matrix/siporax vs carbon dosing for sps

[kegogut]

I was battling high nitrate (30-35ppm) that even a 50% water change didn't solve. It was basically because I was running my brightwell bio brick suspended in wet/dry config so my rate of nitrification was super high and my anaerobic bacteria couldn't keep up as that was all I had.

I ordered the brightwell xport no3 brick version as that one is coated in sulfur which is supposed to aid in anaerobic bacteria growth. I seeded it per instructions overnight in a loaf pan with saltwater and half a bottle of mb7. Next morning I put the block in the tank in a low flow area as directed. Tested no3 before I put in and it was 30ppm. Also put some nopox in the sump to feed the bacteria.

I kid you not the next morning (24 hours later) I tested my nitrate and it was 1. I tested it twice to make sure and same result. Now I just run both blocks, one suspended in the air with higher flow rate and the no3 one submerged with low flow. I feed tons and my no3 is staying constant at 5 which is where I want it.

How big is your system? What is your bioload? Exactly where did you put it in your sump?

I have a brightwell bio and a No3 bright I added to my tank a while back and I didnt see any decrease in nitrates. I didnt seed mine though so I might try that.

 

[gus6464]

How big is your system? What is your bioload? Exactly where did you put it in your sump?

I have a brightwell bio and a No3 bright I added to my tank a while back and I didnt see any decrease in nitrates. I didnt seed mine though so I might try that.

40g display, 35g sump. The bio brick is suspended in air receiving medium-high flow. NO3 brick is next to my skimmer in a very low flow area. I basically put them where Jack Kent told me when I talked to him at MACNA. It was his idea to suspend the bio brick.

I have 9 fish. I feed 3 times a day. 2 times with frozen cubes and another with flakes. That's just my fish feeding. Then I do Fuel at night after lights out and then oyster feast in the morning before lights on. I also spot feed my elegance coralific delight twice a week.

As for nutrient export I have the no3 brick, a skimmer skimming super dry, and a big chaeto reactor. Before I added the no3 brick my skimmer and chaeto reactor couldn't keep up with the nitrification of the suspended bio brick. You can PM me and I can send you pictures of my entire setup to keep the thread clean.

 

[vlnemo]

40g display, 35g sump. The bio brick is suspended in air receiving medium-high flow. NO3 brick is next to my skimmer in a very low flow area. I basically put them where Jack Kent told me when I talked to him at MACNA. It was his idea to suspend the bio brick.

I have 9 fish. I feed 3 times a day. 2 times with frozen cubes and another with flakes. That's just my fish feeding. Then I do Fuel at night after lights out and then oyster feast in the morning before lights on. I also spot feed my elegance coralific delight twice a week.

As for nutrient export I have the no3 brick, a skimmer skimming super dry, and a big chaeto reactor. Before I added the no3 brick my skimmer and chaeto reactor couldn't keep up with the nitrification of the suspended bio brick. You can PM me and I can send you pictures of my entire setup to keep the thread clean.

Hello my friends.Ihave a120 gallon reef aquarium with soft corals mushrooms and few lps. For first time i put some hard corals. Ihave a big skimmer ati 250 , an Ats scrubber, i use carbon (vinegar 30ml every day) and vacteria biodigest and change water 3 times per month 15%. I feed a lot and my nitrate is20 always with salifert test, my po4 0 with salifert. Idont want to increace vinegar,so i am thinking for siporax or brightwell brick. I am afraid marine pure for leakage. Is it easy for you to send me some foto from your bricks? lanarasvasileios@gmail.com my mail. Thank you

 

[bif24701]

For those of you using these media are you still dosing a carbon source? I was hoping to stay off it and use my doser for other functions.

Yes, I add some vinegar to my Kalk ATO, I feel a little carbon addition will only help keep a healthy bacteria population. Also increases my Kalk concentration.


