N/P reducing pellets (solid vodka dosing)

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I took some top down pictures yesterday to show the corals under the bio pellets, more or less things are stabilizied now, nitrates are 1-2,5 mg/lit ,reactor again start to produce more bacteria and my filter sock get cloged again in 24-48 hours. It look that there are some kind of rythm in bacteria production after I lower the nitrates, week ago bacteria production was low what was visible with almost non existent bacterial slime at filter sock, skimmer was also acting weird with sudden overflowing and similar action from time to time, then again yesterday bacteria slime get visible on filter sock and skimming get more consistent and stronger.

I think I may experiencing same phenomenon. After being reduce to 0 nitrates and .17 phosphates, I am now up to 5 nitrates and .21 phosphates.
 
I think I may experiencing same phenomenon. After being reduce to 0 nitrates and .17 phosphates, I am now up to 5 nitrates and .21 phosphates.

Do you think it poses a problem, or are those numbers good enough for a healthy tank..... I mean, do you see this having negative effects onyour corals?

Thanks
 
My skimmer was working overtime during the bacterial bloom, now 3 weeks later, the skimmer cannot even produce a foam head. Anyone else experience this? If i turn off the pump that feeds the biopellets the foam head comes back so obviously there is an issue.

I am running about 200ml on my 120g. i started off with 500 but i could not get the 2nd bacterial cloud to go away so i reduced the amount and the cloud went away but the skimmer is still not producing anythign
 
I don't even know how long it's been anymore. But....no change...the BP still don't work in my tank. I'm at a point of just calling them a failure. Oh well, maybe the NEXT big gimmick will work for me.
 
I wanted to share my experiences with the biopellets. I started these off on a new tank, and in the beginning dosed mb7. The tank has been running six months or so now.

In the beginning I started getting a hair algae bloom, which eventually went away. Then I got a cyano attack which also faded away. While my nitrates have read 0 from the beginning, I was still getting phosphates showing up on my test kit, and decided to add GFO/chaeto to my system. Also my water looks a little bit cloudy even to this day when my lights are on.

The pellets look like they haven't reduced in size at all, and I get no sort of oatmeal or anything else that might suggest there is bacteria slinging off these things.

Also my corals don't look so great. My zoas only open halfway, the skirts never fully extend. For acros everything I put in the tank browns, and I get little to no polyp extension. Colors look muted...

Any advice?
 
I wanted to share my experiences with the biopellets. I started these off on a new tank, and in the beginning dosed mb7. The tank has been running six months or so now.

In the beginning I started getting a hair algae bloom, which eventually went away. Then I got a cyano attack which also faded away. While my nitrates have read 0 from the beginning, I was still getting phosphates showing up on my test kit, and decided to add GFO/chaeto to my system. Also my water looks a little bit cloudy even to this day when my lights are on.

The pellets look like they haven't reduced in size at all, and I get no sort of oatmeal or anything else that might suggest there is bacteria slinging off these things.

Also my corals don't look so great. My zoas only open halfway, the skirts never fully extend. For acros everything I put in the tank browns, and I get little to no polyp extension. Colors look muted...

Any advice?


What test kits are you using to test NO3 and PO4, and what exactly is the PO4 test reading?

Also, what's the water volume of the system and how many pellets are you running? What reactor, flow rate, etc...?

Other system info would be helpful too such as what light you run, and what alk/ca/mag dosing you are performing? ;)
 
My skimmer was working overtime during the bacterial bloom, now 3 weeks later, the skimmer cannot even produce a foam head. Anyone else experience this? If i turn off the pump that feeds the biopellets the foam head comes back so obviously there is an issue.

