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Ryanerickson
10-25-2016, 03:15 PM
Thought I would show people this new product I got from brightwell it's called a bio brick.
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab208/ryan_erickson/Screenshot_20161025-080149_zpsqtlblnxv.png
Here a write up from brightwell

Xport Bioplate is a new biomedia product from Brightwell Aquatics which can satisfy the most demanding needs for biological filtration. We’ve seen this form of molded biomedia products for years but Brightwell has actually been perfecting the ‘recipe’ for this loaf of biologically active surface area for many years now.

The new Brightwell Xport Bioplates are ceramic bricks with a huge surface area due to a huge concentration of microscopic and nano sized pores. The total surface area of each Xport Bioplate is upwards of 97,000 square feet that brightwell claims can treat up to 1,250 gallons of aquarium water each.

So the brick got a quick ro rinse, then doped in a large zip lock bag full of tank water and aquaforest pro bio s (bacteria source) over night. Next day it was placed in sump on egg crate stand so top 1/4 inch or so is exposed to air. Last step is adding a slow water source over the top.
More pics
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab208/ryan_erickson/20161025_075213_zpsdlutgkjw.jpg
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab208/ryan_erickson/20161025_075223_zpsaxbwki2d.jpg
Most of this info of propper use came straight from the owner of brightwell aquatics thanks to jess 😀 my brick has been in my new system for about a week I'm hoping it will help create a healthy environment with minimal live rock. Right now nitrates in system are 0 and phosphates are anywhere between .02-.07 I'll keep everyone updated on how this works out.

duncangweller
10-25-2016, 04:17 PM
I didn't realise it was actually the size of a brick.

dino
10-25-2016, 04:47 PM
what did it cost roughly?

Bblinks
10-25-2016, 04:51 PM
I have it fully submerged in my tank and it has been doing wonders. NO3 went from 10 plus to 2 ppm in less than 2 weeks. These blocks are embedded with sulfur hence the dramatic reduction in NO3. I got another one coming from JL aquatics as they will be carrying it. Great product, would recommend anyone who has trouble keeping their NO3 down to give it a try.

Bblinks
10-25-2016, 04:52 PM
what did it cost roughly?

I think JL will have them around 50-60 bucks

Ryanerickson
10-25-2016, 05:38 PM
Rich the no3 brick is embedded with sulfur not the bio brick not sure what yours is. Mine was 36 american if I remember correctly.

dino
10-25-2016, 06:49 PM
not on j and l website yet

dino
10-25-2016, 06:53 PM
website says this

You can use more bricks than the capacity shown above. You can't have too much filtration, the bacterial growth will be self limiting. It is prudent to use a whole brick even in smaller systems down to about 50 U.S. gallons. If the system is smaller than that, then use the cubes instead. For nitrification, or removal of ammonia and nitrite, employing the brick aerobically, or above the water line will provide maximum results. To do this, mount the brick in air, above the water level, and run a small stream of water through the brick. It is not necessary or desirable to run the whole flow of the main system pump through the brick. A flow of about 40 to 80 liters per hour is ideal. An adjustable flow control will allow you to adjust the water flow to only that which will flow through (and not around) the brick. On the other hand, removing nitrate is an anaerobic process and limiting oxygen to the brick as much as possible will maximize the nitrate removal. In this case, mount the brick beneath the water surface in the sump in a very low flow area, if possible.



To use one brick for both aerobic nitrification and anaerobic denitrification, mount the brick below the water surface and provide medium flow around it. The bacteria growing in the top 1/4" of the surface of the brick will be aerobic and will use up all the oxygen so that the inside of the brick goes anoxic or anaerobic. Anaerobic denitrifying bacteria will then colonize the internal surfaces of the brick and you will get both nitrification on the surface and denitrification in the internal parts.



While the BIO Brick will perform both nitrification and denitrification, if your need is primarily for denitrification, you should purchase the NO3 Brick instead or in addition.



One important criteria in marine systems is gas exchange. Xport is the best bacterial media in the world, but it is not good at gas exchange. Bio balls are the best for gas exchange, so any system will work better with a small stack of bio balls placed in the main flow (in air).

Ryanerickson
10-26-2016, 11:02 PM
Wow this is a much better explanation thanks dino

dino
01-28-2017, 04:38 PM
Help my brick is crumbling apart? I guess I'll try to contact JL to see if they can help

SoloSK71
01-28-2017, 07:15 PM
They all crumble. They are soft, to the point with some that even handling them by the edges will cause the edge to crush.

Handle with care, don't place them where they will be subject to being touched and they should be fine.

Charles

dino
01-29-2017, 01:26 PM
oh well that's kinda disappointing. I don't think it will last a year even without touching it

Ryanerickson
01-29-2017, 03:48 PM
Mine is in perfect shape still but I did touch it after seeing this post it sure is soft.

SoloSK71
01-29-2017, 06:38 PM
oh well that's kinda disappointing. I don't think it will last a year even without touching it

It should not be that soft, if I am reading between the lines here correctly. Water flowing over it should not cause it to erode or crumble unless you have a jet hitting it. If the brick is crumbling just sitting in the water I would take some pictures and talk to Brightwell directly. They have incredible customer service.