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[cwschoon]

A very interesting thread! I have a relatively new 120 and a nitrate problem. I put an Xport No3 dimpled brick in my sump at the end of February and my nitrates are in the 50ppm range. The system is relatively new-January-and has a massive amount of live rock, so it may just need time.
I did NOT seed my brick. I am actually, thinking of purchasing another brick and seeding them both with the recommended product.

 

[reefmutt]

Yes, I add some vinegar to my Kalk ATO, I feel a little carbon addition will only help keep a healthy bacteria population. Also increases my Kalk concentration.


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THis sounds like a good idea..
I have 6 liters of siporax, 10 liters of matrix and I just added 5 liters of AF biofil in an attempt to reduce my 40-50 ppm nitrate.p is in the .17 range.. I'm hoping the newly added biofil will help. Since my nutrient spike last October (when I removed cheato) the media has not helped at all. Been there for 6 months- except the biofil which just went in.
I've been dosing bacteria- Biodigest for the past 6 week but it hasn't helped so far...
I may have to put the cheato back and/or start some carbon dosing. Wanted to avoid cheato because it stopped growing in my system..

 

[Pife]

THis sounds like a good idea..
I have 6 liters of siporax, 10 liters of matrix and I just added 5 liters of AF biofil in an attempt to reduce my 40-50 ppm nitrate.p is in the .17 range.. I'm hoping the newly added biofil will help. Since my nutrient spike last October (when I removed cheato) the media has not helped at all. Been there for 6 months- except the biofil which just went in.
I've been dosing bacteria- Biodigest for the past 6 week but it hasn't helped so far...
I may have to put the cheato back and/or start some carbon dosing. Wanted to avoid cheato because it stopped growing in my system..

Remote deep sand bed? I'm thinking of one in my system if my new water volume doesn't help.

 

[reefmutt]

Remote deep sand bed? I'm thinking of one in my system if my new water volume doesn't help.

They've always worked for me, when large enough..
Took that out too.. maybe I should add one again! I just find that eventually hey starte contributing to nutrients instead of reducing.

 

[bif24701]

THis sounds like a good idea..

I have 6 liters of siporax, 10 liters of matrix and I just added 5 liters of AF biofil in an attempt to reduce my 40-50 ppm nitrate.p is in the .17 range.. I'm hoping the newly added biofil will help. Since my nutrient spike last October (when I removed cheato) the media has not helped at all. Been there for 6 months- except the biofil which just went in.

I've been dosing bacteria- Biodigest for the past 6 week but it hasn't helped so far...

I may have to put the cheato back and/or start some carbon dosing. Wanted to avoid cheato because it stopped growing in my system..

I'll tell you a little secret, cheato took my NO3 from 20ppm down to 5ppm in about 5 days once. I threw it out after adding Vibrant because it started melting away.

I'm certain though that with out a carbon source the bacteria that live on our media are carbon limited. When I refill my tank after going empty I notice everything seems to get extra pepp in their steps. PE also really goes nuts. Ever since discovering carbon dosing in 2009 I'll never go without it. Bacteria do so much in our enclosed systems they are literally the life support and everything else is there to support those little things we know almost nothing about. No one even discusses it, should have its own section. A person named Jason started looking at things through a microscope (not powerful enough to see bacteria) and what he discovers is there is an entire world of activity going on vital to the health of our system that we can not see gets totally ignored and we know nothing of what these micro fauna do. Work horse man, and we must keep them healthy. I love trying out new bacteria supplements, because they always seem to have a positive effect on the life. It's probably nothing more than just some extra biodiversity but it's vital. Truly we should be looking closer into our tanks.


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[Pife]

They've always worked for me, when large enough..
Took that out too.. maybe I should add one again! I just find that eventually hey starte contributing to nutrients instead of reducing.

I am thinking of several containers and changing them out one at a time once a year or when needed.