I am running about 200ml on my 120g. i started off with 500 but i could not get the 2nd bacterial cloud to go away so i reduced the amount and the cloud went away but the skimmer is still not producing anythign

I think i am going to pull them off of the system for now. I started using them on a brand new tank with 100% new sand and rock that was bleached and given an acid bath and then cycled with pure ammonia so i just dont think there is enough "crap" for them to work at this point. I got the bacteria bloom, but now my skimmer will not produce foam and i am tired of changing the sock every single day. Maybe will start them up again once the tank gets more established and i add more livestock. maybe
 
I have a 40 breeeder with 29g sump. I am running 250ml of pellets in a TLF reactor with a mj1200 with some tumble. I ran with no gfo or chaeto for a couple months and was still getting phosphate readings so I added the chaeto which grew explosively. It now fills the entire 10g fuge area in my sump.

I have an ATI sunpower 4x39 2 month old ATI bulbs

Testing nitrates with an elos kit and salifert as a double check. Phosphates are being checked with an elos kit.

Right now because of problems with my controller power strips (got 2 defective ones in a row been trying to get it resolved for months now) I'm dosing by hand with BRS 2 part. Admittedly, I haven't really been measuring out my doses, I just add a splash of alk and cal every night. :spin3:

But my parameterse have been reasonably stable at:
cal 400
dkh 7.5-9
mag 1300-1400
ph 8.0-8.3 (daily range)
nitrates 0
phosphates 0

What test kits are you using to test NO3 and PO4, and what exactly is the PO4 test reading?

Also, what's the water volume of the system and how many pellets are you running? What reactor, flow rate, etc...?

Other system info would be helpful too such as what light you run, and what alk/ca/mag dosing you are performing? ;)
 
I have been running the pellets for about 3 months now and I am experiencing Algae blooms and what appears to be a dark green cyano carpet on the bottom of the front of the tank. I think the pellets are beneficial to an extent, but I think there should be more info on the proper introduction of them and the flow rates, etc.

I have 150 gal. tank and 30 gal. sump. Mixed Reef that has been set up for 7 years. I prob have 130 gallons total water. I am running around 700 ml-750 ml of pellets. I have run them slow at 250 gph pump and tried them with 600 gph pump. My corals look very good and have seen a faster growth rate, but colors are unchanged. I never got the cloudy water in the beginning like others have. I just shut the pellets off last night just to see if I get a reduction on the blooms and the other algae. I never had a Nitrate issue, but I am sure I had a little P04, not enough to cause alarm though. Im just scratching my head over these pellets, maybe my flow is too much with the larger pump. I have noticed the pellets are smaller now and some look to be half eaten. Guess I will wait it out and see how the corals react.
 
well.........

I turned off the flow last night after rinsing the pellets in rodi water. (rinsed to get the massive pod population out, then added back to reactor, then turned it on to fill with water, then shut it off to let it sit)

so over night for the first time, the reactor has gotten cloudy. I'm excited cause it seems it's the first time I've been able to see bacteria. So now I am told to leave it one more night...and hopefully the population will hold up.

even after rinsing though, the pod population in the tank is high. I'm surprised no one else has noticed this.

as for my own opinion, it really thing it's still from a lack of PO4 and now possibly just too few pellets. Why? Two reasons. I did yet another 50% water change, and once again my tank loved it. Brought the NO3 down to a solid 5ppm. And PO4 was still undetectable. BUT, now the tank is skimming better, so maybe it's just that there was so little PO4 that I could never get the BP to do much to reduce the rest of the NO3, but now with lower NO3 it's finally making a difference. Also on that note, I've stopped the flow before with no effect, and yet this time it does something...hmmm. The second reason is this cloudy water. It FINALLY gets cloudy in the reactor after shutting it off...so for me this may show that in a smaller volume of water the BP are working...so maybe for my whole system I just needed more.

so I'm going to test the effluent today, I'll let you all know if the NO3 in the reactor is closer to Zero.

:)
 
ok...so it's al sulpher smelling in the reactor...again a first. Is that supposed to happen when the bacteria over populate...or is that just stagnant water? Should I dump it, or let it back into the tank? Would that smelly water still show lower nitrates, or higher, or no change. I just want to narrow down what's going on in the reactor...

thanks
 
the effluent from the reactor (the water IN the reactor) has the lowest NO3 to date. Somewhere between 0-5ppm. So is that good or bad?

