Black powder

[n2o junkie]

anyone using this stuff?

[JetCat USA]

i think you'll find the majority (if not all) of the Marc Weiss products are useless as advertised and called 'Snake Oil' by most people.

[n2o junkie]

What should I use?? THe Lfs told me that marcs products are great??

[JetCat USA]

your LFS just wants to sell the stock they bought and nobody who knows better will buy from them. what are you wanting to supplement/dose? Ca/Alk/Mg/Sr/etc........

[tunaluver]

lots of times you will find that the lfs will tell you what it takes to make a sale

[n2o junkie]

I don't know now I guess all my corals can get what they need through routine water changes? I use rods reef food. ALso my nitrates
are high is this due to my bio balls and can filter I keep reading on here about that then I ask my lfs and they tell me different I also dose purple up

Thanks Let me know what I need Please

[JetCat USA]

yes bio-balls are excellent at breaking down Amm to NO2 and then NO2 to NO3 but do nothing for NO3 and are so efficient at the first two that they become a NO3 factory. i hate to say it but your LFS is feeding you a line of crap in hopes to sell you more of this and that to solve all these problems you really wouldn't have if not for their advice to start with.

water changes of sufficient size and frequency can provide all that is needed for a tank, but on tanks of sized about oh say 20g it's not cost effective and Ca/Alk additives are a much more cost effective solution to meeting your tanks demands and using water changes to keep water quality in check and replacing trace minerals.

on the Purple Up, it's one of those products that you can get the same results for allot less $$$ with your basic two part dosing.

[bertoni]

I don't know what's in the Black Powder product, so I can't comment or recommend it. A good coral food is usually enough, though. This article covers supplementation:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/index.php

Bio-balls and similar media do seem to cause high nitrate levels in many cases. I'd consider phasing them out. If the tank has 100 lbs of live rock, and a reasonable number of fish, the bio-balls aren't necessary.

I would avoid Purple Up for various reasons. It supplements elements that I don't think should be supplemented, and a lot of it is basically fine sand, which is of questionable value.

[bohannbj]

Purple UP killed my tank over night. Marc Weiss stuff is nice because you can't overdose FORM. I like his stuff because it is all natural and lasts a long time.

[mcneilwh]

I 2nd the snake oil. Go with golden pearls for the coral, and feed the fish. Thats all you need. One bag of GP's will last you a lifetime.