N/P reducing pellets (solid vodka dosing)
- Thread starter tntneon
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I have 1 liter of pellets in a Vertex 1.5 liter Zeo reactor at full flow for a 150G system. Discharge is near my skimmer intake. I pump the reactor once/day, and dose 3 drops of Zeobak directly into the reactor intake daily. I also add several drops of MB7 to the display daily, and once/week I add an ampule of Prodibio Biodigest to the display. Looking for bacterial
diversity. . .
Prior to pellets I was running full Zeo, and prior to that I was dosing Vodka. My NO3 has always been undetectable, and my PO4 (Hannah) has been between 0.0 and .04 for any/all these methods. Coloration is great, as is PE.
I'm currently battling quite a bit of red cotton algae. Not sure what the issue is or how to remedy. I just tested PO4 and it's .01.
what salt are you using? and whats your mag @?
catastrofe
New member
Yes, but you need to place the reactor in some type of container in case it leaks. Mine is in a Sterilite container with a float switch that turns off the feed pump if the reactor leaks. This happened twice, but was due to my reducing the output pipe to 1/2". Hasn't happened since I went full size on the output. I think I posted some photos. . .search my posts.
catastrofe
New member
Seachem Reefsalt. Mg is 1350-1400 consistently.
funny enough.. i was using that also when i had my red cotton ball prob.. i switched to tropic marin regular, and never looked back... now am using TM bio (new Tropic Marin stuff from Premium Aquatics) and love it..( no more pink balls) I also have been running my MAG @ 1500 for a while now...
Nice simple solution but what happens if you turn off the pump for a couple of seconds, does the pellets end up in the impeller? Or is there some solution to that problem that we can't see?
I was thinking the same exact thing..
I am building a "bucket solution " similar (assuming) to Tatu's
I will post pictures when complete later today.
I pushed a piece of window screen up into the bottle, with some screen still hanging outside the bottle, then folded it down over the threads and screwed the cap on. To mount the pump an undersized hole was drilled in the cap, and the pump friction fits in. It is really tight. It could be glued in too. Works like a charm.
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Today is a great day: no hint of pink in Salifert NO3 kit :beer:
"Red cotton algae" has disappeared completely (!) and Bryopsis is almost completely gone. I can still grow good amount of diatoms with iron/manganese and silicate dosing but it seems that algae growth is limited enough by low DIN so that herbivores are able to control them.
Water clarity remains excellent, phosphate around 0.015 ppm PO4 (still using GFO, 500 ml).
I switched to automated feeding. I make thick food mix with TM Reef Snow (biopolymer), water and various dry invertebrate foods (8 ml, about 4 grams dry weight). This solution is fed once an hour for 12 hours. Fishes are fed flake foods 3-4 times a day.
"Red cotton algae" has disappeared completely (!) and Bryopsis is almost completely gone. I can still grow good amount of diatoms with iron/manganese and silicate dosing but it seems that algae growth is limited enough by low DIN so that herbivores are able to control them.
Water clarity remains excellent, phosphate around 0.015 ppm PO4 (still using GFO, 500 ml).
I switched to automated feeding. I make thick food mix with TM Reef Snow (biopolymer), water and various dry invertebrate foods (8 ml, about 4 grams dry weight). This solution is fed once an hour for 12 hours. Fishes are fed flake foods 3-4 times a day.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
"phosphate around 0.015 ppm PO4"
What kind of phosphate testing equipment are you using?
Congratulations. :thumbsup:
What kind of phosphate testing equipment are you using?
Congratulations. :thumbsup:
Merck, Gilbers and Salifert kits (no difference in results, I've been cross checking the results between these kits for some time now).What kind of phosphate testing equipment are you using?
HighlandReefer
Team RC
So the 0.015 reading is an average and your kits are not accurate below 0.00.
Hmm, I'm not sure what you mean? No test can be accurate below DL
Merck has DL of 0.008 PO4-P but other kits are equally good if you standardize the length of optical path, IME.BTW, when I said PO4 I really meant PO4-P
Still far too high, I've been concentrating on NO3 too much and haven't replaced the GFO in a long time.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
Do you use a Nessler's Tube?
euromomtx
New member
I am excited to be trying this out! Thanks so making such an informative thread.
I read the bacteria can clog up the sponges in media reactors so I got some plastic canvas today and cut it into shape to use instead of the sponges:
My pellets should be arriving today or tomorrow.
I read the bacteria can clog up the sponges in media reactors so I got some plastic canvas today and cut it into shape to use instead of the sponges:
My pellets should be arriving today or tomorrow.
(OT):
No, just the comparator block (and printed card) that comes with the Merck kit. When I said "standardized optical length" I meant using the same glassware (Merck). When there is measurable PO4 in the water, all kits give easily distinguishable blue color. All phosphate kits work pretty much the same way so that isn't really surprising.
Honestly, I don't really care about absolute accuracy (or even resolution) because all hobby kits/meters are so insensitive, especially NO3 kits. I only want to see "zero" nutrient levels and then pretend they are OK :jester:
HighlandReefer
Team RC
:lol:
catastrofe
New member
Now that you mention it, the issue did become exacerbated when I switched from Reef Crystals to Seachem. I've used TM Pro Reef in the past and loved the salt but not the price. I may have to go back. . .
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