I'm impressed with all these responces so far...haha. XP
 
I think everyone is waiting to see if you call them a gimmick again. :D

I would not let the stagnant water back into the aquarium, drain it and refill but don't rinse.
 
I may still call them a gimmick.

I had a ton of pods and worms growing/living in the pellets. I rinsed them out, but just turning on the water to fill the reactor pulled in still more pods and worms.(from the sump) So as I inspect the water in the reactor that is growing ever more cloudy, I notice that it stinks even more...and there are lots of dead and dying pods/worms in the pellets.

the only bright side is that the reactor water is not any more polluted. (no rise in NO3) but sadly it's still around the shade of color that repersents 5ppm...which is what the DT's NO3 level still is...so again, sadly, no real reduction in nitrates.

again I ask...if I dump the smelly water, won't I just be back at square one with pelets that do not have bacteria on them? Then they don't work again...lame. So what's the fix to keep the bacteria population up?
 
sorry, to clarify the first paragraph. I worry that it's not cloudy from the bacteria, but instead just from the dead organisims...thus it's not bacteria and still a gimmick.

but I hope it is bacteria. (the kind I want)
 
f you have not read my blog on Probiotics here it is:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17690651&postcount=321

I recently acquired a client with a 45 gal tank running the aqaripure filtation system. The rocks and tanks were covered with algae suggesting to me that the system was not doing what it was suppose to be doing-removing nitrates
However the system had little to no flow, no protein skimmer and was relying on a fluval cannister for filtration. I have added a k3 evolution for flow, a remora hob protein skimmer and taken the fluval out of the system for now.

The following is the commercial blurb for the unit from their web site. I do know you have to add vodka via a special portal to the unit and it creates a biofilm in the unit. The unit is setup on a drip return to the tank

What I am trying to find out if this unit is worth the money as compared to running biopellets in a phosban reactor.


"The Next Generation in Aquarium Filtration TM
Save Time and Money, Eliminate Nitrates, Control Algae, and Reduce Maintenance all at once!

An Aquaripure Nitrate Filter will greatly reduce the need for water changes in your fish tanks, saving you time, money, and reducing the stress on your aquarium fish.

What is an Aquaripure Filter?

The Aquaripure filter is a comprehensive biological filter which will completely remove all organic matter and nitrates in an Aquarium. This type of filter is also known as a denitrator, denitrifier, biodenitrator, anaerobic biological filter, or simply a nitrate filter. Other biological filters only convert organic matter into nitrates which then accumulate in the aquarium, physical filters only remove larger particulate matter, and skimmers do not remove any nitrates. The Aquaripure uses beneficial bacteria to break down invisible organic matter and nitrates completely into Nitrogen gas which then escapes into the atmosphere. This same process is even used by some water treatment plants to make wastewater safe for human consumption and to clean polluted water. The Aquaripure does this in an extremely safe and controlled environment and after the water from the Aquaripure is aerated there is nothing left but pure, clean, crystal clear water. Don't just take our word for it, read some of our customers actual testimonials.

How can an Aquaripure save me money?

The Aquaripure will greatly reduce water changes. As an example lets use a 29 gallon freshwater planted tank and a 180 gallon saltwater reef tank. For the freshwater planted tank, if your tap water is hard or alkaline then it shouldn't be used for water changes and you would have to buy distilled water (that has pH of 7) for about $1 a gallon. It would take at least 30 minutes a week for a 35% water change on the FW tank if weekly water changes were kept up. On the saltwater reef tank you would have to use salt which costs at least $0.35 a gallon and that's just using plain old tap water. If you use R/O water the costs go up a lot more. The saltwater tank would take at least 2 hours total to mix drain and refill and get everything back where it was with a 35% water change.

So ... If you did a 35% weekly water change on both tanks it would take 120+ hours per year. Even at minimum wage that would be at least worth $800+. The freshwater tank would cost (29 x .35 x 52 x $1) = $528 in distilled water and the saltwater tank would cost (180 x .35 x 52 x $0.35) = $1147 in salt. So the total cost would be at least $2475 a year. With Aquaripure nitrate filters you could only do water change about once every 3 months so that's a savings of well over $2150 every year!

