Aquavitro

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ALPHA

A paramount factor in the proper maintenance of an aquarium is the dilution of accumulated waste by scheduled water changes. This requires the removal of chlorine or chloramine or both from the new water. With the advent of chloramine, thiosulfate has proven inadequate, causing the release of ammonia. At acid or neutral pH, this is not of serious consequence. However, at alkaline pH it can be devastating, particularly if the tap water is heavily treated with chloramines.

alpha™ is a concentrated conditioner for saltwater. It is 50% more active than Prime™ and 375% more active than the next closest competitor. alpha™ removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. It converts ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily utilized by beneficial bacteria and reef inhabitants such as clams. alpha™ may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity. alpha™ detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. alpha™ also promotes the production and regeneration of the natural slime coat on fish. alpha™ is non-acidic and will not impact pH, nor will it over activate skimmers. Use at start-up and whenever adding or replacing water.

Compare alpha™ to other polular conditionersalpha™ Chart
Information based off competing products' labels or websites


Directions
Use the included pipette for dosing. Filled to the base of the bulb, the pipette holds 1 mL. 1 mL treats 60 L (15 gallons*). Note: one inner cap holds 7 mL. One full cap holds 49 mL.

This dose removes approximately 0.8 mg/L ammonia, 1.2 mg/L chloramine, or 3.3 mg/L chlorine. alpha™ may be added to the aquarium directly, but it is best if added to new water first. If adding directly to aquarium, base dose on aquarium volume. Sulfur odor is normal. For exceptionally high chloramine concentrations, a double dose may be used. To detoxify nitrite in an emergency, up to 4 times a normal dose may be used. If temperature is > 30 ºC (86 ºF) and chlorine or ammonia levels are low, use a half dose.

 

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Balance

A frequent occurence in reef systems is low pH, while calcium and alkalinity are at optimal levels. Raise one and the others may fall. One of the primary reasons for this is an improper carbonate/bicarbonate ratio. The buffer ratio changes as a natural consequence of the buffer’s ability to counteract acidifying sources such as organic acids (produced naturally from waste) or introduced from non-pH controlled husbandry products. In this case, adding more buffer would unnecessarily result in a rise in alkalinity and a drop in calcium. The first product of its kind, balance™ ends this see-saw effect. It resets this ratio by converting bicarbonate into carbonate in order to reassert a higher pH without affecting calcium level.

balance™ is an optimized blend of sodium and potassium hydroxides with a NSW ratio (27:1) of sodium to potassium to avoid ionic imbalance with long term use.

aquavitro™ offers other solutions designed to address the unique challenge of raising pH in a reef environment. ions™ addresses the problem of low magnesium which is a cause of low buffering pK and pH. eight.four™ addresses deficiencies in pK found in competing products by providing a properly balanced (carbonate/bicarbonate) buffer system.

Directions
When to use balance™? balance™ is intended to be used to raise pH when all other parameters (alkalinity, calcium, magnesium) are at optimal levels, but pH is still low. The amount of balance™ needed to raise pH to the desired level will vary widely, depending upon the buffering capacity and quality of your tank water. For reference purposes only, one inner cap (7 ml) will raise 75 L (20 gallons*) of salt water by about 0.1 pH units.
Note: each inner cap thread is approximately 2 mL. One full cap is 49 mL.

Add balance™ in small increments, and check pH after at least 3 minutes before adding additional increments.

balance™ can be used daily and within minutes of calcification™, eight.four™, and ions™.

 

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Calcification

calcification™ is a concentrated (140,000 mg/L) optimized blend of ionic and bioavailable gluconate-complexed calcium designed to restore and maintain calcium to levels found in natural seawater, without affecting pH. These two forms of calcium are combined in calcification™ to provide the hobbyist with a convenient way to ensure peak coral growth and health.

Ionic calcium is readily available, while the gluconate-complexed calcium confers several benefits. The uncharged calcium in calcification™ is readily absorbed with less physiological work than is required for the absorption of ionic calcium. Using calcification™, it is not necessary to maintain the excessively high concentrations of calcium (about 450 mg/L or more) often recommended by others. In fact, excellent growth of corals and coraline algae is achieved with total calcium concentrations as low as 380 mg/L. Used up to four times recommended maintenance dose, the gluconate polymer will not accumulate or encourage the growth of undesirable algae. The polymer itself is beneficial as a food source not only to the corals and other invertebrates, but also to denitrifying bacteria, actually promoting the natural anaerobic denitrification process in live rock and other substrate. Furthermore, the use of this gluconate polymer allows calcium, strontium, and magnesium to be utilized more readily than they would otherwise and also helps to stabilize them in solution without depleting alkalinity.

