My EcoBak Solid Carbon Source Journey

[Rizup]

Originally Posted by Maximus

DOH, didnt even see that Gresh. Thanks again!

I would go to Hobby Lobby if you have one. They had a few different sizes. I had to get the bigger ones and cut them down a little. I went to Michael's and they didn't have any. Maybe Jo Anne would have them too, not sure.

[Toadally]

Originally Posted by Maximus

Did you take out the sponges in the BRS reactor? If so, may I ask what you used in place of them? The Eco-Bak tends to come out of the reactor as the sponges are gone.

Im still using the sponges....and I'm not using the Eco-Bak, I'm using the Vertex Pellets.

[Rizup]

Originally Posted by Toadally

Im still using the sponges....and I'm not using the Eco-Bak, I'm using the Vertex Pellets.

I think the rest of us are using EcoBak, but its cool. Jon had mentioned that running his reactor with the sponge, the sponge clogged after a few months. That's the reasoning behind the "plastic circle mod"

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Rizup

I would go to Hobby Lobby if you have one. They had a few different sizes. I had to get the bigger ones and cut them down a little. I went to Michael's and they didn't have any. Maybe Jo Anne would have them too, not sure.

Found some at Michaels! Let's hope this stuff works out for the best.

[Rizup]

Originally Posted by Maximus

Found some at Michaels! Let's hope this stuff works out for the best.

Sweet! Let us know how it goes.

[Toadally]

Is everyone still dosing bacter7?? I'm still doing daily dosing....

[sedor]

Ya the reason you don't want to use sponges is because in a normal reactor you are changing the media out quite often and the sponges collect a bunch of crud that you would normally just clean off every couple weeks to a month when your replacing your media. Not to mention they restrict quite a bit of flow. With these bio pellets, you aren't going to be touching them for at least 6 months. Eventually they will dissolve just like the media in a calcium reactor does, so by using sponges they would eventually get all clogged up.

As far as bacter7 goes...I stopped using it quite a while ago (maybe around 6 months) and didn't notice much of a change when I did so. My personal opinion is that its just a fancy bottle. I don't doubt that is does actually contain bacteria strains that are beneficial, I just don't think its absolutely necessary.

Nothing new to report really on my specific journey. The EcoBak pellets have started to tumble around a lot more and aren't getting all stuck together like they have been and i've since cut down my vodka dose from 19 ml to now 4 ml per day and in a week I won't be dosing vodka at all. I haven't noticed a change at all, so either the pellets are taking over as a carbon source or I never needed vodka in the first place I'm going to do a low res NO3 test tonight with a salifert kit to see if there has been any sort of spike at all. I have continued to feed quite heavily so if the pellets aren't working it should be quite obvious.

[Toadally]

Originally Posted by sedor

Ya the reason you don't want to use sponges is because in a normal reactor you are changing the media out quite often and the sponges collect a bunch of crud that you would normally just clean off every couple weeks to a month when your replacing your media. Not to mention they restrict quite a bit of flow. With these bio pellets, you aren't going to be touching them for at least 6 months. Eventually they will dissolve just like the media in a calcium reactor does, so by using sponges they would eventually get all clogged up.

As far as bacter7 goes...I stopped using it quite a while ago (maybe around 6 months) and didn't notice much of a change when I did so. My personal opinion is that its just a fancy bottle. I don't doubt that is does actually contain bacteria strains that are beneficial, I just don't think its absolutely necessary.

Nothing new to report really on my specific journey. The EcoBak pellets have started to tumble around a lot more and aren't getting all stuck together like they have been and i've since cut down my vodka dose from 19 ml to now 4 ml per day and in a week I won't be dosing vodka at all. I haven't noticed a change at all, so either the pellets are taking over as a carbon source or I never needed vodka in the first place I'm going to do a low res NO3 test tonight with a salifert kit to see if there has been any sort of spike at all. I have continued to feed quite heavily so if the pellets aren't working it should be quite obvious.

At the same time though, wouldn't the sponges keep the crude out of the bio pellets? I have the dual reactor and change carbon out about every two weeks. It wouldn't be a hassle to me to clean the sponges at the same time.

[ptr13]

I attempted the vertex np pellets in my reactor and it seems like the fishes did not like it,they were reacting differently to it for some reason and my po4 raised up to .5 using salifert. Does it need a different reactor,I used my GFO reactor from BRS supply? So I reverted back to my iron after one week and PO4 decreased to just .1.What am I doing wrong?

[Toadally]

Originally Posted by ptr13

I attempted the vertex np pellets in my reactor and it seems like the fishes did not like it,they were reacting differently to it for some reason and my po4 raised up to .5 using salifert. Does it need a different reactor,I used my GFO reactor from BRS supply? So I reverted back to my iron after one week and PO4 decreased to just .1.What am I doing wrong?

You say your fish didn't like it? In what way?

I also use a BRS reactor, dual, and it seems to be working just fine. I'm using a MJ1200 pump and the flow seems to be good enough to tumble the media.

I placed the media online this past Thursday evening. My PO4 is still zero using a Hannah meter... I think the pellets for the most part reduce NO3. If I'm wrong, please someone correct me..

[sedor]

At the same time though, wouldn't the sponges keep the crude out of the bio pellets? I have the dual reactor and change carbon out about every two weeks. It wouldn't be a hassle to me to clean the sponges at the same time.

According to the research I have done, the idea is to have enough flow through the pellets that any crud or gunk just goes right through them. I can't imagine how over a period of time, say 3 or 4 months the sponge would still be holding up and allowing any water to pass through it. Just my .02 though, let us know how it turns out.