What makes Aquaripure the best?

Don't be fooled by the cheap nitrate removal products. These are simply a tiny band-aid on a large and permanent problem. You will need to buy them over and over again and they are not a good value. Only a specialized nitrate filter like Aquaripure can provide permanent and complete nitrate reduction. And unlike other similar nitrate filters, Aquaripure filters use proprietary and patent pending technology to maximize it's efficiency and effectiveness. Aquaripure filters all have a tremendous internal surface area for denitrifying bacteria to grow and thrive, much more than any "coil" denitrator or the other competition. For example, it would take more than ten "coil" type nitrate filters to equal the nitrate removing power of an X-Large Aquaripure. Moreover, many other nitrate filters are vastly overrated in terms of their capacity.

In "sulfur" nitrate filters the effluent contains large amounts of H2SO4, sulfuric acid, and SO4, sulfate. You must have a separate reactor with carbonate to neutralize the acid. The resulting effluent is still very high in sulfates and they will accumulate in the tank. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, high sulfates in drinking water can cause laxative effects. It is possible that it may also have adverse effects in the aquarium, especially on sensitive fish. Also, the costly sulfur and carbonate media must periodically be replaced. None of this is an issue with Aquaripure filters. With Aquaripure, no sulfuric acid or sulfates are produced and nothing will ever need to be replaced.

The chemical reaction in the Aquaripure produces 10 CO2 + 6 N2 + 26 H2O

Water and Carbon Dioxide versus Sulfuric Acid and Sulfates. Which would you prefer in your aquarium?

Aquaripure filters utilize the only highest quality tubing, valves, and connections. You will not find any cheap parts on an Aquaripure filter. Aquaripure filters are also "pre-populated" with more beneficial bacteria than ever to start working fast. Unlike other nitrate removal products, the Aquaripure is designed to be safe, extremely easy to use, require little maintenance, and completely remove nitrates for many, many years."
 
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sorry, to clarify the first paragraph. I worry that it's not cloudy from the bacteria, but instead just from the dead organisims...thus it's not bacteria and still a gimmick.

but I hope it is bacteria. (the kind I want)

Dave there is only one way to find out. The bacteria will be on the pellets as well, have faith.
 
sorry, to clarify the first paragraph. I worry that it's not cloudy from the bacteria, but instead just from the dead organisims...thus it's not bacteria and still a gimmick.

but I hope it is bacteria. (the kind I want)

Euh, I'm just a newbee who finds this thread interesting, and correct me if I'm wrong but....... I think that dead bacteria are also organisms:wildone:

And you change yourmind a lot........ first there not working..... :(

Then you go on about trying the rice method......... :crazy1:

And now they work...... but people don't answer your questions fast enough :eek2:

Don't be offended, but you sound a bit like my wife when we go out..... you can't seem to make up your mind on what to wear...... :D

I'm really glad for you they started to work tho....... :thumbsup:
 
Euh, I'm just a newbee who finds this thread interesting, and correct me if I'm wrong but....... I think that dead bacteria are also organisms:wildone:

And you change yourmind a lot........ first there not working..... :(

Then you go on about trying the rice method......... :crazy1:

And now they work...... but people don't answer your questions fast enough :eek2:

Don't be offended, but you sound a bit like my wife when we go out..... you can't seem to make up your mind on what to wear...... :D

I'm really glad for you they started to work tho....... :thumbsup:

this is why I posted the above summary izzy.
Carbon dosing of any form increases both the good and the bad bacteria. Hence if you overdo it then you get a bacterial bloom(cloudy)
This is why it is very important to have an excellent protein skimmer.

N/p biopellets are a little easier to manage the bacteria blooms in that it is a slow release back into the tank where dosing sugar or vodka or any other carbon source is immmediately dosed into the system.

They are all methods of carbon dosing--hope this helps the confusion a bit
 
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