bump up to 25% then 50% in the next few weeks to flush the system.

Thanks for the input guys!

Since I started using the Bio Pro S and NP Pro two weeks ago I have been getting a fluffy type of hair algae all over my tank. Nothing else is being added to the tank except Fozdown and weekly 15% water changes. Should I just stop using these products altogether or continue dosing to see if things get better over time? It's been pretty frustrating going from an algae free tank to having to brush off the rocks every two days.

I started off with my usual weekly 13% water changes and then I did back to back 30% and 50% water changes one day after the other only a few weeks into using the new salt. I didn't see any bacteria bloom, but it's definitely possible.

Have you tried contacting Aquaforest? They have a Facebook group that's very active in answering specific questions. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1490485151247025/

I asked about product availability in Canada on both their Facebook page and website and just got ignored. I can try again to see if anyone answers this question.

Looks like they have more than one Facebook group. The one I went on before you could message AF directly. Maybe this one will be better.

Probably because there isn't much following in Canada yet, and no one knew the answer. Right now Amazon is the only Canadian retailer of Aquaforest. I can't see any LFS wanting to carry it because the pricing/shipping on Amazon is too aggressive for LFS to compete.

I don't know about that - I don't go on FB much. The link I gave you is the link that was provided to me. Maybe you were on the Aquaforest Page rather than the Aquaforest Group?

2 25kg boxes of aqua forest reef salt left on Amazon.

They lie to us. They say that and then in a few days it will say "only 7 left!" or some thing. It's hard to say how many they really have. :lol:

Well I'm jumping on the Aquaforest train
I just ordered the 25kg reef salt.

Coral AEVB dosing
 

I noticed that the downloadable product guide says to dose these 4 products every other day but under the "Products" tab on the AF website when you look at the same products it says to dose daily with the same dosage recommendations. Anyone no which is correct? I posted on the AF Facebook page earlier today but so far no one has an answer.