As far as PO4 goes this is something that I am very interested in seeing. I have always fought higher PO4 and thus never really achieved the coral color I was looking for. Vodka dosing was making a dent in the PO4 but one of the reasons I moved to the pellets was because I was starting to have to dose what I thought was to much vodka into the tank on a daily basis. I have read that bio-pellets will in fact affect both NO3 and PO4, but just how much is something we will have to see later on in my case. Honestly I don't test for PO4 so I will make all my assumptions based on coral coloration for now.

Another result worth noting so far is that I have seen quite a drastic die off of the bacteria (slime) growing on the tank walls, in the plumbing etc etc. Its been cut in half at least which is exactly what the bio-pellets claim to do so in that respect I am impressed.

[Toadally]

Originally Posted by sedor

According to the research I have done, the idea is to have enough flow through the pellets that any crud or gunk just goes right through them. I can't imagine how over a period of time, say 3 or 4 months the sponge would still be holding up and allowing any water to pass through it. Just my .02 though, let us know how it turns out.

As far as PO4 goes this is something that I am very interested in seeing. I have always fought higher PO4 and thus never really achieved the coral color I was looking for. Vodka dosing was making a dent in the PO4 but one of the reasons I moved to the pellets was because I was starting to have to dose what I thought was to much vodka into the tank on a daily basis. I have read that bio-pellets will in fact affect both NO3 and PO4, but just how much is something we will have to see later on in my case. Honestly I don't test for PO4 so I will make all my assumptions based on coral coloration for now.

Another result worth noting so far is that I have seen quite a drastic die off of the bacteria (slime) growing on the tank walls, in the plumbing etc etc. Its been cut in half at least which is exactly what the bio-pellets claim to do so in that respect I am impressed.

I have great colors with my coral. My nutrients have always been very low from day one, and I"m sure it's from doing the many water changes that I do. I do daily water changes of 1% total system volume. It's very easy to do and takes less time than feeding the fish.

Speaking of growth on the glass, I have also noticed that there has been a decrease. I'm only cleaning the glass every three or four days, and that's only because I miss doing it.

[GreshamH]

Originally Posted by Maximus

DOH, didnt even see that Gresh. Thanks again!

Were they the same round ones or did you get a sheet that you had to cut circles from?

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by GreshamH

Were they the same round ones or did you get a sheet that you had to cut circles from?

They were the same round ones. Michaels had 3-4 different sized ones as well.

[GreshamH]

Sweet. I couldn't find them on the website and being I the smell nearly kills me in there, I wasn't about to go searching for them I'll first try a craft store in Watsonville as I know needle point is huge around here.

[Maximus]

Gresh, are you going with the Eco Bak?

[GreshamH]

I am. I have a couple liters to play with in various systems. I just need to change out my sponges for filter plates Now that I know Michaels does indeed have it, if I can;t find it this week around here, I'll be blocks away from one in Oakland this coming weekend.

[Toadally]

Update... It absolutely makes a difference where you place the outlet from the reactor. I had mine on the other end of the sump going directly into the return pump area. My PH usually stays around 8.2 - 8.25 during the day and I noticed that it was 8.03 a few minutes ago. I moved the outlet into the skmmier area in front of the intake and could actually watch my PH start to climb. It's now up to 8.13 right now. More than likely oxygen being stripped away by the bacteria and the water being pumped back into the tank. I just hope it doesn't climb too fast. I'll probably start getting more skimmate now (excess bacteria going into the skimmer). I know that the manufacturer gives directions where to place the return, but I didn't listen.

[GreshamH]

I thought DO didn't have an effect on PH though?

[Toadally]

Question, do the bacteria actually use up the oxygen or do they produce CO2 that causes the PH to drop?

I was corrected on another forum... Thanks!

[Toadally]

Ryan, you were correct! I had to take the sponges out due to clogging and or the flow slowing.

[kikireef]

Ok so I have been running EcoBak for about a month now but I have a small problem. I have red bugs and I have interceptor which I am planning on using, however, I don't know what affect this will have on the EcoBak if any. Do you know? Will interceptor kill the bacteria thriving on the EcoBak? Hopefully I can get some feedback quickly as I planned on dosing interceptor tonight. I'm not trying to hijack the thread but I thought this info may be useful to others.

[gcarroll]

Originally Posted by kikireef

Ok so I have been running EcoBak for about a month now but I have a small problem. I have red bugs and I have interceptor which I am planning on using, however, I don't know what affect this will have on the EcoBak if any. Do you know? Will interceptor kill the bacteria thriving on the EcoBak? Hopefully I can get some feedback quickly as I planned on dosing interceptor tonight. I'm not trying to hijack the thread but I thought this info may be useful to others.

Keith it will have no effect on the bacteria.

[bertoni]

Oxygen doesn't affect the pH, but carbon dioxide does. Bacteria can lower the pH by producing carbon dioxide.

[sedor]

Thanks for bringing that up kiki, hopefully that helps someone in the future dealing with the same situation.

As for an update on my particular tank...I have been running about 3 weeks now and today was the last day of vodka dosing. I have slowly cut the dosage in half over the period of 3 weeks and tomorrow my tank goes from 4ml to nothing. I'm excited to see the results, but so far I have noticed no increase in NO3 and the bacteria that used to grow on the sides of the glass and in the plumbing, and everywhere for that matter is being cut back drastically. Skimmate production seems to have slowed down just slightly but i'm assuming that will pick up as the pellets take over. Otherwise, the real news of this whole experiment should start making itself obvious over the next couple weeks.

Just a recap, I am replacing vodka dosing with the EcoBak pellets by warner marine. I have been experiencing a browning of my SPS, and was finding that I was having to add way to much vodka to compete with the PO4 in my system. I am hoping that the pellets will not only take over the vodka's original role and keep the NO3 in bay, but I am also hoping to find that they are effective against PO4. At least more so than vodka.