contaminant in Brightwell Biofuel?
 

Hi, I just bought a bottle of Biofuel yesterday and this is my first time using this product, so I have no idea if this is normal or not but there are some strange particles inside it.

The liquid is clear with some morsel that look like cyano or some type of algea..is that normal? for those who are using this product, do you see these particles in your product? At first I thought it was some artemias enriched with spirulina as it look very similar but I took a clean container and poored another cap full and this is what I got..the bottle is full of that stuff:

This is the pic taken this morning:

http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/y...lparticles.jpg

Danielle thatlooks like lint of something weird wish that i could help you out. I have never heard of that stuff.

Kinda looks like dust in liquid.... Is it jelly like?

Looks contaminated to me.

no it is not jelly like, and it really look more like some type of algae or cyano. It does not dissolve even if I shake it well.

Mine had a bunch of that in the bottom, I didn't shake it well before use. Not sure if it's normal, didn't affect the use though from what I saw.

I've emailed the link to this thread to Chris Brightwell and hopefully he can chime in here. You can email him at info[at]brightwellaquatics[dot]com. I've always been really impressed with the service he offers to us and our customers.

thanks I sent them an email with the photo. I will see what they answer.

Here is what they replied:

"Thank you for contacting us. The material you see in your bottle of Reef BioFuel is the result of slight microbial action in the product; the product is completely safe to use in your aquarium, and the material itself is also completely safe. Should you have additional questions, please feel free to direct them to my attention. Thank you for your interest in Brightwell Aquatics; I sincerely appreciate it. Have a pleasant day.

Kindest regards,

Chris Brightwell"



I can't help to wonder why there is this stuff in some bottle and not in most. I think I am going to switch to something else.

That is interesting. Makes me believe that there IS something actually in that stuff.

In my old tank i used it like crack. It worked very well. I didn't run carbon or pellets, and adding a cap full every 2 days dropped my nitrates from 40-50ppm down to 10ish. I was very impressed.

Did you have the same stuff in the bottle? I am using only Microbacter 7 for now because I am under the impression that I have enough dissolve organic in my aquarium to provide for the bacterias for a week or two. When the little bit of cyano that I have (very little spot on the sand) will be gone I will start with a source of carbon.

It seem that Microbacter 7 is helping as the cyano seem to be receading already.

daniella - if you get the chance - try the prodbio stuff. I was using mb7 but i'm skeptical of how you preserve a specific strain of bacteria in a plastic bottle while not maintaining the cultures temp or providing it an energy source. The prodbio stuff comes sealed in a glass tube with no air (vaccum sealed). I've had good results so far.

Interesting that it is availabe at goreef.com which is not far from my home. I order from them often and the price seem right as well. I think I will give it a try if the Brightwell system does not work. I have 2 bottles of Brightwell and will give it a try since I already have bought them. I will see if it works or not if the air algae that grow in few patches and the cyano that grow in few spots disapear.

The interesting thing about Prodibio is that you only have to dose every 15 days...that's convenient.

I can't help to wonder though...how do they keep aerobic bacterias alive in those sealed vial?

You should ask Chris....he is one of the most educated and responsive owners of additives companies i have spoken too....

whatever works...for me its brightwells...prodibio is abit to snake oil for me.



Wendell

really? so you have tried both and the Brightwell worked but not the prodibio?

I am not sure on what you base your comment on? why do you call it snake oil?

Anyway, I am trying the Brightwell for now and I will see if it works for me. If not, I will go with something else.