Acropower: beneficial or not?

[Chicagoreef2016]

Hi folks,

Was just at the aquatic show here in Chicago and had the great opportunity to speak with Julian Sprung for a while. He mentioned Acropower being a great product if one does not want to add to the bioburden so to speak, like using Zoplan could/would.

Have many of you used this and had noticeable success? I bought a bottle and will dose weekly to see what if any changes happen. Any insight would be beneficial.

Cheers!

[jda]

I got a bottle for free. Nothing changed, IMO, for better or worse. I stopped using all of this stuff a decade ago... they come and go... marine snow, acropower, flatworm stop... they are all the same.

You know that Sprung owns Two Little Fishies, right?

[LedZep fan2]

I personally use it and have seen decent growth and coloration of my SPS collection. For all I know it may or may not be working but who knows. I dose it every other day in my system.

I have always valued Sprung's knowledge and experience which explains why I own most of his books. If he is endorsing it, there must be something positive about it.

[Chicagoreef2016]

Both points well taken. He seemed an uncomfortable salesman (I am in sales; sharks can typically sense other sharks unless my radar was way off that morning), and made my initial purchase more based on what he has contributed to the hobby thus far and figured if he endorses it, it is worth trying. Certainly his knowledge base far exceeds mine, and if he says it could work I will give one bottle a shot and ask the community here what their experiences are before jumping all in.
Do you think there is a difference in dosing every other day versus once a week?

[Mike de Leon]

It has aminos. You could overdose and end up with algae outbreak. Do it slow and see how it affects your own tank.
I have used it. One thing that was immediately evident is much better polyp extension.

[LedZep fan2]

Originally Posted by Chicagoreef2016

Both points well taken. He seemed an uncomfortable salesman (I am in sales; sharks can typically sense other sharks unless my radar was way off that morning), and made my initial purchase more based on what he has contributed to the hobby thus far and figured if he endorses it, it is worth trying. Certainly his knowledge base far exceeds mine, and if he says it could work I will give one bottle a shot and ask the community here what their experiences are before jumping all in.
Do you think there is a difference in dosing every other day versus once a week?

I would dose it twice a week rather than once a week IMO. I have found that I usually get better PE like Mike has experienced.

I have been dosing it into my nano for roughly 6 months every other day. But as Mike suggested, take it slow and see how the system reacts.

[Chicagoreef2016]

Originally Posted by Mike de Leon

It has aminos. You could overdose and end up with algae outbreak. Do it slow and see how it affects your own tank.
I have used it. One thing that was immediately evident is much better polyp extension.

Great point on the algae, I have a robust clean up crew but finally have my tank in a good place after my first year and don't want to mess things up. Will knock off about 20% of the recommended dosage for my tank per week and go from there.

[wcharon]

I agree with the polyps extensión. I dose 5ml each morning for my 125 gallon.

[abhishek@1985]

For whatever reason, I get outbreak of dinos after dosing aminos almost in a day or 2. I tried all - Eloa, acropower, KZ , aquaforest and now just feed my fishes heavily and that seems to do the trick .
I guess unless you are running crazy low ULNS tank, aminos will hardly show a positive impact .

Regards,
Abhishek

[Chicagoreef2016]

Originally Posted by abhishek@1985

For whatever reason, I get outbreak of dinos after dosing aminos almost in a day or 2. I tried all - Eloa, acropower, KZ , aquaforest and now just feed my fishes heavily and that seems to do the trick .
I guess unless you are running crazy low ULNS tank, aminos will hardly show a positive impact .

Regards,
Abhishek

Thanks. My nitrates have never been over 1-2ppm with salifert tests in 16 months; phosphate doesn't even register. I have been going under the working theory based upon a recommendation from an experienced reefer that those numbers are good for SPS, so I haven't looked to change anything on that end.

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by abhishek@1985

For whatever reason, I get outbreak of dinos after dosing aminos almost in a day or 2. I tried all - Eloa, acropower, KZ , aquaforest and now just feed my fishes heavily and that seems to do the trick .
I guess unless you are running crazy low ULNS tank, aminos will hardly show a positive impact .

Regards,
Abhishek

Agreed... I’ve always gotten outbreaks of cyano when using aminos..
Doesn’t mean they don’t have a place in the hobby, though..
Acropower is aspartic acid. An amino acid. So, if you feel that amino acids are beneficial and I suppose in systems with very low- ultra low nutrients, it can be argued that they are beneficial, it can help.
The product itself is not snake oil, it is what it is purported to be. Whether your tank/corals really need it needs to be answered by your own experience with the product.
With your n where it is and p ‘undectectable’ perhaps you’ll see some benefits..
If you find your corals are pale or not growing very well but otherwise healthy, it may help..
however, another fish or two in your system may have the same effect..

[Chicagoreef2016]

Originally Posted by reefmutt

Agreed... I’ve always gotten outbreaks of cyano when using aminos..
Doesn’t mean they don’t have a place in the hobby, though..
Acropower is aspartic acid. An amino acid. So, if you feel that amino acids are beneficial and I suppose in systems with very low- ultra low nutrients, it can be argued that they are beneficial, it can help.
The product itself is not snake oil, it is what it is purported to be. Whether your tank/corals really need it needs to be answered by your own experience with the product.
With your n where it is and p ‘undectectable’ perhaps you’ll see some benefits..
If you find your corals are pale or not growing very well but otherwise healthy, it may help..
however, another fish or two in your system may have the same effect..

Points well taken. After getting feedback on this thread and reading other threads, I may just use this bottle and call it a day, unless results are off the charts. There is some P in my tank, as i can tell by GHA and chaeto growth in my sump...its just taking it up. I do have some GFO running, but just a small amount. I have 7 fish: Midas blenny, 2 clowns, 1 blue reef chromis, 1 royal gramma, and 2 exquisite fire fish so I will just add a couple extra feeds over a week. I was doing weekly water changes of 10%, I will dial that back to 5% and see if that has any effect on N and my corals. I do have growth on my SPS frags, so things are ok right now and don't want to mess it up by adding something unnecessarily.

[rvareef]

I think aminos and other acro juices are great for people who dont have a big fish load, I like to get a lot of fish and feed them and let the fish food/poop feed the corals. some dont like having fish or feeding them often so they would prob need some amino supplement to keep their corals fed/colored

[Chicagoreef2016]

A few photos. The sunset monti was almost dead and just on the plug. The other 2 SPS (named pieces I am told), while not amazing at the moment and nothing to brag about at this point, were given to me on death row with little to no color. So the fact that they are coloring up and growing in the 2 months I have had them, I am pleased thus far. Now to keep it going to look like everyone else's tank on here! Thanks for all of the input.