All for reef diy on BRS

[sharis100]

Has anyone tried the DIY version of the All for Reef and compared it to the pre-mixed little bottles? Thanks for any feedback!

 

[kullas]

Following. Is the carbocarbonate just calcium carbonate powder? I have tons of this stuff. I need to test some of it and see what happens in a test container.

 

[ichthyoid]

It's what I'm going with. The DIY version is about 1/3 the cost of the pre-mix, but still not cheap.
The original suggestion I saw for doing this (DIY) was presented by Lou Ekus-President of Tropic Marin USA.
I have since exchanged several emails with him.
I also have a source for a diy CarboCalcium (calcium formate) and am working on diy biomagnesium. The K+ and A- likely won't be as easy to duplicate.
The diy version using Tropic Marin products works out to ~$30/month per 100 gallons of volume, ...to begin with.
High usage (ie- heavy acro) tanks will cost more, but the results and simplicity speak for themselves.
FWIW, I have used DIY calcium acetate in the past successfully as well.

 

[ichthyoid]

Following. Is the carbocarbonate just calcium carbonate powder? I have tons of this stuff. I need to test some of it and see what happens in a test container.

In a word, the answer is no. Calcium carbonate is practically insoluble, especially in a balanced marine aquarium.

CarboCalcium is calcium formate.
The All for Reef product also contains a magnesium supplement, as well as cation and anion trace elements.
All of these are in forms which do not react until exposed to bacteria in a reef aquarium.
When the bacteria consume the CarboCalcium the result is a balance of both calcium and alkalinity. *New reefs will likely need additional alkalinity, until they mature.
The bio-magnesium is also liberated by bacteria.
The trace elements are in stabilized form (likely chelated) and are precisely balanced as well.

 

[ZapataInc]

In a word, the answer is no. Calcium carbonate is practically insoluble, especially in a balanced marine aquarium.

CarboCalcium is calcium formate.
The All for Reef product also contains a magnesium supplement, as well as cation and anion trace elements.
All of these are in forms which do not react until exposed to bacteria in a reef aquarium.
When the bacteria consume the CarboCalcium the result is a balance of both calcium and alkalinity. *New reefs will likely need additional alkalinity, until they mature.
The bio-magnesium is also liberated by bacteria.
The trace elements are in stabilized form (likely chelated) and are precisely balanced as well.

Man you are so smart. Thats me trying to read all of this. lol

 

[sharis100]

So, I am going to try this since the bottles at 1000ml are always out of stock - Apparently Tropic Marin cannot keep up with the demand according to BRS. BRS suggested the DIY kit to me. 5000ml =$100.82 and 10000ml=$112.83 which seems the best deal.

 

[kullas]

So, I am going to try this since the bottles at 1000ml are always out of stock - Apparently Tropic Marin cannot keep up with the demand according to BRS. BRS suggested the DIY kit to me. 5000ml =$100.82 and 10000ml=$112.83 which seems the best deal.

Buy the 10000ml kit and sell 9 1000ml bottles. If you do I will take a bottle.

 

[NanCrab]

Man you are so smart. Thats me trying to read all of this. lol

I couldn't agree more!

 

[sharis100]

So it seems easy enough, 750 RoDI add carbocalcium use a magnetic stirrer on the stuff, add the bio mag powder, then pro-trace A- followed lastly with pro-trace K+. Always using the magnetic stirrer. So it will be like I’m back in chem lab. Will have to brush up on my skill set .
They say it takes 20 mins to complete.
I am trying for sure.

 

[sharis100]

Looks like the 10000 kit will last me two months at my current consumption rate. So, way more cost effective then the nano bottles and considering the multiple products all in one- it will be only slightly more expensive then two or three part plus all the other additives I would need to dose- and I am a super lazy reefer, so perfect for me.

 

[ichthyoid]

FYI-

For anyone looking for the exact mixing recipe, here is a quick guide on how you can make 1000 ml of All-For-Reef at a fraction of the cost! If you buy the larger 1400g container of Carbocalcium, you can make over 10 liters of solution!

Step 1: Gather Materials
-CarboCalcium Powder https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/carbo-calcium-powder-calcium…
-Bio-Magnesium https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bio-magnesium-tropic-marin.h…
-Trace A- https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/pro-coral-a-trace-1-tropic-m…
-Trace K+ https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/pro-coral-k-trace-2-tropic-m…
-100 ml Measuring Cup
-Kitchen Scale
-Magnetic Stirrer (Recommended, but not required)
Step 2: Measure out 750 ml RODI water.
-Room temp water ok, but warm water will help dissolve the powder.
Step 3: Slowly add 140g CarboCalcium powder, stir.
Step 4: Add 12g Bio-Magnesium powder, stir.
Step 5: Add 100 ml Pro-Trace A-
Step 6: Add 100 ml Pro-Trace K+
Step 7: Stir. It can take some time for the solution to be clear. Estimate ~20 mins. Solution will be a tint of blue, this is normal.

-Zack@BRS

'https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-all-for-reef-recipe-from-tropic-marin-thanks-zack.659055/

 

[Steve Burton]

Looks like the 10000 kit will last me two months at my current consumption rate. So, way more cost effective then the nano bottles and considering the multiple products all in one- it will be only slightly more expensive then two or three part plus all the other additives I would need to dose- and I am a super lazy reefer, so perfect for me.

Super lazy reefer, no way! Labor frugal I'll buy.