Sps keepers using Prodibio digest and bioptim

Jettareefer

New member
I'm very interested in using this product a lot of people like the results they're getting after one week. I do not have a nutrient problem my p04 is .0-.03 ppm/ no3 .25 ppm or less While feedingy fish everyday in addition I use redsea's reef energy 4 times a week(colors are getting better). I want know if my reef would benefit from using this line of products it's coming up on a year since I started. I've never dosed a bacteria additive to my tank and I had a thought this may be my issue with my color for the first 6 months I did very large water changes. Now I only do 5 gallons twice a month I would say things improved. One thing I have noticed in this tank is my skimate has never been dark like my past tanks, reason I mention this when reading about Prodibio people always comment on how it became may more sludgy and dark maybe this means nothing however maybe it does.How much are you dosing and at what frequency? And did you acheive better colors/growth using it ? Just load me up with info and experiences it will be greatly appreciated.

Tanks info
58 gallon display 10 gallon sump skimmer and mangroves
7 fish (target mandarin, flame hawk, clownfish, lamarks angel, melenarus wrasse, blue tang, tomini tang) most of my fish have been with me for 3-5 years.
30 Sps and some softies

Here's some pictures you can see between my green planet andred planet my validia has the slightest bit of purple but is just dull you can look at pictures and see others having similar things going on. My birdsnest is ugly to.
<a href="http://s40.photobucket.com/user/93z28camaro/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps2fc52d8a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e241/93z28camaro/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps2fc52d8a.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo image_zps2fc52d8a.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s40.photobucket.com/user/93z28camaro/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps23511545.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e241/93z28camaro/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps23511545.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo image_zps23511545.jpg"/></a>
 
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Thanks shih87, I just wish it was pink not brown that all I love how fast it grows and the structure. Your old tank was amazing I loved all the stags!!


To add to the first post.
Parameters(fairly stable great growth)
Alk 7-7.5 (Hanna)
Calcium 420 (Api)
Mag 1300-1350 (salifert)
Po4 0-.03 ppm (Hanna)
No3 .25 or less (salifert low range)
Salinity 1.026
Temp 77.2-77.7
 
Your colors look excellent. I have been using prodibio for 2 years on different systems. I like to think of it as gentile carbon/bacteria dosing :) but it will lower your nutrients. You seem to have a good balance at the moment. You may see a positive effect, or you may strip your system and see faded SPS colors, possibly base stn.
IME/IMO if you're going to dose it just monitor your nitrates carefully. If they 0 out, feed more, back off on dosing, and or back off on filtration. With a small nitrate level maintained (I actually prefer 10-15) and dosing prodibio you will see a major increase in PE and growth, possibly colors as well.
 
I think if something's working don't fix it. As far as the pink birds nest is concerned, I think it's more a light issue. Try cutting a frag and placing it closer to your lights.
 
Downbeach great idea I had thought about it seeing as how I broke a decent size frag of the birdsnest off the other day I will try that. I have 700 watts of lighting it's grown atleast 6" in that spot it's never been fully pink. In my nano it was pinker I had a 250 halide over a 14 gallon bc at the time.

Jackson reading your tank thread actually got me thing about this bacteria Idea I have a lot of fish as well. I wish I could have colors like your they rock! When reading the instructions on bioptim it says one vile treat 264 gallons or something close to that. My biggest question is do you dose the whole thing or a prorated amount based off your tank size ?

I have read that you can't necessarily overdose, but I want to see how everyone else is dosing.

Thanks everyone!
 
Jackson reading your tank thread actually got me thing about this bacteria Idea I have a lot of fish as well. I wish I could have colors like your they rock! When reading the instructions on bioptim it says one vile treat 264 gallons or something close to that. My biggest question is do you dose the whole thing or a prorated amount based off your tank size ?

I have read that you can't necessarily overdose, but I want to see how everyone else is dosing.

Thanks everyone!

Thanks. I actually use the smaller ampules rated for 50 gallons water volume. I'm using 3 of each every 2 weeks. Sometimes I space the dose out over a few days. I had a friend who was dosing 2 times the suggested dosage, sometimes more :) He had extremely high nutrients with a poor survival rate, but his colors were insane under an ATI LED power module. He eventually got a bacterial bloom and had white precipitation settling all over pumps, glass, and rock.
 
