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Tropical Fish Keeping Pet Shops and Product Reviews => Fish Food Product Reviews => Topic started by: mizuti on September 02, 2017, 06:38:36 PM

Title: Vitalis holiday grazer review
Post by: mizuti on September 02, 2017, 06:38:36 PM
Hi all! I've just returned from a seven day holiday, and I'm glad to say all of my fish are non the wiser. I currently have:
8 Cory loxozonus
6 praecox rainbows
4 otocinclus - I grew algae for these separately
5 lemon tetra
In a 125l tank.
Before I left I did a 50% water change over two days (which put nitrates around 5ppm), and I put in a vitalis 7 day holiday grazer block. This is like a sucker on the glass which you attach a ring of food to. The ring cracked when I put it on but it didn't break up.
I put this in around 48 hours before I left so I could see if it would dissolve or muck up my water - which it didn't at all.
I've just returned, everyone's alive, and the water is perfect. Ammo nitrite 0 and Nitrates reading 10ppm.
Thanks for reading my review.
Title: Re: Vitalis holiday grazer review
Post by: Matt on September 02, 2017, 10:45:33 PM
Thanks for this.  Can I ask did you see any alterations to water hardness or pH?
Title: Re: Vitalis holiday grazer review
Post by: mizuti on September 03, 2017, 09:55:45 AM
My ph is stable at 6.8 and didn't drop, I have soft water so if my ph is the same - as I understand it - my hardness hasn't been affected, although I don't test the hardness, just weekly water changes.
Title: Re: Vitalis holiday grazer review
Post by: Sue on September 03, 2017, 10:56:34 AM
With a pH below 7, if the block had chalk in it like so many of these products do it would have started to dissolve. This would increase both hardness and pH. If your pH was still the same on your return from holiday, it is a sign that the block hasn't affected the hardness either.

But the only way to be 100% sure is to test the hardness  :)
Title: Re: Vitalis holiday grazer review
Post by: mizuti on September 03, 2017, 12:57:35 PM
I just know I haven't had a pH crash so I'm happy about that! I also added a new piece of mopani though which I'd grew algae on for the Otto's and I know that can affect the pH but it was only a small piece. I only have the strip tests for hardness which aren't great.
Also this isn't a dry block, it's a moist ring of food you attach to a sucker. The pack says it's held together with a non dissolving gel, they feel a bit sweaty   :sick: haha so it's very non chalky but the fish have eaten it all up.
Title: Re: Vitalis holiday grazer review
Post by: Sue on September 03, 2017, 02:22:12 PM
Also this isn't a dry block, it's a moist ring of food you attach to a sucker. The pack says it's held together with a non dissolving gel

In that case, it shouldn't do anything to the hardness or pH, except possibly in tanks with very low KH and only a few fish where a lot of uneaten food could decompose to make ammonia which would end up as a lot of nitrate and cause a pH crash.



Hmm, in tanks with a lot of fish, they would eat all the food which would end up as nitrate etc as well  ;D
Title: Re: Vitalis holiday grazer review
Post by: mizuti on September 03, 2017, 04:29:58 PM
Yeah I think that's why it's good for seven days, then you'd obviously be doing a water change anyway. The grazer rings don't break up and decompose, I think the fish just nibble it as they want it - it doesn't release food over time.