Reef Pack Fundamentals Attative

[shawn114]

I have bought the seachem's Reef Pack Fundamentals kit, it has "reef complete", "reef carbonate", and "reef plus". Is this something I should add to my tank with live rock in it only, or do I use this product later when fish and coral's are added?

 

[ChrisRD]

What's in these supplements? All you really need to do is monitor Ca/Alk and dose as needed. Personally, I don't add anything I'm not checking-on.

If you don't have much in the tank that uses it up, kalkwasser top-off is probably your cheapest, easiest solution for supplementing Ca/Alk IMO. Another good option is a two-part like B-Ionic.

 

[shawn114]

The reef complete bottle supplies essential calcium, while maintaining strontium and magnesium. The reef carbonate bottle supplies essential carbonate and bicarbonate alkalinity. The reef plus bottle supplies essential trace elements, vitamins, and amino acids.
I typed it like it read on the package of the product. It says to add a capfull of each twice a week. Is this the right supplement pack to buy or did I waste money?

 

[Anonymous]

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with those products either, although I would second Chris's recommendations.

You might try a search for those product names here, or even in google to find peoples opinions about them.

I also add no supplements other than CA/alk.

 

[MI0706]

Shawn: Go to www.garf.org and check out their "bullet proof reef" guide. In there you will find those additives that you are talking about and a few others. They also have a calculator on the website where you put in your tank specifications and it will calculate how much of each additive to add each week. Currently I am dosing 2 tablespoons of Reef Plus, Reef Calcium, and Reef Complete twice a week. The 1st week of each month is my water change. The 2nd and 4th weeks of each month I'm adding 1 tablespoon of Reef Carbonate (powder form) to one gallon of makeup water and the 3rd week of each month I'm adding 1 tablespoon of Reef Advantage Calcium (powder form) to 1 gallon of makeup water.

I learned about this from a co-worker who has been using this system for over 3 years and has not had a bit of problems with it. They maintain all chemistry levels really well.

I've been doing this now for a couple months (my system is 6 months old) and I will have to say that their recommended additives are working excellent. I know most of the "experienced" reef keepers will tell you to only add when you need it but this system kind of takes any guess work out of it.

Here are my chemistry specs using the above mentioned chemistry suggestion from garf.org

pH: 8.2-8.3
alk: 10.5 dKH
NO3: 0 ppm
NO4: 0 ppm
NH3: 0 ppm
Ca2: 450 - 500 ppm
PO4: 0 ppm
SG: 1.023

 

[ChrisRD]

Shawn,

The first two sound good (basic Ca/Alk supplementation), the third supplement is probably not doing anything useful IMO.

Every system is different with Ca/Alk uptake so you'll have to experiment a bit to see what works for you. Probably best to start with the recommended dosages on the label and just check periodically with your test kits and make adjustments as needed.

 

[ChrisRD]

I've been doing this now for a couple months (my system is 6 months old) and I will have to say that their recommended additives are working excellent.

FWIW, there's no magic to the GARF system - you're just dosing Ca/Alk additives (and probably a few other unnecessary, but harmless things) on a regular schedule. Using a two-part additive or kalkwasser top-off will accomplish the same thing - it's all the same idea. Other than some type of regular dosing regimen like this, the only other real option is using reactors to automate this process (or doing very frequent, very large water changes).

I know most of the "experienced" reef keepers will tell you to only add when you need it but this system kind of takes any guess work out of it.

I'm not sure what you mean by "experienced" in that statement (sarcasm?). What someone is likely referring to when they say to dose Ca/Alk supplements "as needed" is that you should test your levels occasionally and adjust your dosing schedule/quantities until you're maintaining stable/good numbers.

Your statement reads like someone is implying that you should only add Ca/Alk additives in response to dropping levels. IMO that would be a bad idea as it would be a lot of work/testing and you'd never have stable parameters since they'd be constantly fluctuating. To maintain consistent water parameters we all have to be on some sort of regular dosing schedule, use a reactor of some sort (which basically doses continuously), or do lots of big water changes.

Just trying to clarify for other newcomers who may be reading...

 

[MI0706]

FWIW, there's no magic to the GARF system - you're just dosing Ca/Alk additives (and probably a few other unnecessary, but harmless things) on a regular schedule. Using a two-part additive or kalkwasser top-off will accomplish the same thing - it's all the same idea. Other than some type of regular dosing regimen like this, the only other real option is using reactors to automate this process (or doing very frequent, very large water changes).

I was only answering Shawn's question. He asked about additives that I have some personal experience with and additives that a very good friend of mine has used for some time now. I also added a little information that was passed on to me from my friend (Garf.org). I am not implying that Garf.org is the be all - end all of saltwater aquaria!

I'm not sure what you mean by "experienced" in that statement (sarcasm?). What someone is likely referring to when they say to dose Ca/Alk supplements "as needed" is that you should test your levels occasionally and adjust your dosing schedule/quantities until you're maintaining stable/good numbers.

What I mean by "experienced" is I am not experienced and many many members on this board, IMO are experienced.

Your statement reads like someone is implying that you should only add Ca/Alk additives in response to dropping levels. IMO that would be a bad idea as it would be a lot of work/testing and you'd never have stable parameters since they'd be constantly fluctuating. To maintain consistent water parameters we all have to be on some sort of regular dosing schedule, use a reactor of some sort (which basically doses continuously), or do lots of big water changes.

I was only stating what I've seen many times on these forums. "Add only when you need to add" is something I've read several times by reefers who have more experience than I.

 

[ChrisRD]

I am not implying that Garf.org is the be all - end all of saltwater aquaria!

I wasn't implying that you said any such thing. Just trying to point out that the supplements and routine GARF suggests are a fairly typical Ca/Alk supplementing routine. By all means, if it's working well for you stick with it.

What I mean by "experienced" is I am not experienced and many many members on this board, IMO are experienced.

OK - sorry - I didn't read it that way. The parenthesis threw me off.

I was only stating what I've seen many times on these forums. "Add only when you need to add" is something I've read several times by reefers who have more experience than I.

Sorry if I offended you, that wasn't my intention. I'm just trying to make sure other newcomers who are reading don't get the wrong idea about Ca/Alk supplementation. Ca/Alk are compounds that are continually depleted and require continous supplementation to keep consistent levels. "Add only when you need to add" wouldn't apply well in the case of Ca/Alk.

When people say "add only when you need to" they're most likely referring to things like Magnesium, Iron, Strontium, Iodine, etc. Some people like to track that stuff and add as needed to maintain a certain level. Personally, I don't add anything beyond Ca/Alk and just do water changes. IMO that's all that's necessary for many tanks. There may/may not be some benefit to adding some of that other stuff, but I won't add anything unless I'm measuring for it.

 

[Anonymous]

Large tank, lots of corals and inverts..you may have to add addatives...I have a small reef tank and a few corals and inverts and rarely ever add anything..Everything is growing and alive...So...???