N/P reducing pellets (solid vodka dosing)

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Don't mention it guys... I appreciate the props, but lets just say that I'm simply an attentive student... 90% of the info I provided was distilled from this very thread; about 5% was personal (first hand) tinkering around; and the balance was whatever I could pull out of other big-headed friends/colleagues who have insane aquarium knowledge/perspectives, or professional microbiology expertise... but your acceptance just makes my effort to quote everybody that much more worth-while :D...

Cheers,
Sheldon
 
Nice write up SECJ12. :) You may have gotten most of the info from this thread but you condensed it to a manageable and understandable summery. Definitely should be a sticky. Thanks.
 
TheFishMan65 said:
Hey great summary, can I add it to my list (see signature) if it does not make it as a sticky. The only catch is that you would need to update the link if you update the summary.
Click to expand...

Sure can fishman... I'm not great at keeping track of too many things however, so the update thing will have to be a collaborative effort..:hmm5:

SJ
 
gregr said:
That was outstanding Scej12. Thank you!
I've got a pretty small bioload for a 150 and I may add another fish or two but I was thinking about adding some food for the corals specifically. Never fed the corals before and I don't want them to starve now that the tank is officially low-nutrient (zero nitrates and very low phosphates). Any opinions on this? I don't want to overdo it and have an algae outbreak either.
Click to expand...

Thanks Gregr - Well that's the supposed beauty of this system: your nutrient dynamic becomes a lot more forgiving... I like to feed my corals frozen cyclops/cyclopeze, and various other coral food mixes. On systems with refugiums, I also like to feed live phytoplankton so that the micro-fauna population is up. Corals will then get access to rotifers, baby mysis, etc. But keep in mind this will have a larger impact on your phosphate if you feed as heavily as I do, so there is all the more emphasis on maintaining a second phosphate management strategy... Hve fun playing with the system though.

Sheldon
 
Ive been with NP biopellets for close to 6 months now running 500ml on a fluidized reactor. My nitrates are about 25 and Phosphates 0.25. Ive been changing out GFO to keep the phosphates close to 0.

I went out diving and collected some coarse grain aragonite sand and added a handful to the reactor based on the thread which mentioned sand and bio pellets...still no reduction. I started dosing mb7 over 2 weeks and had a cyano outbreak from the bacteria so cut it back but still Nitrates and phosphates not reducing. I tried Biofuel this week and seeing some red cyano lets hope something works. This has been really disappointing for me.
 
lbaldrey said:
Ive been with NP biopellets for close to 6 months now running 500ml on a fluidized reactor. My nitrates are about 25 and Phosphates 0.25. Ive been changing out GFO to keep the phosphates close to 0.

I went out diving and collected some coarse grain aragonite sand and added a handful to the reactor based on the thread which mentioned sand and bio pellets...still no reduction. I started dosing mb7 over 2 weeks and had a cyano outbreak from the bacteria so cut it back but still Nitrates and phosphates not reducing. I tried Biofuel this week and seeing some red cyano lets hope something works. This has been really disappointing for me.
Click to expand...

If everything else parameter-wise is in check (pH; dKH in particular) then it may be a simple requirement to add some more pellets... you didn't mention how large your tank is. From my experience, I dropped my levels down from 200++ NO3; 2.5++ PO4 over an extended period of time. If I had great O2 replenishment, I would have been able to get away with a larger volume of pellets, and likely would have seen 0 levels within a fraction of the time. I'm personally beginning to think that cyano is most prevalent when you have a moderately high level of nitrates and phosphates present in an otherwise clean system. I also think cyano can be fought off a little if your pH is consistently toward the higher end of the acceptable range.

I don't think you need the substrate media within your reactor if your fluidization is good (pellet movement). I personally did use zeobak; and in the very beginning mb7 to help out with the bacteria inoculation; but even after 6 months of using the system, it has become clear to me that I don't have the optimum amount of pellets in my reactor, as my system has very, very slowly reached ,5ppm nitrate; and due to my generous feeding, phosphate is around 0.4ppm. If my reactor was a little taller/larger I would certainly increase the bp by about 25 % to solve the problem; however the other problem I'm experiencing (until I make some major changes to the 500 gallon tank in question) is that my pH is struggling to stay at 7.95 - 8.0 with the current amount of pellets I am running... so that's the compromise I'm currently contending with... For your situation however, I am confident that you simply need more pellets - just make sure you pH remains acceptable preferably above 8.2.

