Trying Polyp Lab's "System Reef-resh" this weekend.

Tangman · #1 05-05-2006, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumpfinfishe

Tangman wrote over two weeks ago:

So any chance on getting a look at those pics yet

Sorry ,got very busy, wasn't able to take pics. after one week, but the results after one week were amazing, you could see the color improvement every day.
But then I ran into trouble ... my skimmer is very underpowered and I have a crushed coral substrate ,which was very dirty( a lot of organic waste) and by adding this product ,you are adding bacteria and nutrients (fuel to feed the bacteria) that bind to other nutrients that are already in your tank and then get skimmed out , creating a low nutrient environment. I was not able to do this because my skimmer is too small and my system was too nutrient rich in the first place. As a result of all this I had a very large algae bloom that I am dealing with, so I have stopped using the product until I get a new skimmer and clean up the rich nutrient situation. I didn't have a algae problem before I started, but its all about balance and when I started the product, it didn't take very long before my system, my skimmer in particular, couldn't handle it.
I will try this again once I remedy the situation

dirtyreefer · #2 05-05-2006, 03:50 PM

I've had the most growth I've ever seen since using this product, however I have experienced some bleaching on a couple of acro pieces. The number of new growth tips is astounding, and I guarantee it's due to the RF.

A question I would like to ask PolypLab is: Can I stop using the RF-Fuel? I find that this carbon source is most likely what's bleaching my SPS. I can't confirm that but would rather try and avoid this happening to other pieces. I would still continue to dose the other 3.

Any impact?

GMGQ · #3 05-11-2006, 05:53 PM

Just wanted to chime in that I've started using it yesterday!

dirtyreefer · #4 05-14-2006, 07:48 PM

A follow up to my experience with bleaching. I found out that two of my acros had Acro Eating FWs

and not because of the carbon source of RR. I removed those two pieces and basically threw them in the garbage. None of my other acros seem to be affected. Funny though since I haven't added any new pieces or fish for a few months now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtyreefer

I've had the most growth I've ever seen since using this product, however I have experienced some bleaching on a couple of acro pieces. The number of new growth tips is astounding, and I guarantee it's due to the RF.

A question I would like to ask PolypLab is: Can I stop using the RF-Fuel? I find that this carbon source is most likely what's bleaching my SPS. I can't confirm that but would rather try and avoid this happening to other pieces. I would still continue to dose the other 3.

Any impact?

DARK · #5 05-16-2006, 05:17 AM

I won the "Not so perfect tank" contest Polyp Labs had a few months ago. While I used the product for 5 weeks, I noticed a big improvement in the colours of my sps but since I ran out of The System and stop dosing, my purple monster frags and some lime green/teal stags have lost most of their colour and they appear to be dieing. Unless you plan to use The System "forever" I do not suggest using this product. I stopped using the product because it would cost me 180$ every 5 weeks on my 450g total water volume setup. I was impressed that it worked so well but now I wish I hadn't even entered the contest... sound harsh? Yes it is... but Im the one seeing what damage its caused to my system. If someone needs me to answer questions I'll glady do so.

Supafudge · #6 05-16-2006, 03:52 PM

oh oh, can i say it ?

DARK · #7 05-16-2006, 04:58 PM

Go ahead.

Supafudge · #8 05-17-2006, 05:07 AM

I apologize Dark, no offense to you.

Thank you for the time to tell us about your experience.

I would be better off not opening my mouth, but i just get my panties in a bunch about this type of (filtration?)stuff...Cheers, hopefully your livestock is recovering...most of all, welcome to canreef

I and several others (like vanreef above) had posted a few questions regarding it, IMO, they were either not answered, skirted or outright changed. If you take the time to re-read each question, youll see what i mean.

One of them was a question i asked related to the problem you are experiencing...
"Tell me, if you do not feed these bacteria a source of carbon, what happens ? "
The reply was answered with a re-phrased question....."If you don't add an appropriate carbon source, What happens ?"
The secret word there was "appropriate"....

The answer was,
"The bacteria will stay in a planktonic state and can't form biofilms.
Bacteria use cell to cell communications to control gene expression amongst the cells. (This mechanisms is called quorom sensing). Some bacterial species use this to initiate biofilm formation."

With my little layman sized brain, this means....Like in your scenario, they simply die and pollute your tank.("planktonic" seems like a cool word for it tho

)
What i cant figure out is why would they die, if the food source is primarily nutrients in your tank ?

Whats the difference what kind of life form it takes , wether its a fish or bacteria? In any way,you feed in addition to what you were, bio load has increased and so has pollution.

I dunno, i still havent met a nutrient thats dodges my water changes.

Bah ! i got a headache.

I have followed your thread on another board, and you mentioned it helped the colors out a bit.
In your opinion, could you also say that running at thier "recommended parameters" this may have also had something to do with the improved coloration?

Thanks for your input.

Mike Olson · #9 05-19-2006, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DARK

I won the "Not so perfect tank" contest Polyp Labs had a few months ago. While I used the product for 5 weeks, I noticed a big improvement in the colours of my sps but since I ran out of The System and stop dosing, my purple monster frags and some lime green/teal stags have lost most of their colour and they appear to be dieing. Unless you plan to use The System "forever" I do not suggest using this product. I stopped using the product because it would cost me 180$ every 5 weeks on my 450g total water volume setup. I was impressed that it worked so well but now I wish I hadn't even entered the contest... sound harsh? Yes it is... but Im the one seeing what damage its caused to my system. If someone needs me to answer questions I'll glady do so.

I guess your reef liked the reef resh and then reacted negatively to not getting it...kinda like feeding a dog steak for awhile, then watching him go back to dry dog food Ha Ha! It must have done some good while you were using it if your corals had that much of a decline after.
All I know is that I do a 20% water change every 1-2 months, I feed my fish and corals alot, I have ALWAYS had nitrate readings around 10-20, and ever since I have used this product they have been at ZERO. This reason alone has made it worth the money, not withstanding the sps growth ive had in my mixed reef and other benefits

vanreefer · #10 05-22-2006, 08:13 PM

I say if it is working for you and you don't mind continuing using the product... then go for it... But I would caution you in stopping using the product abruptly... you should probably wean it off slowly. I would probably ask Polyp lab again (as I did earlier) about the potential problem with stopping this product abruptly... maybe ask them to stop using it on one of their "test tanks" after 6minths to a year of use.