 

[bigzman]

Too add to the long term part of this media. I eventually ran media with no added dosing to discover the bacteria can't reduce nitrate if there is nothing to feed it. After I reduced and stopped carbon dosing it was about 2 weeks after I ended up in 20ppm nitrate from 0. Started carbon source and now back to zero. Media seems to need a fuel source. So I am happy with media ability to remove nitrate it's only really effective with a food source. With out carbon, source bacteria dies and adds to nutrients. So next stop for me is to try export as well and continue media. I hav a fuge and wil be running that.

 

[Roggio]

Too add to the long term part of this media. I eventually ran media with no added dosing to discover the bacteria can't reduce nitrate if there is nothing to feed it. After I reduced and stopped carbon dosing it was about 2 weeks after I ended up in 20ppm nitrate from 0. Started carbon source and now back to zero. Media seems to need a fuel source. So I am happy with media ability to remove nitrate it's only really effective with a food source. With out carbon, source bacteria dies and adds to nutrients. So next stop for me is to try export as well and continue media. I hav a fuge and wil be running that.

Thank you for the update! I've been reading a lot on the subject and have seen your posts on various threads. Do you run any type of macroalgae? I'm having really good luck with the Dragon's breath. I have a 60 gallon refugium and as it grows I cut pieces off in glued them to new rock. It grows extremely fast under an Amazon led grow panel (30 bucks). I have a gallon of the marine pure spheres (I read several threads that claimed they were denser than the blocks and aided quite a bit in reducing nitrates) one of the 8x10x4 bricks in a low flow area of the sump, and 4L in matrix in a media bag.

My plan is to completely line the bottom of my 40x20" refugium with pond matrix. As the Dragon's breath fills in I want to cover the media so algae doesn't grow over the pours. I believe this will also aid in reducing the oxygenated flow to the media.

My system is only a few weeks old, I just completely redid everything. I couldn't get my nitrates down before and decided to do a complete rebuild. I'm currently dosing Start3, Zeobak, vodka, and Seachem Stability in hopes of developing a decent bacteria population.

Total system volume is only around 400 gallons since I have half my system shut down until I can get my nutrients under control.

PS hit me up if you're ever in Orlando and want a frag of Dragon's breath

http://imgur.com/a/4K85o

 

[markalot]

I've been running a single reactor with Seachem Matrix in it for over a year now. It's full of detritus yet I still have trouble maintaining nitrates in my tank. Prior to the Matrix I would get nitrates of 10 to sometimes 30 depending on how often I fed.

 

[Piper27]

For a large heavily fed tank with lots of fish, there is nothing better for reducing nutrients and nothing better to help micro life grow than a good carbon source. Using a carbon source is also completely easy, cheap, and is a easy way to balance your nutrients if phosphates always grow higher than nitrates. Which is a common happening in a number of reefers tanks.
Media will work well in a normal tank too, and is easier in a tank that's under a year old. I think that's why it's been so popular recently IMO. Things seem like the are turning back towards simplicity instead of tons of equipment and such. Carbon dosing is hard for some without mature/stable tanks and a large area of rock to dose into.
I also agree that the media will work better with at least a small amount of carbon source added in it's area routinely.

 

[Roggio]

For a large heavily fed tank with lots of fish, there is nothing better for reducing nutrients and nothing better to help micro life grow than a good carbon source. Using a carbon source is also completely easy, cheap, and is a easy way to balance your nutrients if phosphates always grow higher than nitrates. Which is a common happening in a number of reefers tanks.
Media will work well in a normal tank too, and is easier in a tank that's under a year old. I think that's why it's been so popular recently IMO. Things seem like the are turning back towards simplicity instead of tons of equipment and such. Carbon dosing is hard for some without mature/stable tanks and a large area of rock to dose into.
I also agree that the media will work better with at least a small amount of carbon source added in it's area routinely.

