Warner Marine Now Has A Pellet Product
- Thread starter Stuart60611
- Start date
poolkeeper1
New member
Good luck
Good luck
Don't go too far in the extreme opposite of what you had, I think as long as the pellets are gently tumbling you should be alright. Maybe start with 1/2 of what you had before and get it moving and see where it goes, Good luck.
Bill:wave:
Good luck
Don't go too far in the extreme opposite of what you had, I think as long as the pellets are gently tumbling you should be alright. Maybe start with 1/2 of what you had before and get it moving and see where it goes, Good luck.
Bill:wave:
PowermanKW
New member
When N and P pellets came out there was a lot of discussion on giving them a lot of flow. Warner Marine says no such extreme flow is needed with EcoBak. That running them in a mesh bag in the sump is fine. However, starving flow in a reactor is what I would avoid. I had mine tumbling gently just to be able to see all the media moving and to know I did not have any channels or areas without flow. So you don't need a tornado, just get some flow.
And ya.... my MJ 900 was not enough on my 500ml.... I put a Mag 5 in to run my ecobak and carbon reactors in parrallel.
And ya.... my MJ 900 was not enough on my 500ml.... I put a Mag 5 in to run my ecobak and carbon reactors in parrallel.
JRaquatics
New member
I just received 1L of the new Warner Marine EcoBAK pellets to experiment on my personal 180gal display. I have been intrigued about the solid vodka dosing for some time know and with the a company like Warner Marine entering this market I just had to give it a shot. With work and summer activities my tank has taken serious neglect so effects of this product will be easily noticed and I plan to keep everything controlled for 4-5 months to evaluate this very promising product. If it works like I imagine it will this will be added to the list of common reef necessities like GFO and activated carbon.
A little about my tank, equipment, livestock and maintenance.
I have a standard AGA 180 gal with a 75 gal sump. The sump contains a DSB of about 8" but I no longer have any macro algae. I have a Reef Octopus XP3000ext on the system and only use activated carbon on occasion. The systems circulation is provided by 3 MP40 Vortechs. I will place the new Warner Marine EcoBAK Pellets in my ATB media reactor and will feed it off of my manifold that is fed off my Reeflo Dart return pump. I plan to test the water parameters tonight and place the media on line.
Here is the most recent shot of the 180gal with the LEDs on. I will get a more up-to-date shot tonight to document the results.
A little about my tank, equipment, livestock and maintenance.
I have a standard AGA 180 gal with a 75 gal sump. The sump contains a DSB of about 8" but I no longer have any macro algae. I have a Reef Octopus XP3000ext on the system and only use activated carbon on occasion. The systems circulation is provided by 3 MP40 Vortechs. I will place the new Warner Marine EcoBAK Pellets in my ATB media reactor and will feed it off of my manifold that is fed off my Reeflo Dart return pump. I plan to test the water parameters tonight and place the media on line.
Here is the most recent shot of the 180gal with the LEDs on. I will get a more up-to-date shot tonight to document the results.
I just received 1L of the new Warner Marine EcoBAK pellets to experiment on my personal 180gal display. I have been intrigued about the solid vodka dosing for some time know and with the a company like Warner Marine entering this market I just had to give it a shot. With work and summer activities my tank has taken serious neglect so effects of this product will be easily noticed and I plan to keep everything controlled for 4-5 months to evaluate this very promising product. If it works like I imagine it will this will be added to the list of common reef necessities like GFO and activated carbon.
A little about my tank, equipment, livestock and maintenance.
I have a standard AGA 180 gal with a 75 gal sump. The sump contains a DSB of about 8" but I no longer have any macro algae. I have a Reef Octopus XP3000ext on the system and only use activated carbon on occasion. The systems circulation is provided by 3 MP40 Vortechs. I will place the new Warner Marine EcoBAK Pellets in my ATB media reactor and will feed it off of my manifold that is fed off my Reeflo Dart return pump. I plan to test the water parameters tonight and place the media on line.
Here is the most recent shot of the 180gal with the LEDs on. I will get a more up-to-date shot tonight to document the results.
Jeremy,
You may need to dial your skimmer back to keep from having to change the cup every day. The skimmate runs thin after about day 4. If you don't mind the xtra work then disregard.
DJ
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JRaquatics
New member
Thanks for the heads up. I plan to run things as they do now unless I absolutely had to change a setting due to overflow. I want to keep things as controlled as possible so I can document the changes and experiences as precisely as possible.
solitude127
Proud user of IO Salt!
Does anyone have a video of how the pellets should tumble? I just put my pellets online and have it T'd off my pump for my fuge. I have a valve controlling the flow so I can adjust the tumble. TIA
JRaquatics
New member
So far the only thing I notice with the initial use of the WM Ecobak pellets is that they tend to clump together inside the reactor. Not like the way GFO can turn to rock but more like a soft bond that is easily shifted out of place. I've read this is normal and only temporary as I have only been running them for a few days now.