I'm also considering using the probidio reef kit and leaving my biopellets online also.

Tagging along

I know a few who have tried this, and/or liquid carbon(vodka/vinegar), developing a large amount of mulm in the reactor, causing it to clog up. So, if you do this keep a close eye on it.
 
I had the same nutrient level as you. Nitrates 0.75 and phosphates 0.018

I used the prodibio and it completely eliminated all nitrates and phoslhates. My acros started to loose color and stned on me. Eventually every single acro died a slow death from starvation.

I would only use it of you have nutrient problem. Your nutrients look well balanced to me. Why risk it.

Be careful.
 
From what I understand. You are meant to dose ReefBooster when ever your N and P are zero. As well as the other products I presume.
 
I had the same nutrient level as you. Nitrates 0.75 and phosphates 0.018

I used the prodibio and it completely eliminated all nitrates and phoslhates. My acros started to loose color and stned on me. Eventually every single acro died a slow death from starvation.

I would only use it of you have nutrient problem. Your nutrients look well balanced to me. Why risk it.

Be careful.

Prodibio is no different to any other organic carbon dosing system; if you reduce nutrients too low and dont feed the tank, you will lose corals.

From what I understand. You are meant to dose ReefBooster when ever your N and P are zero. As well as the other products I presume.

Thats correct.

Have a look at Richard's tank. Rich doses Prodibio and has an amazing SPS tank...nothing is dying...then again his tank is full of fish and I bet he feeds the tank well.
 
From what I understand. You are meant to dose ReefBooster when ever your N and P are zero. As well as the other products I presume.

I have a question on this. I have been using Bioptim and BioDigest for a month now and my PO4 and Nitrate read zero, but I still have Green Hair Algae. When do I need to start adding nutrients? I don't want to feed the GHA.

Thanks.
 
Patrick, vodka and vinegar is more powerful the prodibio. Vodka just scares me, too powerful. Playing with fire IMO. Trying to rid your tank of GHA by stripping your water is not too effective and damaging to your SPS. Many of my buddies paled out their entire SPS tanks trying to remove GHA by stripping nutrients. IME bound up nutrient in the rock is the fuel for GHA. If possible manual removal and preferably scrubbing the area with a brush in discarded tank water will quickly sold the problem.

Just curious, running 0's and dosing prodibio, how's your SPS? I did this in an old tank and faded all my SPS colors, and reduced coral health, saw some STN as well.
 
Patrick, vodka and vinegar is more powerful the prodibio. Vodka just scares me, too powerful. Playing with fire IMO. Trying to rid your tank of GHA by stripping your water is not too effective and damaging to your SPS. Many of my buddies paled out their entire SPS tanks trying to remove GHA by stripping nutrients. IME bound up nutrient in the rock is the fuel for GHA. If possible manual removal and preferably scrubbing the area with a brush in discarded tank water will quickly sold the problem.

Just curious, running 0's and dosing prodibio, how's your SPS? I did this in an old tank and faded all my SPS colors, and reduced coral health, saw some STN as well.

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. You know, I have a long history with low tank nutrients. My tank is two years old and when I first started reefing, I started my tank with cured dry rock and I ran GAC and GFO. My tank was very clean. But I could not keep any hard corals. They would go pale and then die. So I started on my quest to increase nutrients. And over time that obviously happened and my corals started to look much better. But then the algae problems started. First it was film algae and so I bought a lawnmower blenny and that fish quickly took care of the film algae. Then the GHA started and the blenny would not eat it so it actually died. And since then I started running GFO again in a small amount and then I started dosing the Prodibio products. I don't have anymore film algae in my sand bed or on the tank walls but the GHA is still around. It is obviously still growing but I suspect I have slowed it down some but not completely. All of this is a long way to say that since the GHA is still growing, I suspect my PO4 and nitrates are not really 0 but just reading 0 since the algae is consuming it. My plan was to start dosing the reef booster as soon as the algae was under control so I would feed my corals. But today the corals still look good. We will see though. I am now into new territory and not sure how I will come out the other side.

Here is my tank as of a few days ago. Yesterday I removed the middle rock and another smaller rock because they were covered in GHA that I could not even scrub off.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

i-8Rmt3RX-L.jpg
 
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