Charles

dino
01-29-2017, 07:56 PM
Mine is just sitting in the sump. I purchased from JL and sent them a message. I'll wait to see if they respond. I'll also try brightwell if they don't respond

RogueSnail
02-02-2017, 12:24 PM
It will dissolve like my marine pure block did over a year's time, if the flow is to high around it.

IronChefItaly
02-03-2017, 12:06 AM
I have it fully submerged in my tank and it has been doing wonders. NO3 went from 10 plus to 2 ppm in less than 2 weeks. These blocks are embedded with sulfur hence the dramatic reduction in NO3. I got another one coming from JL aquatics as they will be carrying it. Great product, would recommend anyone who has trouble keeping their NO3 down to give it a try.
If the biological media contains reactive sulfur then it must also eventually exhaust?

Similar product, I decided to experiment with the MarinePure 8x8x4" brick and two quarts of spheres with my Red Sea Reefer 250 build and so far I'm quite happy. It's difficult to say with any certainty how much of an effect them being present in my sump has on the phosphate and nitrate reduction.

Nutrient import…
- medium bioload, heavy fish feeding
- BRS reef chili and phytoplankton 2-3 times a week
- 3ml of Red Sea coran energy A & B daily.

Nutrient export…
- Bubble Magus NAC3.5 skimmer
- Chaeto
- 2 ml of Red Sea NOPO-X daily (started at 5ml when my system was new)
- 20% water changes bimonthly

All that said, I am able to maintain very low values of 0.02 PO4 and 0 NO3 – I'm currently working on elevating the NO3 to 0.3 ppm ideally. I've built my system with the main considerations of it being stable with little maintenance and simple and after a few months of messing around with different products I think it's finally working and I think the extra biological media has a sizable influence. It would however, be nice to see the results of someone implementing bio bricks to a mature system where variables were limited so the effect could be easier to measure. Also, after 5 months my brick shows no visible signs of degrading.

http://imgur.com/nvxVcEv
http://imgur.com/ADp8SPy

Pictures for reference. My overflow feeds into the rear, right chamber that is loaded about half way with MarinePure spheres – this is also where my carbon is dosed. From there, the water flows through the filter socks and into the larger chamber in the front. This front chamber houses my skimmer as well as a flock of macro algae that sits on a 8x8x4" Marinepure brick – spray bar was mounted to the end of my carbon reactor loop to aerate and keep the algae clear of detritus. Lastly, water flows from the front chamber over a baffle and into a bubble trap that houses more MarinePure spheres and into the return pump chamber.

RogueSnail
02-03-2017, 12:30 AM
Hope it doesn't turn into a block of gel after a few years .

SoloSK71
02-03-2017, 01:07 AM
If the biological media contains reactive sulfur then it must also eventually exhaust?

Correct, the sulphur will be used up by the bacteria that perform anaerobic nitrate removal in the NOx brick. The Bio brick does not contain the sulphur and does not really do much nitrate removal.

Charles

Animal-Chin
05-11-2017, 05:01 PM
Just thought I'd up this to see if people are still happy with it? I'm done with carbon dosing, my system seems to hate it. Are you guys still happy with the brick?

IronChefItaly
05-11-2017, 11:01 PM
Just thought I'd up this to see if people are still happy with it? I'm done with carbon dosing, my system seems to hate it. Are you guys still happy with the brick?
No signs of my brick degrading as others have experienced - though mine is a Marine Pure product, not Brightwell.

I've been adjusting and experimenting with carbon dosing for over a year now. It took me a while to dial everything in because I upgraded my system in between and I've also juggled many of the popular nutrient export methods to find a combination that worked for me and my system. To not go into too much detail, the issues I experienced with carbon dosing all revolve around using too much and keeping my nutrients too low relative to the rest of my parameters. I've lowered my alkalinity and calcium from 10.0 dkh and 450 to 7.8 dkh and 410, phosphate has always naturally settled at 0.03 ppm and lastly I use to keep my nitrates at 0.5 ppm but get much better growth and color in my SPS when I keep it around 5 ppm. These adjustments have also allowed me to become less reliant on my carbon dosing (2 ml of NOPOX a day on a 250 liter system).

Wheelman76
05-12-2017, 07:46 AM
Just thought I'd up this to see if people are still happy with it? I'm done with carbon dosing, my system seems to hate it. Are you guys still happy with the brick?



Ideally you're going to want to carbon dose with the brick , unless you have other means to manage nutrients. These bricks are really nothing more than a product with massive , massive surface area for bacteria to live. If you want to drive the bacterial population to higher levels, you're probably going to have to carbon dose , at least minimally. Now if you're managing nutrients with other means as well , like a refugium etc , then the brick may help , especially if you're running a bare bottom tank , or do not have a lot of live rock in the system.

dino
05-12-2017, 10:37 PM
Have to admit I have not monitored mine close enough to comment. Somewhat bought it as preventative but I can say my brick is a lot smaller and I got it in December. If this sight wasn't so lame for posting pics if show it