My problem now is I have .04 ammonia, undetectable phosphates, and nitrates in the 50+ range (Red Sea). My system is about two months old with about 300 lbs of live rock. I have added lots of bottled bacteria including Fritz but it seems my tank is still cycling. Even after doing a 40% water change last week my nitrates were still at 50+. I have been carbon dosing religiously and wherever you read most say the same thing, "Water changes" it's frustrating because even utilizing reef crystals that water change cost over 50 bucks with little effect. I'm currently disabled for a bit (trying to save my foot after an injury in the military). My plan is to keep dosing the bacteria and carbon in hopes things balance out.

 

[markalot]

What fish or other ammonia producers do you have in there?

What test kit for ammonia?

In a cycled tank it can take months for this type of media to start reducing nitrates in my experience.

 

[bigzman]

Thanks

Thanks

Thank you for the update! I've been reading a lot on the subject and have seen your posts on various threads. Do you run any type of macroalgae? I'm having really good luck with the Dragon's breath. I have a 60 gallon refugium and as it grows I cut pieces off in glued them to new rock. It grows extremely fast under an Amazon led grow panel (30 bucks). I have a gallon of the marine pure spheres (I read several threads that claimed they were denser than the blocks and aided quite a bit in reducing nitrates) one of the 8x10x4 bricks in a low flow area of the sump, and 4L in matrix in a media bag.

My plan is to completely line the bottom of my 40x20" refugium with pond matrix. As the Dragon's breath fills in I want to cover the media so algae doesn't grow over the pours. I believe this will also aid in reducing the oxygenated flow to the media.

My system is only a few weeks old, I just completely redid everything. I couldn't get my nitrates down before and decided to do a complete rebuild. I'm currently dosing Start3, Zeobak, vodka, and Seachem Stability in hopes of developing a decent bacteria population.

Total system volume is only around 400 gallons since I have half my system shut down until I can get my nutrients under control.

PS hit me up if you're ever in Orlando and want a frag of Dragon's breath

http://imgur.com/a/4K85o

I am getting into Cheto with Amazon grow lights. Just haven't had the time. I have been able to keep carbon dosing low. I agree this stuff takes time before it works wonders.

 

[cwschoon]

Can you provide a link to the light you referenced please?

 

[Roggio]

Can you provide a link to the light you referenced please?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYBGVRG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This light is great for my application. What's the size of your fuge? How far from the water are you able to mount?

https://www.amazon.com/MarsHydro-Sp...1-1-spons&keywords=LED+grow+light+panel&psc=1

This is a great product for 70 bucks but you would need the space to hang it far enough off the water IMO. I rarely see macroalgae burned by lights but I was able to get better coverage with two of the lights I posted. The claim is they're 45 watts. I havent measured yet but the spread is great and I get a lot of growth with them. I believe a really strong fuge light is well worth the investment. BRS had a great video on the concept

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKNOfwEUdPs

What fish or other ammonia producers do you have in there?

What test kit for ammonia?

In a cycled tank it can take months for this type of media to start reducing nitrates in my experience.

I'm using RedSea's test kits. I've had bad experiences with API.

Currently I have two four foot zebra moral eels, a large hippo, unicorn, red sea sailfin, purple, and blond naso tangs.

I know it can take months :/ I'm really hoping seeding it will speed up the process. Patience is the hardest part of this game. I'll update the thread when I start seeing results.

If youre interested I just started a new build thread where I go over some of these concepts and what worked for me in the past.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2639608

 

[vlnemo]

Before 2 months, i add to my tank (120 gal soft coral aquarium) 15l siporax pond trying to lower my nitrate from 20-30 ppm nitrate, because i put some acros and montipora plates. As i speak, my nitrates rise to 100ppm. My tank is 3 years old, there is an algae scrubber, ati 250 skimmer, light balling method, vinegar 40ml a day, biodigest bacteria, two water changes a month 70lt. I didnt mesure for no2 or NO4 but i cant think anything else, new nitrogen cycle!! Any thoughts;