JRaquatics
New member
^ That is exactly what it is like.
poolkeeper1
New member
Sticky
Sticky
:frog:
After running them for several months they are getting even more sticky and have now started to channel in the reactor. They do free up if you shake the reactor (BRS) duel but go right back to clumping in short order. Every thing looks great in my tank and since adding the additional 250ml in the second chamber my glass is staying algae free longer, Colors Pop, but i still have Cheato growing at a good clip and some algae in spots on my rocks. The brown Diatoms are still popping up here and there on my sandbed even though I'm running Chemipure Elite 3 units for around 100 gal water volume.
They are not doing any harm and would say they have my SPS looking as good as when I dosed Vodka so No harm No foul, I guess still to soon to make a defined statement on these pellets. I will go 6 months and by then will have a opinion on how good or bad they have done in my situation.
Bill:thumbsup:
Sticky
:frog:
After running them for several months they are getting even more sticky and have now started to channel in the reactor. They do free up if you shake the reactor (BRS) duel but go right back to clumping in short order. Every thing looks great in my tank and since adding the additional 250ml in the second chamber my glass is staying algae free longer, Colors Pop, but i still have Cheato growing at a good clip and some algae in spots on my rocks. The brown Diatoms are still popping up here and there on my sandbed even though I'm running Chemipure Elite 3 units for around 100 gal water volume.
They are not doing any harm and would say they have my SPS looking as good as when I dosed Vodka so No harm No foul, I guess still to soon to make a defined statement on these pellets. I will go 6 months and by then will have a opinion on how good or bad they have done in my situation.
Bill:thumbsup:
Stuart60611
New member
I have been using them also for a bit, and mine too are still sticky. As indicated, you can shake the reactor a bit, and they separate. However, a day or so later they are back to sticking. My algae has changed since discontinuing the vodka and exclusively using the pellets. I am using 1.5 liters on an estimated water volume of 140 gallon fowlr which is heavily stocked. My algae has completely vanished in some places and actually become greener with more growth in other places. Very strange.
JRaquatics
New member
Is it possible you are leaching nutrients from these areas?
Stuart60611
New member
That was my thought. It would explain why such growth is occuring on rock because the rock in those places absorbed phosphate. However, what is strange is that I am seeing some very green hair algae growth on my overflows and powerheads which I do not think can absorb nutrients.
It's a flow related issue. The currents hand deliver nutrients to the area of growth. It's just a symptom of not completely stripping the nutrients from the water. I'm coming to the conclusion that while the pellets help, unfortunately they are not a complete solution in many cases.
DJ
JRaquatics
New member
IME the overflows and powerheads are always the last places algae will grow until its food source is depleted. I believe this is due to the amount of fresh water flow that is drawn to these areas and the position the are from the lighting makes it the ideal last spot for growth. Do you occasionally baste or blow your live rock off?
Stuart60611
New member
f
Thanks, and that makes a lot of sense. I agree that the pellets may simply be unable to handle a particular's systems nutrient load. I have an extremely stocked tank and feed enormous amounts of meaty food daily -- some which definitely breaks into little pieces which rot in the system. Even with this in mind, I am running 1.5 liters which should be able to handle up to a 300 gallon water volume. As such, I do not think adding more pellets is the answer, at least, for me. Now, what I have to figure out is what to use in conjunction with the pellets to solve my nutrient problems. Although I have not been testing because it is pointless in light of the false readings I would get due to the algae, my strong suspicion is that phosphate is my real problem and not nitrate. I just put some GFO on line, but I imagine that it will become saturated fast and pretty expensive to use to reduce my phosphate. I have been looking into alternatives to reduce phosphate, particularlly lantheum, but I have not pulled the trigger on the lantheum because I have yet to find a method to dose which I am comfortable would remove the percipitate and am concerned about those who report fish deaths from its dosing. I wonder if there are other waste water cleaning technologies that could be adapted to aquarium use, like the pellets, which more directly target phosphate?
Thanks, and that makes a lot of sense. I agree that the pellets may simply be unable to handle a particular's systems nutrient load. I have an extremely stocked tank and feed enormous amounts of meaty food daily -- some which definitely breaks into little pieces which rot in the system. Even with this in mind, I am running 1.5 liters which should be able to handle up to a 300 gallon water volume. As such, I do not think adding more pellets is the answer, at least, for me. Now, what I have to figure out is what to use in conjunction with the pellets to solve my nutrient problems. Although I have not been testing because it is pointless in light of the false readings I would get due to the algae, my strong suspicion is that phosphate is my real problem and not nitrate. I just put some GFO on line, but I imagine that it will become saturated fast and pretty expensive to use to reduce my phosphate. I have been looking into alternatives to reduce phosphate, particularlly lantheum, but I have not pulled the trigger on the lantheum because I have yet to find a method to dose which I am comfortable would remove the percipitate and am concerned about those who report fish deaths from its dosing. I wonder if there are other waste water cleaning technologies that could be adapted to aquarium use, like the pellets, which more directly target phosphate?
I think what you have to take away from all of this is systems really shouldn't be based on gallons or litres, but instead on total bioload. If your 55 gallon reef setup looks like a freshly stocked feederfish tank then it's certainly going to take more media to bring nutrient levels under control than a 600 gallon peninsular setup with a few neatly placed designer bonsai critters. I think we need to move away from this whole water volume concept when it comes to filtration, and actually look at the amount of energy that's being supplied to a specific volume of water.
DJ