Regards,

Sheldon
 
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It kills the bacteria which means that it will break down back into N, P and C. If it stays alive it may get caught next time through the skimmer.
 
The UV is fine to use with the bio-pellets. It might kill the bacteria, but they're still edible, and the skimmer still can remove them. It's not clear that what's being skimmed out of the system is bacteria, in any case. It could be bacterial output, for example.
 
bertoni, I sort of didn't say the right thing (so thanks for correcting me) and maybe I am wrong so please correct me if so. If it goes through the UV and dies. Then it will break down faster than if it were alive. Yes? If so then the breakdown leaves more N and P in the tank for nuisance growth. Yes? N and P by them selves can't be pulled out by the skimmer Yes? So using UV might provide slightly less efficiency and there maybe more nuisance growth thatn without. Yes? It all depends on how long the dead bacteria stay in the water and how far they break down. Please let me know where I have the process wrong.

[EDIT]
scej12 - Here is your first update to the summary. I know this was asked before and I think more than once :)
 
Well, as I pointed out, it's not clear that we're skimming many bacteria in the first place, but if the UV kills bacteria, yes, they'll decay faster, but no, I don't think it's a problem since they can be skimmed if dead, and much can be skimmed after the cell wall breaks.
 
Scej12 I have not seen your summary go sticky:sad1: So I added your summary to my list -maybe it won't get lost :). If you ever change please try and remember to update the link or PM me and I will be happy to do it. Thanks again
 
Finally a Positive Update for Me

Finally a Positive Update for Me

Well, I finally get to write the positive update. Since I've posted my results so far in this thread. I thought I better leave the last testings. My nitrates are finally down :bounce1: I started off with my nitrates running 100+. I began the ECOBAK pellets on 12-04-10. I've got a 120 DT with a 65 sump. I started out with 500 ml and then added the other 500 ml a couple of weeks later. I was ready to give up about 2 months ago, but I had read several stories of good results after several months. So I decided to quit measuring the nitrates and just let my system alone. Well today I tested all my params.

SG - 1.025
Temp. - 77.5
PH --- 8.1
Ammonia - 0.0
Nitrites - 0.0
Nitrates - 5.0 according to API
2.5 according to Sailfert
Phosphates - 0.5
ALK -- 9.0 according to API
10.6 according to Sailfert
CA --- 430
Mag --- 1110


It took 18 weeks ( 4 1/2 months) of the pellets in the system for mine to go down. This is the first time in 2 years my nitrates have been below 10. So if there is anyone who is struggling with the pellets and is thinking of giving up. Don't - it did work out for me. Now I will try to get some corals to grow........:celeb3:

SaltyNovice
 
Congrats Salty!! Just a note, your salifert test might be the one I'd accept as true... I just invested in a pinpoint nitrate monitor, and found that when API reads 100++ it was only 12 - 22 on the monitor, which is supposed to be $430 of accuracy!!

Long story short.. I'd trust the Salifert based on my recent surprise.

Sheldon
 
Thanks Gregr - Well that's the supposed beauty of this system: your nutrient dynamic becomes a lot more forgiving... I like to feed my corals frozen cyclops/cyclopeze, and various other coral food mixes. On systems with refugiums, I also like to feed live phytoplankton so that the micro-fauna population is up. Corals will then get access to rotifers, baby mysis, etc. But keep in mind this will have a larger impact on your phosphate if you feed as heavily as I do, so there is all the more emphasis on maintaining a second phosphate management strategy... Hve fun playing with the system though.

Sheldon
Click to expand...

Thanks again. So far I've seen no reaction to the every-other-day addition of 5ml live phyto. No hair or bubble algae, no cyano. In fact, the bad algae is all but gone in my tank (!!!). The only negative reaction in my tank is from the mini-carpet anenomes-- they expelled some color but are still inflated and seem to be holding steady. All other corals, lps and sps, zoos and clams, are doing great. Better than great- I have one acro colony I bought as a brown blob and it's now blue tips with a ring of gold around each axial corallite.
Last week I had a mh bulb break- it was lit and broken for about two hours. The next morning the clam and caulastrea directly beneath the bulb were severely damaged but 5 days later you can see no signs of damage- 100% recovery in 5 days :crazy1:
Much as I hate to I will keep the GFO going.
 
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