N/P reducing pellets (solid vodka dosing)

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by Genetics

Tntneon, this will be very interesting to watch over the next few months. Any idea what could be in these pellets that allow them to last for such a duration?

I don't know what's in it , but i could ask Jptenklooster what is in the pellets , i don't know if he wants to share this info (the secret of the cook);

And he 's busy , he's become a father again.... , it's a girl
will ask him on the local forum.

greetingzz tntneon

[Frogmanx82]

I didn't get a response from my skimmer question. Carbon dosing typically uses the skimmer to get the bacteria out of the tank and that functions to remove the nitrogen and phosphate.

From what I gather, the bacteria grow on the pellets and we get the conversion of nitrate to N2 and I'm not sure what happens to the phosphate. Since the bacteria are more or less fixed on the pellets, this form of carbon dosing is less dependent on good skimming.

Am I understanding this correctly? What does happen to the phosphate? Will there be a change to the skimmate using the pellets?

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by Frogmanx82

I didn't get a response from my skimmer question. Carbon dosing typically uses the skimmer to get the bacteria out of the tank and that functions to remove the nitrogen and phosphate.

From what I gather, the bacteria grow on the pellets and we get the conversion of nitrate to N2 and I'm not sure what happens to the phosphate. Since the bacteria are more or less fixed on the pellets, this form of carbon dosing is less dependent on good skimming.

Am I understanding this correctly? What does happen to the phosphate? Will there be a change to the skimmate using the pellets?

There`s definitly more bacterial action in the display as well ,
what it does to the po4 removal i don`t know .
I think good skimming is also important with this kind of carbon dosing.

Between the pellets i have almost no build up of bacteria or else (i do stir every day) , so i think the bacteria will grow fast in and on the surface of the pellets (and comsuming them) and when the pellet surface becomes overcrowed , you get some sort of export of bacteria (leeching , diffusing ,..?) to the display as well (2 week start up period) .
I don`t have evidence of this all , it`s all based of what i noticed the past 2 month`s.

greetingzz tntneon

[Genetics]

tntneon, I would agree with you. I am under the impression that using this method would still require a good skimmer.

[tntneon]

-Are there any of you who dose carbon (vodka , vinigar , ..solid pellets...) and also have a refugium ?

If so ,do you see also less pods in/between the macro `s then before you did dose carbon ?

This i experienced first with regular vodka dosing (1/2 year ago) , then after vacation when i stopped dosing carbon the pods came back.
Now with the pellets i see a few pods in my refugium , but not the masses of before.
This is the only down side i experienced , i like seeing them running across the fuge

greetingzz tntneon

[NaClH2Opgh]

I dose vodka (over a year) I can't grow macro anymore so I pulled it and the mud out of my sump. But it has not affected the pod population in my tank at all. My mandarin is fat and happy.

[tatuvaaj]

I also have a lot of pods after years of DOC dosing

[1538Moss]

Is this too much water flow ?
(1L BIO-Pellets in a Fauna Marin : Ultra-Zeo-Matic 1)

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by 1538Moss

Is this too much water flow ?
(1L BIO-Pellets in a Fauna Marin : Ultra-Zeo-Matic 1)

seems fine , if you ask me
I have the same sort of swirling motion in there.
manualy stirring the bottom pellets , is a good practice as well if it's possible.

greetingzz tntneon

[tatuvaaj]

Originally Posted by 1538Moss

Is this too much water flow ?
(1L BIO-Pellets in a Fauna Marin : Ultra-Zeo-Matic 1)

Seems like a great setup!

How much water flow you have through the media?

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by tatuvaaj

Seems like a great setup!

How much water flow you have through the media?

And how much is the volume of the reaktor ?
That plays an important role whether the pellets are fluidies or not.

greetingzz tntneon

[ksed]

Is the effluent best located near a skimmer, so that the bacteria gets taken up as soon as possible or is it best located near the intake of your return pump so that the bacteria can feed the corals?


Thanks
Kevin

[1538Moss]

Volume = 4L
Flow = Aquabee 2000 full throttle, estimate 300L/h
And manually stirring is not a problem since this is a zeolith reactor.

/Pål

[tntneon]

hi reefers ,
I found more info about the pellets on this site

http://www.dvh-import.com/Site2/engl...-products.html

@1538Moss :
-Seems more or less like my turnover rate.
I have a rx volume of 1 l and a flow of 1500 l/h in it , i can`t imagine that it could create anaerobic conditions in there.

greetingzz tntneon

[Frogmanx82]

Now that they are not selling direct, I'm not sure I see how to order the pellets from dvh import.

