Pohl’s Xtra + Xtra Special Together

[Wunderpus]

Hi all! I’ve been running Zeo for a few years now and have always run Pohl’s Xtra with my tanks. With that, later nitrates and phosphates have been almost undetectable and some
of my “deep water” acros are paling out (Millepora, tenuis etc. all normal coloration still).

Would it be okay to use Xtra with Xtra Special, or should I just use one? Maybe switch to Xtra Special instead?

thanks!

[G.Alexander]

Please also check the K+ level of your system, basically dosing both will add to much elements, would recommend to use the Standard or the Special version.

G.Alexander

[Wunderpus]

Please also check the K+ level of your system, basically dosing both will add to much elements, would recommend to use the Standard or the Special version.

G.Alexander

Thanks G. Alexander! I just did two ICP tests on the tank (Triton and ICP-Analysis to compare results), potassium is at 406mg/l, so I think that's not the issue... What are your thoughts on doing 50% dose of both the Xtra and the Special? Do you think that it's true that Special contains nitrates and phosphates, whereas Xtra is just aminos and elements? I

It seems as though that may be the main difference based on my research. If that's the case, maybe the Special would be better as my no3 and po4 are both very low.

[G.Alexander]

You can try to use 50% of both for sure to see if your corals do response positive in any way. Additional I would try to do thee water changes, each around 15% within the next 10 days to refresh elements in a balanced way.

G.Alexander

[Wunderpus]

You can try to use 50% of both for sure to see if your corals do response positive in any way. Additional I would try to do thee water changes, each around 15% within the next 10 days to refresh elements in a balanced way.

G.Alexander

Sounds good, I'll give it a try. I do 15% water changes automatically weekly (done by a DoS daily) so I'm not under the impression elements are "low", per se. Either way, thank you for your thoughts! I think the Zeovit is actually TOO efficient in my case, causing NO3 and PO4 to actually go TOO low, so I'll try lowering the amount of Zeovit stones by 10% and see if that helps. I'm using 1L/100G of tank water, currently. I have virtually zero nuisance algae, even on the glass, so I'm thinking my water may be TOO clean, for what that's worth.

Do you think the Xtra Special does in fact contain nitrates and/or phosphates? If so, I could just feed more in order to raise those a bit.

[G.Alexander]

You can give it a try to reduce the ZeoVit quantity but I would recommend to do this slowly step by step. Please keep in mind to also reduce the reactor flow which would be another alternative while running the same quantity of the material. Keep a close eye on the PO4 and NO3 level, both should not start to increase after the changes.

I do not know the ingredients of the product but I do not expect the Special version does contain PO4 and / or NO3.

G.Alexander

[djbrandriff150]

I’m having the same issue with the dosing. If I dose both pohls extra and special should they be dosed at the same time or should it be spread out and done two different days?

[G.Alexander]

It will not hurt to dose them at the same day but you can also try to dose them on two alternate days.

G.Alexander

[djbrandriff150]

Thanks G. I’ll start off with two different days! Thanks again for all you knowledge in the group I’ve read all your stuff you have posted

[G.Alexander]

Thank you for your kind words, glad to know I can help.

G.Alexander