my rice experiment
- Thread starter kkil4life
- Start date
- Status
RichConley
New member
You're missing a unit there.
its .09 mg copper per 100g of rice. Thats 0.000094 g of copper per 100g of rice, or in your case, 0.000047g of copper. Anyone want to figure out how many parts per trillion that is?
HighlandReefer
Team RC
Many fish foods contain more copper than the white rice does. So do many of the supplements. 
I would be more concerned about the haze in your tank, if it is still there. Perhaps running a filter bag will help clear your water column much quicker then just skimming.
I would be more concerned about the haze in your tank, if it is still there. Perhaps running a filter bag will help clear your water column much quicker then just skimming.
noahm
Active member
Sorry bout the highjack OP, but I though I should clarify. Basket stars, in general, take a ridiculous amount of pampering when it comes to providing food, and stability. They often starve very very slowly, and the 'dismantling' just seems to be the common way they die. I think it has to do with how their outer 'skin' is structured in sections. I just used a term that seemed fitting.
Back on topic, thanks for posting the phosphate numbers, and the original P content of rice etc. It helps answer at least how mch potentially could be added to the system. Not a considerable amount considering the time the rice seems to take to break down at this point. Keep it up.
icycoral
I glue animals to rocks
Wow there have been quite a few posts since I checked earlier this afternoon. I currently don't have a copper test kit however when I looked at the stats for rice I remember saying to myself "that's almost nothing" there's more copper in Kent "essential elements" than that so I'm not worried about it. Did check my O2 levels took samples for three parts of my tank they all read the same 7ppm (redsea test kit) which according to the test kit is normal for my salinity and temp. Have to say I really am amazed in the difference between the algae growth from yesterday to today almost like flipping a switch. I'm also starting to see the algae in my fuge die off.
icycoral
I glue animals to rocks
I checked my NO3 and PO4 before the experiment with the test kits I have which are API and my levels were undetectable with those kits. I posted in my club forum about borrowing a photometer for either nitrates or phosphates and got no responses. I would have loved to have had actual readings to post instead of "undetectable".
aurora
New member
Wow...I haven't check this thread in a day and looked what happened!!!
Anyway, the fact that you guys have seen significant drastic signs of reduced nitrate in your tank is great but this could be harmful if done too quickly. I've been in this hobby long enough to know that any rapid change in a reef system even for the better can have significant harmful effects to some light/nutrient sensitive livestock. My orange Florida ricordia is the most sensitive to nutrient depletion in my tank. I took out some of my rice when I started to see nutrient depletion stress in my softies a few days ago. I suggest you guys do the same or take the rice off-line for a couple of days to give your corals time to adjust to the lower level of nitrates. It's also not just the nitrate. I've also noticed clearer water with my rice use and this will also affects the amount of light your corals get. My tank is mostly SPS so my corals love the added light. Water clarity is critical in how much light actually reach your corals. Any sudden increase in light reaching your coral could cause some burns in light sensitive corals. I only used about 1.5 cup of rice in my 400g system to start with but my system in fairly low nutrient anyhow. My advice at this time is to slow it down a bit if you see any stress in your livestock. IMO, it's obvious that rice is a potent nitrate reducer and needs to be ramped up slowly to keep your livestock happy.
I'd hate to see this experiment failed because the rice worked too fast and too well for the purpose that we want to achieve.
Anyway, the fact that you guys have seen significant drastic signs of reduced nitrate in your tank is great but this could be harmful if done too quickly. I've been in this hobby long enough to know that any rapid change in a reef system even for the better can have significant harmful effects to some light/nutrient sensitive livestock. My orange Florida ricordia is the most sensitive to nutrient depletion in my tank. I took out some of my rice when I started to see nutrient depletion stress in my softies a few days ago. I suggest you guys do the same or take the rice off-line for a couple of days to give your corals time to adjust to the lower level of nitrates. It's also not just the nitrate. I've also noticed clearer water with my rice use and this will also affects the amount of light your corals get. My tank is mostly SPS so my corals love the added light. Water clarity is critical in how much light actually reach your corals. Any sudden increase in light reaching your coral could cause some burns in light sensitive corals. I only used about 1.5 cup of rice in my 400g system to start with but my system in fairly low nutrient anyhow. My advice at this time is to slow it down a bit if you see any stress in your livestock. IMO, it's obvious that rice is a potent nitrate reducer and needs to be ramped up slowly to keep your livestock happy.
I'd hate to see this experiment failed because the rice worked too fast and too well for the purpose that we want to achieve.