[eliashickman]

Originally Posted by Frogmanx82

Now that they are not selling direct, I'm not sure I see how to order the pellets from dvh import.

I just got finished talking with the owner of D. van Houten. Mr. Houten himself. A really great guy by the way.

http://www.dvh-import.com/Site2/english/Contact.html

Anyway, he told me that for my tank, which is a 60cm cube roughly 300 liters, that I would only need 1/2 a liter of the pellets.
He states that, at least to South Korea where I'm located, the price for shipping is as follows:
1 litre of biopellets (they ship in 1 liter bags) is 60 euros.
and
2 kilos shipping and handling is 25 euros.
He said 2 litres of biopellets (2 bags) will be under 2 kilos. So if I (in Seoul) wanted 2 litres, it would be 60+60+25=145 euros total. So I'm sure that to the States it's about the same.

He also stated that it could be put in a Two Little Fishies Phosban Reactor as long as it was moving around and had the mesh insert at the bottom (to collect particulate).

I'm looking forward to more information only because the website is slightly vague about specifications. I can't wait to order though.

Okay so for ordering, you can just send him money through info@dvh-import.com he said.


Side note: He talked a bunch about his friend's tank and said that the guy is feeding 12 times a day!!!! That he has gorgonians and some other exotic filter feeding species in there. AND he said that his friend doesn't have a problem with NO3 or PO4. The food that he feeds is some type of "encapsulated food with neutral buoyancy".

@Frogmanx82. I asked about his friend's skimmate too.
His friend has to clean the skimmer cup every three days because it's "black like coffee. But not French" coffee. Hahaha

[Frogmanx82]

So these would not work for a fresh water tank because no skimmer right?

[tatuvaaj]

Originally Posted by Frogmanx82

So these would not work for a fresh water tank because no skimmer right?

I think FW people use mechanical/biological filters that would export the bacterial biomass when they are cleaned? It's been 20 years since I've had FW aquarium so my knowledge might be a, hmm, a bit outdated

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by Frogmanx82

So these would not work for a fresh water tank because no skimmer right?

-I just re-read the orginal thread , on the local forum , because your question was there asked too.

Jptenklooster replyed there that it`s also for freshwater tanks.

But if you use CO2 injection on fw tank you nomaly won`t have any NO3
or PO4 issues.
In my case i`ve got add nitrate and phosphate to my FW tank and harvest waterplants every 2 weeks ,otherwise i`ve got an tropical rainforrest instead of FW amzone tank

greetingzz tntneon

[tntneon]

It seems like the pellets provide alot of food for the corals.
My no3 is at zero now for 1.5 week (po4 was already zero) , and i had to clean my glass every 2 a 3 days.
Three days ago a dosed my trace elements and my fluor/iodide supplement at the same day.
I dosed the recommended dose , not the safe margin i always dosed (1/2 recommended)
The following day i had to clean my glass 2 times ,even as NO3 and
PO4 where zero.
Now i`m back to the normal glass cleaning regime (once 2 a 3 days)

I think that i had some sort nutrient overload , w/o any measurable no3 or po4.
Another lesson leaned , not to dose to much trace elements at once or else
the algea would be more in the advantage again to up take nutrients before they enter watercoloum.

GHa is almost away now , it is a slow process it`s now 1 month that the GHA volume is decreasing .
I think it will take an other month to be completly away.

greetingzz tntneon

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by ksed

Is the effluent best located near a skimmer, so that the bacteria gets taken up as soon as possible or is it best located near the intake of your return pump so that the bacteria can feed the corals?


Thanks
Kevin

A little late maybe but beter late then never .
I asked this on Jp `s original topic on local forum , and someboby of coralsience replyed to me that there`s enough bacteria and food with this methode that bypassing skimmer (with pellet reactor outlet) could result in Ph drops at night as ever greather growing bacterial mass are up taking o2 and expelling co2.
And there for the pellets are best use with water direktly comming from display and that oulet comes in the skimmer area .

greetingzz tntneon

[Frogmanx82]

Hmm.... I have an intank tunze nano skimmer. Could I load the pellets into the base of the skimmer?

[kaskiles]

Wouldn't it be neat if the biopellets were light enough to fluidize within a non-recirculating skimmer chamber, yet heavy enough to not be skimmed out into the collection cup? Might work best in an air powered skimmer... Oh, I guess they would blow out the outlet anyway.

[chaderic26]

They were talking about these pellets at the CRASE in Oklahoma last week. It was cool to hear about something I was already following.

In the loop I am.

[buddah001]

So how do we get these?