Tom
Curious why you don't like the pellets?
I agree with Randy's list .
I also don't wan't to clog up this thread but there are alternatives to pellets for folks to consider and th OP asked for alternatives.
Here is my response to a querry about why I don't favor pellets from a thread a few days ago:
Several reasons:
They are polymers(carbohydrates) which first go to monomers( predominantly sugars) in the anaerobic digestion process as certain bacteria break them down and then moer bacteria work on the sugars Sugar dosing hurts my corals and others report issues including recission,cyano ,bacterial blooms etc when using them. There is one study linking high glucose to coral mortality.Ethanol comes further down in the chain of bacterial activity avoiding sugars ,acetic acid (vinegar ) is even further down The end product acetate is likely useful to corals.
It is clear that the bacteria and their by products don't confine themselves to the reactors as was originally claimed based on all the in tank effects reported.
Controlling the amount of organic carbon being dosed is difficult with the pellets since you have to rely on the volume of pellets, flow rates ,tumbles, variable volumes of pellets as they are consumed ,etc. All of which make it impossible to know how much of exactly what is going into the tank . When using directly dosed sources I know exactly what I'm dosing and in what amount. With vinegar and/or vodka,for example I know how much acetic acid and /or ethanol I'm adding .,So precision in setting and maintaining a dose is possible.
No reactors or pumps are required ,although direct carbon dosing can be automated via a dosing pump if desired.
