Frequently Asked Questions

No. There is no additional equipment to make the System RF run efficiently.

How much does it cost to run the system?

Once established, it will cost around 17 dollars a month to maintain the system in a 90G tank. There is no additional equipment required to make the system operate and there is no electrical cost for running the system.

Doesn't my aquarium have huge amounts of bacteria already? Why do I need more?

It is true that marine aquariums are very well populated with bacteria. However, System RF introduces planktonic bacterial strains that exist in very limited numbers in established aquariums. In addition, the customized ratio of the different strains make the bacterial team in RF-Genesis very efficient at nutrient export. Dosing as instructed prevents aquariums from becoming bacterial monocultures.

Is this product only for SPS dominant tanks? Will my mixed reef or fish only tank benefit from this system?

System RF will benefit all marine aquarium. By using RF-Genesis and RF-Fuel, excellent water quality can be steadily achieved. RF-Acids and RF-Plus provide readily absorbed nutritional components for better growth and colouration for all corals. SPS corals will experience the most significant improvements.

Can System RF be integrated into established tanks without a negative impact on the water parameters? I’ve read of people starting with other bacterial based methods and having their corals bleach due to the sudden decrease in dissolved organics.

When we designed this system, we discovered that many probiotic based systems were overly aggressive in nutrient removal. "Vodka dosing" and other popular European methods tend to rapidly strip the water of nutrients which can result in disastrous bleaching events for corals. System RF is a more elegant solution that safely lowers nutrient levels in your tank to achieve pristine water quality.

Does System Reef-resh™ replace the need of running a skimmer?

Definitely not. System RF is designed to be integrated into traditional methods of reef keeping. Although skimmerless aquarium setups will experience some benefits of using the System, they will not achieve the maximum potential of the product.

Can I run an ozone or phosphate reactor while running the System?

In our studies, we found that running an ozone generator while using System RF was not harmful. Running ozone to obtain an ORP reading of around 400mV still allows bacteria to operate at high effectivity. Although ozonation does destroy some planktonic bacteria, the impact on the system is low.

This is not to say that ozone is necessary for the System RF to work, but it will run even more efficiently.

Although, it is not necessary to run phosphate media with System RF, we have not seen any negatives effects of running manufacture recommended doses of phosphate removal products. However, using the media at significantly larger doses can interfere with the nutrient removal capabilities of the bacterial biofilms.

Can I run a UV sterilizer while running the System?

We do not recommend using a UV sterilizer with System Reef-resh. UV sterilzers will kill a significant part of the bacterial population required for System RF to work effectively.

How strictly do I have to follow the dosing schedule?. What if I miss a day or two?

We have formulated each of the four components to operate together as an optimized system. If you miss a scheduled dose, just continue dosing the System as soon as your schedule allows.

Is it possible to overdose the components of the system? Can I increase dosage to get faster results?

It is difficult to overdose the components of System RF. In our tests, when dosing even 5X the prescribed dosage for all the components, there was not any noticeable negative effects in the tanks. However, it should be noted that increasing the dose would not be economically efficient use of the product. Optimum results are achieved when dosing the product as instructed. And like all things in this hobby, good results come with patience and time.