One component(ish) dosing .

[Eric_n_Ga]

Polyp lab one vs
Tropic Marin all for reef

Both of these would require me to dose 4 to 5ml a day , not really enough to need a doser but one could be used I guess. These seem like a to good to be true solution for small tanks . Any opinions on these 2 ?

 

[cbj25isback]

What are you trying to accomplish?

If your dosing because you feel like you should or it sounds like it can’t hurt I would recommend thinking about why and what you are dosing.

It looks like these both are a trace element and calcium solution. What is your current calcium? What kind of coral do you have? What trace elements need to be replenished?

IMO, I bet frequent and small water changes will serve you better. Just my 2 cents.

 

[sharis100]

Tropic Marin all in one is a good product, and they do make small single Wi-Fi dosing units. I use the coral life one.

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

What are you trying to accomplish?

If your dosing because you feel like you should or it sounds like it can’t hurt I would recommend thinking about why and what you are dosing.

It looks like these both are a trace element and calcium solution. What is your current calcium? What kind of coral do you have? What trace elements need to be replenished?

IMO, I bet frequent and small water changes will serve you better. Just my 2 cents.

Corals are mixed mainly lps , some sps . Looking for something that is going to handle all future element requirements . Everything is really small right now but trying to stay ahead of the needs of the tank . I'm not adding anything right now , just water changes . I know as the tank fills in and the demand becomes higher I am going to have to do something to keep up . So I'm wondering if this could be a viable solution vs standard dosing products like 2 part or 3 part solutions.

 

[AquariumSchmo]

Eric, how often do you do water changes? If you are doing weekly (minimum every other week), you probably don't need a solution that also includes trace elements. Instead, I would recommend the powder form of Carbo-Calcium and regular water changes. You will get a lot of mileage out of that container, especially on a 29 gallon. I also highly recommend a Hanna Alk Checker; it makes testing easy and fun.

I started with All-for-Reef, but switched to Carbo-Calcium because I questioned the need for the trace elements, given that I do a water change every weekend. I'm loving my single head Kamoer bluetooth doser and I check Alk every few days, making slight adjustments to the dose as needed.

And a doser is nice because you can spread the it throughout the day, achieving ultimate stability.

 

[AquariumSchmo]

It looks like these both are a trace element and calcium solution.

And alkalinity, but it doesn't look like Polyp Lab One includes trace elements; All-for-Reef does.

 

[AquariumSchmo]

Just want to point out one thing from Polp Lab's website:

"This product will temporarily cloud aquarium water after dosing so it is recommended to dose ONE at night."

Having used both, I can say Tropic Marin's All-for-Reef and Carbo-Calcium does not cloud the water.

 

[cbj25isback]

Gotcha, just making sure you’re not proactively hindering your progress. I personally like the 3 part because you can control correcting things easier. For example if your alk is high and ca is low, you just dose ca until the alk precipitates out or gets used up, then back to equal parts. If you’re not messing with higher end sps, you could prob get away with one of the two you mentioned or aquariumschmo’s recommendation, you could also look kalk

 

[Chappy3076]

I am about to start using AFR. What results are you guys seeing after using this for several months?

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

im still using carbo calcium , just dosing by hand as needed . doing weekly water changes of 5gall keeps my levels pretty steady in a 29gal set up.

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

Just an update as I still have a quarter bottle of carbon calcium left . After hand dosing this product for the last few months at 1.5ml a day it's keeping everything pretty steady . Calcium between 400-440 , alk about 8on avg . Still doing 5gal water changes every week . Think it's time for a an X1 pump now .

On another note can you have too much trace elements ? Is that thing ?

 

[Adam]

It doesn't look like Carbo-Calcium has trace elements. If you were to switch to a product that does, yes you could raise something too high.
Many of those elements are toxic at higher levels.

I haven't used an all in one product like that. So my experience is limited. I've always been told "don't add anything you can't test for."
When I dose trace I've mostly used the Brightwell products at half the recommended rate. I was doing quarterly ICP tests though and modified the amounts based on those results. My system was ten times larger too.

For the size system you've got the water changes should be fine. You could even do two in a week occasionally. Anything else could just be adding expense and complexity with limited gain. Your numbers look good too. Are you happy with the appearance of the display?

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

I'm happy with some of it , stuff is surviving....most of it . Some things are flourishing ,some not so much . Weekly water changes are easy so I'll always do that . Was just thinking at 1.5 ml a day of all for reef vs carbo calcium it shouldn't be a massive amount of trace elements.