We’ve Switched All Our Reef Tanks to Aquaforest: Find Out Why!

You are investing in your health, so it's important to pick something of quality. It's the same way with our reef tanks.

We cannot pick the cheapest option and then hope our corals will thrive and look fantastic. When you are dealing with micronutrients and fragile ecosystems, every detail matters when it comes to the products you are using.

As our body needs minerals to be healthy and thrive, so do our corals. If you get too much of something, that can harm you as not having it at all. That's why we should be careful when we choose the products we are going to use in our tanks. One small mistake in actual dosage and that can wreak havoc on our reef tanks. And it's especially true for nano reefs.

For this reason, we've switched all our tanks at ReefHacks to Aquaforest, because we can always be sure about the quality of what we're putting in our reefs. 

But why exactly we've decided to switch?

Aquaforest - A Company That Grew Bigger in the Aquarists Community.

In the reefing world, Aquaforest is a name that makes bigger and bigger waves. This Poland based company offers anything you might need for your aquarium, from additives, rocks, water tests, salts to tank equipment and even tanks (future release). In the USA I'm buying AF products from CoralVue store.

Finding good products for your reef tanks is crucial, as small mistakes in dosages, readings, or devices can be the death of our fragile corals. In our pursuit of excellence, we found that Aquaforest is a company that not only promises high-standards but also delivers them through carefully selected products.

They are not the only company of its kind, and there are a lot of choices when it comes to aquarium supplies, but AF brings many elements together that you might need to search in multiple places otherwise. They also bring some unique aspects to their products that will probably make you become a fan, just like us!

Let's talk about all the reasons behind our decision to switch to AF.

Top-quality Products and High Standards in a Sea of Companies.

When it comes to high-standards, it's easy to see from the first product you buy that Aquaforest is a company that always strives to offer the best quality. Their attention to detail is particularly attractive to people that really want to make sure that their reef tanks are maintained in the most optimal way.

All the products sold by them are thoroughly tested and tried by their team of biologists and chemists. Every batch of additives is tested before selling, and everything you buy comes with the guarantee of quality. Also you can check the ICP of your individual salt bucket before using it here. And this is amazing!

This is a trait that few companies take seriously, but it pays to have a commitment to creating the best products you can, especially in an industry where every small detail matters. If one microelement is in a wrong dosage than the one stated on the label, that can mess up your tank and ruin your work. Don't you agree with me?

Even the packages for their products are gorgeously made. I know this is not the most important aspect when it comes to aquarium products, but it's great to see a high level of attention to everything they do.

I guess they are aware aquarists know how to appreciate the beauty of colors!

When it comes to AF products, it's the little things that make a big difference. For example, with each test kit they sell, you get a 15 ml reference solution that is calibrated, and ICP tested. This is really cool, as you can test the kit itself and see if it indicates the right parameters.

Sometimes you might get an abnormal reading, and there was no way to tell if the test kit was faulty or if there was really something wrong with your tank. Or maybe you made a mistake since it was late, and those test vials and drops become smaller when you are sleepy. Now you can be sure that the readings you get are accurate by having a calibrated solution to use as a reference.

This is one example from plenty of little things that AF does right when it comes to their products, which is really impressive, considering I am also very passionate about doing things at the highest standard.

I've already started using their Alk test kits, and it was very accurate! But wasn't so lucky with their NO3 test kits, the solution was spoiled and didn't work. But CoralVue sent me the replacement kits, and I will try again for sure when they are here and report to you in the next article. If you see your NO3 test kit is showing brown/orange color and not purple as it should be, most likely your solution was exposed to the heat and wouldn't work anymore. But AF and CoralVue customer support is rapid and responsive, and they will take care of you very fast. So don't stress if this happens, just send them a message.

But wait, there's more…  

A Big and Friendly Community.

Another great thing about Aquaforest is its big and friendly community that you can find on Facebook. People share their reef tanks, express their opinion over other builds and it simply makes you feel like being part of a big family.

The official Aquaforest Facebook group is packed with aquarists sharing this common passion with everyone. And if you have some questions regarding your tank or AF products, they are there to give you some tips.

I think that's awesome!

It's great to be part of a community of people that share the same passion for reef tanks and it makes this hobby so much more enjoyable.

Aquaforest Helps You Rock It.

I love to find everything I need in one place, and this is the case with AF. They have hand-made rocks created from natural ingredients that resemble natural rocks from coral reefs. And to be honest with you, they look amazing. You can check my full review of the AF Rocks Gen 2.0 here.

Live rocks can come with harmful parasites and unwanted algae, so there used to be a struggle to incorporate rocks into your tank. With these specially made rocks, this shouldn't be an issue anymore. You can make your tank beautiful without bringing in unwanted pathogens from other environments. That's great news!

AF Rocks are different from other types of rocks found on the market because they have up to 3 times higher porosity, and that facilitates the settlement of bacteria. That means they will work great as a filtration media, which is great to stabilize the pH and the KH of the water.

These rocks are also light and easy to work with compared with synthetic ceramic rocks, and they will greatly shorten the maturation of the aquarium thanks to their high porosity. You can use them on new builds or functioning tanks as well.

I know what you are thinking...

Don't worry about aquascaping with these rocks; they have rock shelves, lumps and branches. Not to mention you can also find at Aquaforest special cement-based glue that does not contain toxic compounds. I've used AF Stone Fix for my new build and it's amazing! You can break them down and then glue together to which shape you want to make your build look great. Having everything you need for aquascaping in one place is another great thing about Aquaforest. This is why AF is my choice for my new reef tank.

My Choice For The New Gesemann Build.

Aquaforest is my program of choice for my new Gesemann build. As I'm a big fan of probiotics and their importance in a reef tank, I'm going to use the Probiotic Reef Salt from AF.

This company uses its own strain of bacteria that they found through research to be extremely effective in reef tanks to keep the nitrates and phosphates levels low. The low presence of nutrients will allow to dose coral food that you want and allow SPS corals to glow with bright and beautiful colors, and this is what I want for my build. 

AF uses the same "secret" bacteria in all their probiotic products, including the Probiotic Reef Salt. I will use their recommendations from the AF Probiotic Method, which is great for SPS corals, but with little changes. I won't be using AF Perfect Water and Zeo Mix as my water source is very clean and the bacteria surface will be more than enough as I'm using the Brightwell Aquatics XPort BIO Brick for all my tanks, I think their product is amazing. 

Regarding macroelements, you can use Component 1+, 2+, and 3+ in equal amounts, or Components Pro double concentrated. I decided to mix my own by following their recipe that you can find in the detailed Aquaforest guide here.

Let's wrap this.