Last edited:
icycoral
I glue animals to rocks
Hey Aurora I def hear you on changes occurring too quick can be bad even if they are changes for the better. I can't believe how quick the nutrients are getting sucked out of my tank. I may have to cycle my reactor or remove some media if my corals show signs of stress from the low nutrient levels. And as Eli said there will def be a learning curve, as more people try this and report their individual results.
not really sure, but it depends on the type of carbo and the brand I think
regardless, I'll be putting in a sock full of carbon in a few mins
looks like I was just waaaayyy to sleepy last night and kind of panicked when I saw the copper and didn't even do the math right....lol
icycoral
I glue animals to rocks
Update
Update
Well it's been 4+ days since I filled my reactor with rice and started this experiment and today was the first day I haven't had algea growth on my glass. I'm also starting to see some of my cheato die off. My water params are all normal
Sg 1.026
Ph 8.1
ammo 0
trites 0
trates 0 undetectable
PO4 0 undetectable
Mag 1380
Kh 9
Calc 460-480
My orp went up a little today 289mV
I have had the ozone generation on my aquazone turned off and have just been using the orp monitor. All my corals seem fine although a few zoa's have lightened up ever so slightly. I believe this is from the lowered nutrients. All other corals look pretty much the same I'm seeing good polyp extension and color. Water is still clear. The rice is still holding up and hasn't broken up into little pieces (which I think is pretty amazing). My skimmer is starting to calm down a bit, but it is still collecting more skimmate than it ever has before this experiment. I also tested my oxygen levels today and they seemed pretty good. I used a red sea oxygen test kit which suggested for my temp(80F) and salinity (1.026sg) I should have a o2 saturation of just over 6ppm. I tested three sample from my tank and got 7ppm across the board (Woot!). So far I am very impressed with using rice as a solid carbon source for nutrient reduction. I will continue with this experiment however if I notice stress from the rapid decline in nutrients I will try connecting the feed pump on my reactor to a timer. I am also starting to ponder the next part of this experiment, how to prolong the benefits of using rice in a reactor. Will it be as simple as just adding more rice when the old rice breaks down or will I have to dump the old media and use fresh rice? Will there be a signifcant lapse in nutrient reduction when exchanging the new and old rice? How much rice is optimal? I have a feeling that the amount of nutrient reduction capacity will increase exponentially to the volume of rice used. Enough mind wandering, for now I am only seeing positive results and no negative effects as of yet.
Update
Well it's been 4+ days since I filled my reactor with rice and started this experiment and today was the first day I haven't had algea growth on my glass. I'm also starting to see some of my cheato die off. My water params are all normal
Sg 1.026
Ph 8.1
ammo 0
trites 0
trates 0 undetectable
PO4 0 undetectable
Mag 1380
Kh 9
Calc 460-480
My orp went up a little today 289mV
I have had the ozone generation on my aquazone turned off and have just been using the orp monitor. All my corals seem fine although a few zoa's have lightened up ever so slightly. I believe this is from the lowered nutrients. All other corals look pretty much the same I'm seeing good polyp extension and color. Water is still clear. The rice is still holding up and hasn't broken up into little pieces (which I think is pretty amazing). My skimmer is starting to calm down a bit, but it is still collecting more skimmate than it ever has before this experiment. I also tested my oxygen levels today and they seemed pretty good. I used a red sea oxygen test kit which suggested for my temp(80F) and salinity (1.026sg) I should have a o2 saturation of just over 6ppm. I tested three sample from my tank and got 7ppm across the board (Woot!). So far I am very impressed with using rice as a solid carbon source for nutrient reduction. I will continue with this experiment however if I notice stress from the rapid decline in nutrients I will try connecting the feed pump on my reactor to a timer. I am also starting to ponder the next part of this experiment, how to prolong the benefits of using rice in a reactor. Will it be as simple as just adding more rice when the old rice breaks down or will I have to dump the old media and use fresh rice? Will there be a signifcant lapse in nutrient reduction when exchanging the new and old rice? How much rice is optimal? I have a feeling that the amount of nutrient reduction capacity will increase exponentially to the volume of rice used. Enough mind wandering, for now I am only seeing positive results and no negative effects as of yet.
Many fish foods contain more copper than the white rice does. So do many of the supplements.
I would be more concerned about the haze in your tank, if it is still there. Perhaps running a filter bag will help clear your water column much quicker then just skimming.
Unfortunately I dont have a filter sock, but the haze has almost cleared.
good on the oxygen levels.
the rice limits algae growth quiet a bit doesnt it? infact theres no algae growing on my glass. the only algae growing on the glass is the parts I haven't cleaned, and that too is turning brown and dieing.
same goes for gha and cyno, just turing brown, becoming loose and dieing.
the working too fast and too well is definitely something to be cautious of......I guess we should "dose like vodka", add 10g initially for every 100gallons then keep adding 10g till we reach a point where N and P are undetectable.
its pretty cool how the rice is working so well, but I think if the nutrients are being pulled out so fast we might need to remove some rice from the reactor.
the next step is definitely going to be interesting.
but hopefully we will have people helping us out with the experiment and more people means more situations that we can tackle.
I think in a month or two the rice train will definitely be something for people to hop onto.
- Status
