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When I started this tank, I was using all Aquavitro products aside from the salt: fuel, 8.4, balance, calcification and ions.
When the tank first started up, the pH always stayed around 8.0-8.2 with out buffering it. I started adding eight.four just to boost it up and add extra alk. after using the product for a week or two, my pH wouldn't go above 7.8 unless it was right after i dosed. I continued to use the product and continued to notice that it would raise the pH for a while and drop it. This resulted in me having to use it much more frequently and my alk went through the roof! So i started using balance to try to keep the pH high with out raising the alk. I still had the same kind of seesaw results. The pH would go up after dosing and drop back down shortly after. I've switched to other products that have produced great results.
I noticed that the day after I dosed fuel (its recommended to dose twice a week, I was dosing once a week) I would have a HUGE diatom outbreak that would last for a few days. I stopped using it and the outbreaks went away.
The calcification did its job and raised and maintained the calcium, until halfway through the bottle, it turned into a chunky mess, having a consistency similar to spoiled milk. I was going to give it another try, but when I went to purchase another bottle I was very unhappy with what i found. Out off the 6 bottles (we opened and looked in all of them) of calcification that the LFS had, all 6 of them had a dark sediment/residue built up on the bottom, they were all different colors and each bottle had a different odor. I understand that the bottle says that each batch will have a different color, but my question is why? In a hobby where consistency is SOO important, why can't these products be consistently made? And whats with the sediment and different odors?
I had/have no problem with ions.
I decided that it was time to change things up and give Aquavitro a break aside from Ions. I began to drip vinegar titrated kalk to maintain my calcium and pH. It worked PERFECTLY
I've been dripping kalk for about three months and my corals and coraline are growing and doing great. About a week ago, i found that my tank was consuming the calcium from kalk faster than I could drip it. Still having faith in seachem, I picked up a small bottle of Reef Calcium. Last night i added the recommended dose: 1 cap for every 20 gallons. My corals all closed up and seemed a little irritated. This can be normal when adding supplements, so i just shrugged to off. This morning when i woke up, and the lights came on, EVERYTHING WAS BROWN!!! I freaked! After calming down, I realized that most of the corals were open, but not as bright as usual and the glass had a brown residue/film on the inside. I got it all off but the water had a brown hue. The skimmer had been going crazy. In one night, I went from having a crystal clear beautiful tank to a brown tank with "muddy" water. I changed out my carbon and went to work. When i came home, most of the coloration had been removed (thanks rox 0.8) but there is still an over all yellow hue.
Are all my fish alive? Yes. Are all of the corals open and happy? Most of them. Will I ever add any of those products again? I'm a little turned off. 2 years ago, I would have recommended seachem over ANY other brand out there, but something has changed. I don't know if the bad economy is resulting in the purchase of cheaper, lower quality raw materials or what, but I would rather support a company that keeps their products consistent. I won't even go into the numerous controversial posts about the Salinity Salt.
I'm not trying to gun down the company, and maybe my situation was all just coincidental, but dang! I know that seachem holds their products to a high standard, but quality control is a MUST! If there is an issue with certain products having limited shelf lives, then that should be stated on the bottle in bold print. If your calcium has different colors and a sediment on the bottom, don't use white bottles where it is easily seen or maybe figure a way to keep it from varying. If a bucket of salinity has a bunch of different components that can settle during shipping, tell the consumer to roll or tumble the bucket in big bold letters(most people don't read small print instructions). These problems can be avoided.
When the tank first started up, the pH always stayed around 8.0-8.2 with out buffering it. I started adding eight.four just to boost it up and add extra alk. after using the product for a week or two, my pH wouldn't go above 7.8 unless it was right after i dosed. I continued to use the product and continued to notice that it would raise the pH for a while and drop it. This resulted in me having to use it much more frequently and my alk went through the roof! So i started using balance to try to keep the pH high with out raising the alk. I still had the same kind of seesaw results. The pH would go up after dosing and drop back down shortly after. I've switched to other products that have produced great results.
I noticed that the day after I dosed fuel (its recommended to dose twice a week, I was dosing once a week) I would have a HUGE diatom outbreak that would last for a few days. I stopped using it and the outbreaks went away.
The calcification did its job and raised and maintained the calcium, until halfway through the bottle, it turned into a chunky mess, having a consistency similar to spoiled milk. I was going to give it another try, but when I went to purchase another bottle I was very unhappy with what i found. Out off the 6 bottles (we opened and looked in all of them) of calcification that the LFS had, all 6 of them had a dark sediment/residue built up on the bottom, they were all different colors and each bottle had a different odor. I understand that the bottle says that each batch will have a different color, but my question is why? In a hobby where consistency is SOO important, why can't these products be consistently made? And whats with the sediment and different odors?
I had/have no problem with ions.
I decided that it was time to change things up and give Aquavitro a break aside from Ions. I began to drip vinegar titrated kalk to maintain my calcium and pH. It worked PERFECTLY
I've been dripping kalk for about three months and my corals and coraline are growing and doing great. About a week ago, i found that my tank was consuming the calcium from kalk faster than I could drip it. Still having faith in seachem, I picked up a small bottle of Reef Calcium. Last night i added the recommended dose: 1 cap for every 20 gallons. My corals all closed up and seemed a little irritated. This can be normal when adding supplements, so i just shrugged to off. This morning when i woke up, and the lights came on, EVERYTHING WAS BROWN!!! I freaked! After calming down, I realized that most of the corals were open, but not as bright as usual and the glass had a brown residue/film on the inside. I got it all off but the water had a brown hue. The skimmer had been going crazy. In one night, I went from having a crystal clear beautiful tank to a brown tank with "muddy" water. I changed out my carbon and went to work. When i came home, most of the coloration had been removed (thanks rox 0.8) but there is still an over all yellow hue.
Are all my fish alive? Yes. Are all of the corals open and happy? Most of them. Will I ever add any of those products again? I'm a little turned off. 2 years ago, I would have recommended seachem over ANY other brand out there, but something has changed. I don't know if the bad economy is resulting in the purchase of cheaper, lower quality raw materials or what, but I would rather support a company that keeps their products consistent. I won't even go into the numerous controversial posts about the Salinity Salt.
I'm not trying to gun down the company, and maybe my situation was all just coincidental, but dang! I know that seachem holds their products to a high standard, but quality control is a MUST! If there is an issue with certain products having limited shelf lives, then that should be stated on the bottle in bold print. If your calcium has different colors and a sediment on the bottom, don't use white bottles where it is easily seen or maybe figure a way to keep it from varying. If a bucket of salinity has a bunch of different components that can settle during shipping, tell the consumer to roll or tumble the bucket in big bold letters(most people don't read small print instructions). These problems can be avoided.
