I will be the guinea pig

[mgonz]

Hey everyone, I tried looking for any type of reviews from people using Tropic Marin reef actif and can't seem to find any. It is the product which Tropic Marine will be incorporating in their new salt, Bio Actif. I will keep posting and let you know how my progress goes using this product. I will also begin to use Tropic Marin K+ elements as well as A- elements. My ultimate goal with this is to see if I can get my corals to show much more vibrant colors than they are displaying at this time. Growth has not really been an issue at all but I would like to see if I can get more vibrant colors out of them. Wish me luck. Below I posted some info on the product which I will be using....



Tropic Marin REEF ACTIF
For Vitality and Colour in Corals and Reef Clams

Tropic Marin® REEF ACTIF performs a unique dual function as an adsorber and bacterial nutrient in saltwater aquariums. In doing this it assumes a central function as the link between inorganic nutrients and the biological population in the saltwater aquarium. REEF ACTIF is suspended in the aquarium water where it bonds with both nutrients and water contaminants making them available as nutrients to bacteria and other animals that feed on dissolved organic material in the saltwater.

These bonded nutrients make REEF ACTIF even more valuable as a source of beneficial bacterial nutrition thus strongly promoting the reduction of water contaminants. REEF ACTIF consists of long-chain molecules which can only be digested by specific organisms. This reduction is always gradual and insures that there is never any dangerous oxygen loss in the aquarium as can occur with many other types of bacterial nutrients.

 

[mfisher2112]

Good luck! I'll be tagging along. I love experiments! (Right blange? LOL!)

 

[Nickjr000]

I think of tropic as pro grade stuff. I'll be watchin 8)

 

[mgonz]

I agree with you. I talked to the tropic marin rep at macna and from what he told me is that their new line should be here in the states in the next five months, (the bio actif salt) so I am really looking forward to getting my hands on it. the guy really answered alot of my questions, I am really considering switching all my products over and using the complete tropic marin line. I am going to start with the reef actif as well as the essentials elements and see what results I get. If I get good results I will completely switch over.

 

[hayabusa2003]

please post the Calcium and Alk levels of the salt once you mix it to 1.025 (or .026, whatever you run). When I spoke with the rep, he was unsure of whether the new salt was based off of the Tropmarin Pro Reef, or just the regular TropMarin salt. The ProReef has lower alk (~7.7).

 

[mgonz]

No problem. I will be doing a ten gal water change this weekend. I will check the levels and post them for you. I run my tank at 1.027 which is what natural see water is using a refractometer.

 

[mgonz]

ok so I did my ten gal water change today. its been about a week now and I must say the corals look to have much larger polyp extension than I have seen in my t

 

[mgonz]

I apologize for the above, let me start over...

ok so I did my ten gal water change today. its been about a week now and I must say the corals look to have much larger polyp extension than I have seen in my tank ever. the colors still look the same but I didnt expect much of a change in a weeks worth of time. all my colrals seem to be doing very well. I usually have to clean my glass about every other day but this week I only need to once. I will keep everyone updated on my progress but I will say so far so good.

as for the levels in the mixed salt this is what I came up with

salinity at 1.026
DKH 11.5
CAL 360

I have no mag test left so I cant help you with that. I tested the salt using salfert test kits and my salinity using a refractometer.

 

[mgonz]

its only been a few days after doing my second water change using the reef actif and I must say, I have never seen the polyp extension I see in my tank the way I have this past week. My corals all look so healthy and my water looks so crisp and clean. I cant say what the long term effects of using this product will be but so far so good. like I said before I am also using the tropic marin A- and K+ essential elements as well. so far so good. I will continue to post my progress and I will try to get a picture up as soon as possible. I will do my best to get the colors but I am no pro at taking those pictures so again I will do my best. ;D

 

[blange3]

Good luck! I'll be tagging along. I love experiments! (Right blange? LOL!)

Me too! ;D Sounds like the reef snow that Warner Marine gave me a sample of. I've been holding back on trying that out.

I'll be tagging along.

 

[mgonz]

how is reef snow? ive also been thinking about it but been holding back..

 

[Nickjr000]

So far sound like this is a step in the right direction. Wich is a good thing !

 

[blange3]

how is reef snow? ive also been thinking about it but been holding back..

The bottle is still unopened. I'll be travelling soon on business and I want to wait until I get back.

 

[mgonz]

i know what you mean. i had a bottle of brightwells reef snow in my hands today and i put it back. i dont know enough about it to start playing with it

 

[mgonz]

Ok so I did my third water change on sat. Things all seem to be going very well. Here go some photos as of tonight. I will check and post all parameters tomorrow.

My newest ORA Goniopra

 

[mgonz]

so I tested all my parameters today and this is what I came up with. Tests are performed using salfert test kits.

Alk 8.0 DKH
Cal 400
Nitrate 0
Ammonia 0

I just want to say a couple of things, I was talking with a good friend and I mentioned to him that I was thinking about possibly starting to dose iodine. He recommended I didn't and asked me why I was thinking of doing that. I replied to him and said that I have read from a few sites of people dosing it and having really nice results. And what my friend said really got me thinking. He asked me how I was sure that it was the iodine that made such difference not not something else that they were doing and just crediting the iodine. So for anyone who is wondering, I do not dose vodka or sugar. Nor do I use coral amino or any other type of substance like this. I have for the longest time tried to keep it as simple as I possibly could. My daily dosing would consist of my two part B-ionic and my dripping kalk on a 24/7 basis, that's all. My growth was there but my color wasn't. My polyp extension never looked like some of the photos I have seen on this site. So that is why I decided to give the reef actif a try along with the essential K+ and A- elements. I have never had an issue with nitrates. I had some cyano blooms but since I have been using my phos reactor it has not been an issue. My only problems are bubble alge ( which I recently pick up emerald crabs for) and Halimeda alge which I try to pull out on my water changes. So I hope that in using these products I can achieve my goal in getting my corals to display amazing colors, and I have high hopes.

Thanks to anyone who has been following my thread and wishing me good luck. I will try and keep updating my status.

 

[blange3]

Heading home from my business trip today. Depending on how the tank looks and tests, I might try the snow out next week.

I've read lots of different opinions on iodine. There seems to be no documented studies proving it does anything but lots of anecdotal stuff that says it's great for leathers, xenias and helps shrimp and crabs with molting.

I add a few drops of Lugols a month.


Continued good luck with your studies!

 

[Nickjr000]

Yeah it's suppose to help stuff molt. I use the lugols but not even close to what they say on bottle, Prob a quarter. I been using the theory of to little is better then to much when it comes to additives

 

[mgonz]

I couldnt agree with you more. That is why I tried to keep it simple for so long. But I must say I seem to be having really good results with what I am doing with the reef actif so far.

As far as for dosing iodine I read that it would help sps adapt to changes in lighting and thigs of that sort. So that is why I was thinking about it. I will prob stay away from it though. Between doing my weekly water changes, the elements I dose on a dily basis, and the fiji mud in my sump I am sure my iodine level is where it should be.

Hey blange what reef snow did you pick up? Also are you doing the neozeo thing?

 

[hayabusa2003]

thanks for posting the water params of the salt. Looks like the bioactif is based off of the tropmarin salt, not the pro-reef. That's what the salesrep told me but he wasn't sure.