Some prefer not to use complexed calcium because of concern about adding organics to the aquarium. This is not a valid concern. The amount of organics added with complexed calcium is insignificantly small when compared to the organics released by most reef creatures, even in a no feed, no nutrients approach. Since complexed calcium products employ lactate or gluconate, the naive misconception that these products contain sugars has arisen. While these components are related to sugars, they are oxidized aldehydes and do not react or behave as sugars. Polygluconate contains no nitrogen or phosphorous, thus it is biologically impossible for it to lead to algae growth in a properly maintained reef system.

Unlike competing products that require multi-day interval dosing when combined with carbonate supplements, calcification™ can be dosed daily and within minutes of our eight.four™ as well as the entire aquavitro™ reef line.


Directions
Beginner: Use one inner capful (7 mL) for every 100 L (25 gallons*) twice a week. Check calcium once a week and adjust amount or frequency accordingly.
Note: each inner cap thread is approximately 2 mL. One full cap is 49 mL.

Advanced: Check calcium level, then follow addition regimen above until calcium is adjusted to 380-400 mg/L. Each 7 mL/100 L (25 gallons*) will raise calcium by about 10 mg/L. Quantity or frequency can be adjusted, but do not exceed 21 mL/100 L (25 gallons*) per day. Thereafter, use as required to maintain calcium.

 

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Eight.Four

Many competing buffers for reef aquaria are simply sodium bicarbonate. Such buffers have a pK of only 8.0 in saltwater and simply are unable to maintain a pH above 8.0. The low buffering pK is a function of the low carbonate/bicarbonate ratio.

eight.four™ supplies a properly balanced (carbonate/bicarbonate) buffer system that yields an industry leading pK of 8.6 which makes pH maintenance of 8.3-8.5 easy. A higher pK increases the buffer's ability to counteract inevitable acidic sources in the water. eight.four™ will safely raise marine pH while adjusting alkalinity. eight.four™ contains a concentrated, balanced blend of bicarbonate and carbonate salts designed to restore disrupted buffer systems and increase carbonate alkalinity.

If an alkalinity of 6 meq/L has been reached and a pH of at least 8.20 has not been attained, the system may be ionically unbalanced. Check magnesium levels. If magnesium is low, use ions™. However, if magnesium levels are within optimal range, the buffer ratio has likely been disrupted (the buffer ratio changes as a natural consequence of the buffer’s ability to counteract acidifying sources such as organic acids). You can raise pH without raising alkalinity using balance™.


Directions
Dosing requirements will vary, but do not exceed the recommended dose without checking your pH and alkalinity (alkalinity should not exceed 6 meq/L). Use one inner capful (7 ml) for every 110 L (30 gallons*) daily until pH stabilizes to desired level. Note: each inner cap thread is approximately 2 mL. One full cap is 49 mL.

pH stabilization may take from a day to a week, depending on original pH, alkalinity, and buffer system balance. Thereafter, use as needed to maintain pH.

 

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FUEL

fuel™ is a comprehensive carbohydrate, vitamin, amino acid, polyunsaturated fatty acid, and trace element supplement developed to address nutritional requirements commonly associated with corals. fuel™ contains ascorbic acid in a base of chlorella, which contains a rich assortment of amino acids and vitamins. The health benefits of chlorella are widely known and while spirulina, a similar algae, has been regularly used in the industry, aquavitro™ is the first to utilize the vastly superior chlorella. fuel™ is formulated to provide nutrients available from natural tropical reef waters.

Chlorella is a unique algae that grows in fresh water. It is extremely high in enzymes, vitamins and minerals, including the full vitamin-B Complex. It is over-flowing with unsaturated fatty acids, amino acids, and proteins. There are also vitamins found in Chlorella including: Vitamin C, pro-vitamin A (B-carotene), thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), pyridoxine (B6), niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, Vitamin B12, biotin, choline, Vitamin K, lipoic acid, and inositol. Minerals in Chlorella include: phosphorus, calcium, zinc, iodine, magnesium, iron, and copper. It contains a higher level of amino acids than spirulina and is FDA approved for use with ornamental fish.

Directions
Shake well before using. Use one inner capful (7 ml) for every 110 L (30 gallons*) twice a week or as required to maintain coral growth.
Note: each inner cap thread is approximately 2 mL. One full cap is 49 mL.

Refrigerate after opening.

 

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IONs

Like calcium and strontium, magnesium is used in the calcification of skeletons of reef organisms. In many cases, magnesium is used in place of calcium for calcification. In addition to its role in calcification, magnesium is used by organisms ranging from bacteria, to coralline algae to fish.

