my house reef (211 g.)

TryTheChi
Thanks for the info. couple of question.
1. What is TPIM?
2. If i am using biodigest and biotim are you saying adding a zeo reactor with zeolith would be really good or what would be the best combo to bye too do this right. prodibio has had some great bennifits but also some negitives.
3. i have a DSB but when i move my tank next month i would like to get rid of some of the sand.
I know it might be a nono to tell me what works best because of sponcers. PM me if you want. Thank you for the help and your opinion is great.
 
does anyone have any pics of their tank from using this stuff? I am wanting to turn my tank over to it, but want to make sure the hassle is worth it
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8656180#post8656180 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AquariumSpecialty
Simon,

You are correct about using Prodibio with zeolith rocks. It is possible to use the zeolith with Prodibio but it is not necessary otherwise Prodibio would offer it in their product line. I have a 180 BB display that is ZEO only at this time and we are going to discontinue using zeobac and zeofood and phol's CV and begin using Bioptim, Biodigest and Reef Booster and keep using zeolith rocks to see if there are detectible and visual changes. I have also considered using Sera siporax in a reactor instead of zeolith. I'm not aware of anyone trying this but I think it would be a great host for the colonization of prodibio bacteria. We will take pictures along the way. Also to note, we have a Prodibio only system and ozone only system. If you have any suggestions by all means please let me know.

Hi Scott - great to hear others are thinking along similar lines, and look forward to progress reports.

I wondered about sintered glass - however when I used it 15 years ago - little bits would rub off if there was much friction which there would be in a zeo type reactor - whats your take on the effect of the glass on corals? Would certainly be risky for human ingestion.

Should be very interesting......
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8658009#post8658009 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AquariumSpecialty
Sorry I'm not farmiliar with the glass you are referring to.

It seems to be some kind of filtration.

"In sintered glass crucibles, the same effect is achieved by glass fibers that are randomly arranged within an amorphous (randomly organized on the microscopic level) disk of solid glass."

This is the page I found more info on:
http://www.chem.ubc.ca/courseware/154/tutorials/exp4A/crufilt/
 
please forgive my incompetance, ...

1) an ampoule is one little packet correct?
2) a whole packet is to dose up to 1,000 Liters? but I thought it was bad to overdose this stuff, so what if you only have like a 30 gal tank?
3) wont a skimmer remove some of the BioDigest before it is all used?
4) is it better to use on an existing tank, or an older mature tank?


Sorry again, but I am trying to understand all this before starting to use it, ...
 
1: An ampoule is one of the vials

2: You won't overdose with 1 ampoule

3: The skimmer doesn't remove all of the Biodigest

4: Both

All of your corals will look better with lowered nutrients. It reduces the browning in LPS as well.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8658009#post8658009 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AquariumSpecialty
Sorry I'm not farmiliar with the glass you are referring to.

Scott

siporax is made from sintered glass. Try rubbing two pieces together and carfully feel the resulting glass dust.

Cheers

Simon
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8657243#post8657243 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by messy1messmer
TryTheChi
Thanks for the info. couple of question.
1. What is TPIM?
2. If i am using biodigest and biotim are you saying adding a zeo reactor with zeolith would be really good or what would be the best combo to bye too do this right. prodibio has had some great bennifits but also some negitives.
3. i have a DSB but when i move my tank next month i would like to get rid of some of the sand.
I know it might be a nono to tell me what works best because of sponcers. PM me if you want. Thank you for the help and your opinion is great.

Hi Steve

TPIM is a vial of vitamins minerals and carbon that is designed to promote bacterial growth from Bio Digest. Very roughly it would be the equivalent of ZEOfood 7 and ZEO start2, although Iwan used zeostart in addition.

In using zeolite in a zeoreactor but dosing Diagest and TPIM - I think the same cautions would apply as using ZB4 or the FM equivalent. ie get the flow rate through the reactor no more than 400lrs/hr per 1 ltr of zeolites, and use only 1 ltr of zeolites per 400ltrs net volume - half that in the first instance. The risk to manage here is that the zeolites can strip out nutrients too fast in an established tank for sps to adapt to, risking rtn. If using a daily carbon source such as zeostart2 or vodka, this can also accelerate bac growth V quickly, again causing rtn potentially. Its all about the starting slow and titrating upwards.

Interesting that you are planning to take out the DSB. I went the opposite way - finding that by adding a dsb, I could avoid excessive lightening of the corals. Other zeolite users get good results with BB though. If its an old sand bed with plenty of sequestered nutrients, taking it out slowly after you have established a good back colony in the zeoreactor could help things along faster. Iwan changed 20% of his dsb every 6 months IIRC.

This isnt a sponsored thread - so I hope we can share our experiences without fear or favor: (? mods ?) Personally I have got better results from straight zeo, but I think there is a lot of potential in what Scott is experimenting with, so will be interesting to see. Gary - mesocosm - also seems to be quite optimistic in relation to an inert medium in a zeoreactor - if I understand him correctly.

The areas where Prodi scores higher for me are in the dose and forget features which will obviously benefit some - and the bacs may be better stored in nitrogen rather than oxygen in the fridge (?)

Both are great systems though IME

Cheers

Simon
 
Is it true you can overdose those biodigest and biotim. i know a few pages back on this thread it says that you shouldnt overdose that stuff
 
I've been dosing 1 Biodigest and 2 Bioptim every 2 weeks in my 72G for 6 months now. Biodigest is only a "seed colony" for your bacteria. Populations of bacteria in your aquarium are already many time greater than what is in a vial of digest.

If you are worried about the effects of adding a whole vial, then only add 1/2 and throw the rest away, then if you have no problems add 1 vial the next dose.

Bioptim is another story. Be careful starting out with your dosage. Definitely start with a half dose and work up from there over a month or two, especially if your tank has high nitrates or is dirty (mulm buildup in the sand bed etc.)

Prodibio is very mild compared to other bacteria systems. Don't expect overnight results. It took 3 months to get my nitrate reading undetectable from a reading of .2 to .5

Rob
 
Rob,
When you say be careful with bioptim, what do you mean, Why.
I thought it was vitamins, and amino acids?
Frank
 
Thanks for the heads up on the siporax. I haven't used this particular product yet or ordered it and I'm still learning some things about the Sera product line. When I saw the sales info on its capabilities I got the idea to give it a try with prodi. It may or may not be a good idea but it's just an idea at this point.
 
Bioptim is a carbon source and nutrient for bacteria. Too much can cause a bacteria bloom that can crash your tank. Reef Booster is the amino acid supplement.
 
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