Weise's Coral Vital = Apple Juice?????

[DennisW]

Ok. In all seriousness . I recently aquired a bottle of Marc Weise's coral vital. I have heard several times before that all it is is apple juice. Well????????? Maybe it is!!!!!!!!

Let me start by saying that in years past, I have been know to brew up a batch or two of HARD cider. I would mash the apples, pitch the yeast, throw a fement lock on and brew it.

Imagine my surprise when I actually SNIFFED coral vital. IT SMELL EXACTLY LIKE FERMENTING APPLE JUICE!!!!!!!!!!

Believe me....I know that smell. It dosent smell just like apple juice. It smells like fermenting apple juice!

My question, aside from my observation, is this; If it is just fermenting apple juice, what function does it serve??? It has to do something. I mean...he could have just put water in it! What exactly does sugar and yeast do for a reef? Please dont just respond to this post with the term "snake oil". Its WAY over used!!!!

Thanx!
Dennis

[Drew]

snake oil

OK, in all seriousness. If all he sold in that bottle was water, nobody would buy it. But if he actually sells something that has smell and color, people actually think they are adding something useful to their tanks.

What exactly does sugar and yeast do for a reef?

You could try to brew some new type of beer, I'd buy it.

Drew

[horge]

Hi!

You can try to look up an article from a decade ago (or thereabouts) by Dimitry Stepanov, which delves into the use of sugar dosing to cause a spike in suspended bacteria populations throughout the tankwater.

The corals and other snot-trapping inverts then have a field day chowing on the bloom of bacteria, on to motley protozoa on down.

I am NOT defending Coral-Vital, since I have never used nor seen it. (More importantly, you can use plain old glucose without having to fork over ...whatever this Coral-Vital costs.)

Just sharing what I suspect is the 'rationale' forming the basis for the product.

hth,


horge


...

[sculpin]

The function of Coral Vital is to separate you from your money...

I agree with horge. Many of Weiss's products involve yeast in some form or other as a means of stimulating feeding responses from various invertebrates. This is an old idea dating back decades. Whether this is beneficial to a tank in the long run remains to be seen. In all likelihood, many of the "invertebrate food" additives (including things like Tahitian blend and other algae pastes) that we place in our tanks actually serve to feed a population of microorganisms which then may go on to serve as a food source for larger invertebrates. The problems with this include the possible propensity for elevated bacterial populations to lead to incresed rates of coral diseases (such as the dreaded "RTN") and increasing nitrate levels over time. As this is a highly multifactorial problem, results may vary (and thus lead to arguments over the effectiveness of these products).

Mike

[Alice]

The function of Coral Vital is to separate you from your money...

LOL...it's good to know it really does have some purpose

Now Marc wouldn't do that to us, would he???

[DennisW]

Thankyou very much everybody for your responses!!! Didnt want to open another "can o worms" but was curious about the odor. Thanks!!!

Dennis

[Doug1]

Dennis, not sure if this product has been thru independant analasis lately, but as a I recall from old threads, the general consensus was that it was predominently Fructose type compound, I dont recall the ethanol aspect tho Ihave seen that addressed in other threads. Aas I recall there was a lot of anecdotal evidence though no scientific proof offered that it does nothing other than induce the fructose fueled feeding responce refered too previously> I think even the ethanol has a place in the equation, tho maybe Galleon or Jerel, or Horge could elaborate on that. I dont have the biochem background to argue the point but the basics sound reasonable to a point, kinda like the Iodine debate, how much is too much, but if thats all it is, its kinda like paying $8 a lb for Or mud. Hell we all got that in our yards and there are supermarkets nearby