Rizup
New member
Contact Warner Marine directly. I still don't think retailers have it yet.
My EcoBak Solid Carbon Source Journey
- Thread starter sedor
- Start date
Contact Warner Marine directly. I still don't think retailers have it yet.
pciscott
Pirates Cove Reef
I never dosed Vodka and my P04 was .05 to .07 on a hanna meter and my nitrates always less than 5. I have been running the Ecobak for about 6 weeks and my P04 is .02 and Nitrates at 0.
My problem is my Millies seem stressed out and I have lost a few frags to RTN, on top of that my colors do not look as good? My chalices seem to be suffering the worst.
Do I need to add something to the water? I have added 5 more fish thinking this will help and upped my feeding.
One more note my ORP reading on my controler was alway around 250 to 275 before Ecobak and now is at 365 to 395, proof the Ecobak is working, but is it working too good?
Thank you for any advice and I have been reading your experience and switched out my sponges because of your thread, Thanks, Scott
My problem is my Millies seem stressed out and I have lost a few frags to RTN, on top of that my colors do not look as good? My chalices seem to be suffering the worst.
Do I need to add something to the water? I have added 5 more fish thinking this will help and upped my feeding.
One more note my ORP reading on my controler was alway around 250 to 275 before Ecobak and now is at 365 to 395, proof the Ecobak is working, but is it working too good?
Thank you for any advice and I have been reading your experience and switched out my sponges because of your thread, Thanks, Scott
Toadally
New member
How's your PH? Has it started dropping?
Toadally
New member
Could be.... that's about the range mine is running. I actually ran the intake to the skimmer outside in an attempt to increase the PH. I think it has helped.
Are your colors looking bad?
sedor
New member
Strange, my ph seems to have raised a little bit. On a side note, its been a little while since I did an update and colors in the coral continue to improve. I have noticed my skimmer has calmed down a little bit in the fact that its not pulling quite as much gunk out of the tank. Overall, I am still impressed and the biopellets seem to be doing their job, but its been about 6 weeks and they still have a ways to go. Before I started, I was experiencing quite a brown out in all my SPS due to the fact that I had higher PO4. NO3 was always 0 due to vodka dosing, and although it hasn't gotten rid of it completely, the pellets seem to be make a large dent in my PO4 problem. All the bacteria that used to clog my plumbing and cling to the walls in my tank is now officially gone. I do still get some green algae growth on the tank walls after about 3 days, but that is to be expected. There have been no adverse effects on the fish or coral.
pciscott
Pirates Cove Reef
My Millies look stresses and overall I seem to have lost some colors, I think things are starting to get a little better, I have been feeding alot and added a few fish. Things seem to be turning for the better except some chalices that seemed to have bleeched a bit and lost most of there brightness. I think overall my water looks much clearer and maybe the added light shocked the corals???
triguy
Member
I am in the same situation as you- never dosed vodka, nitrates very low, phosphates a bit higher. I have been debating on switching from gfo to pellets, but I'm afraid of something like this happening. Tagging along to see if things improve for you. Hope they do.
jpluttme
New member
Perhaps a smaller dose of the ecobak at first, and then gradually adding more to the suggested amount based on tank volume might help to prevent this. Might be less of a shock to the system as the amount of bacteria ramps up slowly rather than a very large boom. Just a thought. I've has mine running for a few weeks now and the algae is just disappearing. I've had one case of RTN, but the coral was in bad shape to begin with and is still hanging on after a dip. The rest of the millis, acros, and lps seem fine with better PE.
I've also seen a slight decline in pH, but nothing substantial.
I've also seen a slight decline in pH, but nothing substantial.
:thumbsup:
sedor
New member
Thanks for the link Napi, that is the first time i've seen the pellets available at a retailer so i'm glad they finally seem to have everything sorted out.
Now for an update. My coral colors continue to improve almost a daily basis. Corals that used to be completely brown are now turning green and some are progressing past that to their true natural colors. I probably would have had to add 30 - 40 ml of vodka a day to achieve these kind of results. Don't get me wrong, vodka did an awesome job at maintaining 0 NO3, but it lacked with PO4. Also, the bacteria strings on the walls, in the pipes are officially a thing of the past. Everything looks so much cleaner now! I truly believe these pellets are the next step in reefing. Now we can have true ULNS's without a large refugium under the tank!
I have noticed that my skimmer has stopped as much out of the water. Almost like it leveled off. This is probably a good thing because its a sign that my water is cleaner than it has been before, but in the same way its nice to watch your expensive skimmer really pull some gunk out of there and where it used to fill up in 2 days, now takes a whole week. Otherwise I have continued to test for NO3 and always got a result of 0. Overall, the product is a short term success and I couldn't be happier. I guess we'll wait to see what happens long term.
Now for an update. My coral colors continue to improve almost a daily basis. Corals that used to be completely brown are now turning green and some are progressing past that to their true natural colors. I probably would have had to add 30 - 40 ml of vodka a day to achieve these kind of results. Don't get me wrong, vodka did an awesome job at maintaining 0 NO3, but it lacked with PO4. Also, the bacteria strings on the walls, in the pipes are officially a thing of the past. Everything looks so much cleaner now! I truly believe these pellets are the next step in reefing. Now we can have true ULNS's without a large refugium under the tank!
I have noticed that my skimmer has stopped as much out of the water. Almost like it leveled off. This is probably a good thing because its a sign that my water is cleaner than it has been before, but in the same way its nice to watch your expensive skimmer really pull some gunk out of there and where it used to fill up in 2 days, now takes a whole week. Otherwise I have continued to test for NO3 and always got a result of 0. Overall, the product is a short term success and I couldn't be happier. I guess we'll wait to see what happens long term.
Interested in doing this as well. I currently use the BRS Dual reactor. Should I replace both carbon and GFO containers with the EcoBak?
I have a lot of SPS...and not really a high fish load right now. Display is 65g, sump holds about 25-30gal, and I have a 35 gal tank plumbed in but only has a few snails and crabs in it right now. I do drip Kalk about every night.
I have a lot of SPS...and not really a high fish load right now. Display is 65g, sump holds about 25-30gal, and I have a 35 gal tank plumbed in but only has a few snails and crabs in it right now. I do drip Kalk about every night.
After reading a couple long threads, and knowing that my P04 isn't high at all, I'm not sure that pellets would benefit me. I drip Kalk every night, which looks to keep my P in check. I have absolutely no algae growth anywhere.
I run at BRS Dual w/ Rox carbon and GFO. Would it be benefitical, or just stick to the normal routine. Would like to replace the GFO w/ pellets if its a "set and forget" kind of deal, or if it brings other benefits, such as water clarity and such.
THoughts?
I run at BRS Dual w/ Rox carbon and GFO. Would it be benefitical, or just stick to the normal routine. Would like to replace the GFO w/ pellets if its a "set and forget" kind of deal, or if it brings other benefits, such as water clarity and such.
THoughts?
solitude127
Proud user of IO Salt!
If it aint broke why fix it.
IMO, if you're ok with your routine, then why change. Obviously it's working.
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