How can you be sure if magnesium levels are deficient? There are a couple of indications; severely depleted levels of magnesium (below 800 mg/L) can cause depressed pH levels and an inability to maintain proper calcium levels (more on ionic imbalance).The best way to tell if you need a magnesium supplement, though, is to test for it using a magnesium test kit such as Seachem’s Reef Status™: Magensium & Carbonate and Borate Alkalinity.

If you’ve determined your magnesium levels are low, supplementation with ions™ is necessary. ions™ restores magnesium by employing the most concentrated (90,000 mg/L), fully dissolved magnesium and does so without adding any ammonia. Other liquid magnesium supplements inherently contain ammonia because the magnesium chloride used in their production contains ammonia. This is a result of the mechanisms for deriving and/or producing magnesium chloride. aquavitro™ has gone to considerable lengths to remove this contaminant and a proprietary process makes ions™ the first and only liquid magnesium supplement that does not contain ammonia.

Using a fully dissolved magnesium is critical. Some magnesium supplements use a magnesium source that is simply not soluble, that is, unavailable. This means it can never be utilized by reef organisms, and is, consequently, of no value. If the product itself is milky white or the instructions direct the user to shake well, more than likely, a substantial amount of magnesium is not being utilized (the same is true of calcium products). ions™ also includes strontium and boron in the NSW ratio of 1.7:1 to avoid ionic imbalance with long term use.

Directions
Beginner: Use one inner capful (7 ml) for every 125 L (35 gallons*) twice a week. Check magnesium once a week and adjust amount or frequency accordingly.
Note: each inner cap thread is approximately 2 mL. One full cap is 49 mL.

Advanced: Check magnesium level, then follow addition regimen above until magnesium is adjusted to 1200-1350 mg/L. Each 7 mL/125 L (35 gallons*) will raise magnesium by about 5 mg/L. Quantity or frequency can be adjusted, but do not exceed 35 mL/125 L (35 gallons*) per day. Thereafter, use as required to maintain magnesium.

 

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VIBRANCE

Iodide is a critical element for the health and formation of soft tissue in invertebrates (such as gorgonians, sarcophytons, etc). It has also been shown to be critical for the development of pigments in corals, corallimorpharia, and anenomes, both the golden brown of zooxanthellae and the green and red colors of accessory pigments.

Most iodide supplements on the market are simply potassium iodide. When added to an aquarium environment, iodide becomes unstable converting to elemental iodine (which is biocidal) and iodate (which is useless to corals, toxic at elevated levels, and can’t be tested for). Iodide is the only form of iodine available to corals for uptake. Because of this instability, iodide must be stabilized for aquarium use.

vibrance™ is a highly concentrated (10,000 mg/L) naturally stabilized potassium iodide source for reef aquaria that will restore and maintain iodide levels to those found in natural sea water. Our proprietary stabilization process makes vibrance™ the most stable iodide supplement available. It’s also the most concentrated and comes with a pipette for precision dosing. It is formulated to provide a safe source of iodide that will not convert to toxic free iodine under storage or reef conditions.

Directions
Use the included pipette for dosing. Filled to the base of the bulb, the pipette holds 1 mL.

Use 1 mL for every 100 L (25 gallons*) every day to raise iodide by 0.10 mg/L. If necessary, adjust amount added so that iodide reads 0.06 – 0.08 mg/L six to twelve hours after the last dose (iodide is utilized rapidly). Thereafter, use this new amount daily and check iodide once a week.

DO NOT OVERDOSE

 

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SALINITY

salinity™ is a blend of salts specifically formulated for the reef aquarium that contains all essential major, minor, and trace components found in natural reef waters, but contains no toxic or non-essential components. Additionally, salinity™ is the most concentrated salt blend on the market. With a hydration level of <0.5% salinity™ will yield a greater volume of prepared saltwater at a salinity of 35‰ per unit of weight than any other salt mix currently on the market.
salinity™ is identical to the distribution of anions and cations found in Natural Sea Water (NSW). We have compiled data from all the oceans and seas on the Earth, and have targeted the midpoint of the range for each element. We guarantee to be within ± 5% of the midpoint. For example, at a salinity of 35‰, for calcium, magnesium, and strontium, we have the following targets and ranges.

Calcium: target 422 mg/L, range 400 to 443 mg/L
Magnesium: target 1336 mg/L, range 1269 to 1403 mg/L
Strontium: target 8.4 mg/L, range 8.0 to 8.8 mg/L

Alkalinity and pH values vary widely over the Earth’s oceans. salinity™ will be within the following ranges:
pH: 8.4 to 8.6
Alkalinity: 3.2 to 3.8 meq/L