my mistake 0.5 Nitrates is the correct number. Prior to using Nitroguard Phosphate and Nitrate were higher....which is why I started on it, I also wanted to increase the bioload.

I battled cyano with lights out, lots of water changes, filter socks daily etc. It came back so just nuked it with Chemiclean 2 days ago. Everything is looking good in the tank now, except the skimmer is still in overdrive...but I hear that takes a while sometimes. I still have the dinos thought. I can stir up my sand and vac it so it is nice and white and in 10 minutes (not exaggerating) you can see it starting to turn brown. I am considering Hydrogen Peroxide now.

Doesn't sound like probiotic salt is a magic solution for my problems.

I have dinos too. I was in denial before thinking it was some crazy diatoms that just wouldn't go away, but the moment I seen the slimy bubbles I knew :(

I'm debating to just remove my sand bed, as that is the only thing it is affecting. My rocks are perfectly 'clean'

Hi,
Which vendor sells the aquaforest lineup?

Im in edmonton if anyone sells it local, I didnt see one on their website though.

Also, how many dosing pump heads will I need? I know I need 3 for the 1,2,3 can I Mix the other stuff like probiotics into one container? Im out of town all week and can not dose 1 drop every other day unless I can dose it.

Until they get a [better] Canadian distributor, you can only find them on Amazon Canada.

Aquarium Depot Canada

I stand corrected. Perhaps their Canadian distributer isn't as useless as was reported. Thanks Derek.

News to me too. They don't list the Aquaforest salt mixes though. I've never ordered from Aquarium Depot, have you guys dealt with them before?

No salt or components 123 everything else though.

Never dealt with them. But they carry NP Pro 50ml for $35 where amazon does not.

Amazon is probably the best option for everything, but they are possibly an alternative to those products not listed or out of stock on amazon

Mindy, do you know how many extra pump heads I would need to dose the probiotics? Can I mix them then dose? The guide didnt say much.

The Reef Salt happens to be at an AMAZING price on Amazon right now. $36.89 + $9.99 shipping... but hurry, only 1 left!

True, but AP doesn't have the Component 123 either though, so they're kinda useless to me. It's good to see someone is trying though. :) I only use Pro BioS, Component 123, and probiotic salt these days.

Now the 22kg bucket is not listed at all on there... Weird.

You can put NP Pro (bacteria food) on a doser - they have a special 1L formulation for that. The ProBioS (bacteria) needs to be refrigerated though, like other bacteria products. I refrigerate the Coral E too though because it smells like fish oil, so I assume it could go bad. The instructions don't say you have to refrigerate though...

The Coral A, B, V, and E all need to be shaken, so you'd need a magnetic stirrer to put them on dosers (they're pricey).

So I guess if you wanted to put Component 123 and NP Pro on a doser you'd need 4 dosing pumps. If you want all the she-bang you'd need 4 regular dosing pumps, and 4 magnetic stirred dosing pumps.

I find if I use Component 123 in even amounts (which you have to because you can't buy them separately), then Ca, Mg, and K all get high, so what I've done is hooked up a 4th dosing pump to dose "pure" Sodium carbonate. So I dose Component 123 to keep Ca, Mg, and K at the right levels, and then a bit of extra carb (only 8 mL per day) to keep alkalinity around 6.8-7.2 dKH.

Thanks, I wonder if I can mix all the coral foods though into one and stir it.

I don't know. Ask on the Aquaforest Facebook page.

Sounds like you can't win! Switch to AF salt because the other Salts mix up with high Alk. Then dose comp 123 and end up with high parameters again and have to add another doser to bring back in range? AHHHHH

If they sold the Components separately like everyone else, then that would solve the problem. :lol:

There is a fix!!! You can buy their Ca, alk, Mg powders separately and add in the Components Strong and you can mix your own like is typical with other balling methods in which case you can adjust how you want.

Ugh

Just received my new solid brick of salt from Amazon :crazyeye:. I guess we'll try again and hope for the best...

Bummer! I've not had this trouble before...

Has anyone tested alkalinity of freshly mix Aquaforest Reef Salt (non-probiotic)? How about Aquaforest Sea Salt?

salifert showed KH @ 8 for reefsalt

hopefully amazon gets more stock soon....

im concerned. Usually when amazon is out of stock, they still have the item up with notice saying more coming soon. Now reef salt is gone altogether, i dont wanna go back to IO :cry:

Yeah I noticed that too.

Lame! I'm running low on the reef salt too. I don't want to pay that price for the probiotic version. Plus I don't think the probiotics are necessary....

The 22kg bucket of reef salt was gone from Amazon a few weeks ago but came back... I wouldn't worry too much.

Bayside Corals has Aquaforest now! YES!


Mindy, did you ever get an answer on your question about doing large waterchanges (75%+) with the Probiotic Reef Salt? Have you tried it?

Also, how does Aquaforest Component 1,2,3 deal with excess/buildup of Chloride?

Yeah, Aquaforest does not recommend doing large water changes using the Probiotic salt. I've done 30% water changes with it, and I didn't get any bacteria bloom or anything. I'm not sure I wold try bigger than that.

The third component is chloride free mineral salt. :)

So maybe I'm better using the reef salt and dosing probiotics seperate?

You need to do big water changes? The probiotic salt has different species of bacteria than what you can buy in bottles.

I've done a 50% water changes with the probiotic reef salt and no bacteria bloom. I think you have less chance of a bacteria bloom with a mature system.

That's probably true.

I usually do 15% water changes every 2 weeks, but would like to add to the routine 1 massive water change once a year. I've seen anywhere from 70% to 95% recommended.

Yeah, I've done 75% water changes 3-4 times per year for as long as I can remember, but I haven't done any since starting AF.

Amazon.ca hasn't offered Reef salt for a few weeks, is this the end of it?:cry:

Anyone know what the parameters are for Sea Salt? Might have to go with this option if Reef salt doesn't come back soon.

The distributor that was sellin to amazon lost the rights. New distributor is now gonna be selling through store fronts. So yes pick up what you can from amazon if you want the sea or probiotic salt

That is bad news. I see them going for $89/bucket and that doesn't include shipping yet.

Well, what are you waiting for??? Let me know how it goes! :twised:

It's similar but the alk is slightly higher (yep) and I think the potassium and calcium are slightly lower. The specs are on AF's site.