So I have been dosing all for reef to minimize the amount of water changes needed to be done. I am able to keep phosphates and nitrates low while maintaining all other standard parameters at a steady level (1400 mg, 480 ca, 9kh, 1.024 sg) . After about 1.5 months my candy canes always look retracted and rough. The day after a water change they are about to pop they are so fluffy. All other coral are un-phased. I'm curious as to if all-for-reef is missing some necessary mineral. Seeing if anyone has any idea. I guess I could always send off an ICP test once that time comes. It is nice though to have an indicator as to when my tank needs a water change haha.
Dosing all-for-reef / Candy Canes
- Thread starter Tylersteen1
- Start date
My candy canes are all super fluffy and I use AFR in all my systems. I have found that candy canes can be finicky. Is something bothering them in the tank- creature or coral? Some fish and some CUC will pick at lps, and some softies can release chemicals etc…. Also, if you don’t have enough nutrients they can become unhappy. Too much light? Too much flow? Not enough? Maybe your corals are utilizing more then you realize and the water change fixed things temporarily? Your salinity is a little low. What is your tank temperature? What is the pH swing daily? Hard to tell, but most likely not from All for Reef. Are you dosing a coral supplement? Hard to tell, but candy canes are pretty hardy. So, once you figure it out they can bounce right back 
I keep it between 1.024-1.025 as I sometimes get water from Nemo's when I'm there. I make my salt water about half the time. No critters that are bothering them and are super happy until that ~1.5 month period, then immediately fine the day after a water change. They don't look bad, just not as inflated as they could be. Tank temp is 78, ph swing is very low since it is lightly stock with good surface agitation. Nitrates stay around 5 ppm, phosphates .08. Dose Reef Energy AB+ about every other day
I've got 3 types. Bright green, classic light blue/teal, and the two tone type. I would say generally the two tone like less flow. I have two colonies of the two tone ones. I keep one in high flow high light and one in low flow with lower light. Both grow and are healthy but they are more full in the low flow, lower light.
Also running AFR. Haven't done water change in 5 months or so.
Also running AFR. Haven't done water change in 5 months or so.
Don't want to hijack this thread, lol. I'm glad you said that. I just recently started dosing all for reef and was curious if I still needed to do weekly water changes.
I'm probably not the guy to take advice as gospel from as I take a pretty laid back approach to reefing. I try to see what stays happy in my tanks and keep those things instead of tweaking and catering to specific "must haves". It's just a philosophy I have when it comes to this hobby that has worked well for me with a softy and LPS tank years ago and heavy SPS mixed reef I currently have. I'm struggling to keep some acropora happy but others are doing great. I don't intend to mess with parameters to get two sticks looking good if the other 30 corals, some being other acro, are doing well and growing good.
It's funny you mention this. I'm doing the same. I've been using All For Reef to reduce water changes. I usually go about two months between water changes since switching over to AFR but I have also definitely noticed that my palys and zoas start to tell me when it's time to change some water. They start to close up and look pretty rough too. My best guess is that something else I'm dosing might have a byproduct that is building up in the water and carbon and skimmer aren't enough to remove them. Eventually it gets to a point where a water change is needed to pull the excess out. I haven't done an ICP test to verify this either but I've definitely experienced this same issue.
It's still way better than having to do weekly water changes. I'm a big fan of All For Reef but I don't know that it's the perfect solution to go zero water changes.
It's still way better than having to do weekly water changes. I'm a big fan of All For Reef but I don't know that it's the perfect solution to go zero water changes.
For those posters above trying to go no or minimal water changes, All for Reef is not the right method. Reef Moonshiners method or Triton method with ICP testing etc or some other similar plan are geared towards to no water change systems. And even then sometimes water changes are the necessary solution
Sheesh, I don't know that I've checked ph since last April. My alk is 10.5. That is the thing I check the most often and usually it is every other week or so. Nitrates are between are over 0 but less than 2. Phosphate checked in at 0.02. I checked those a few minutes ago after not checking them for months. I was hoping they would uncover why my cali-tort isn't doing great but no luck as they seem to be spot on.
I might do a water change for the hell of it this Sunday after @sharis100 guilt tripped me.
I might do a water change for the hell of it this Sunday after @sharis100 guilt tripped me.
I’d say they are pretty happy post wc.
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