N/P Reducing Pellets ("Solid Vodka") - "Wow" ... 3 month update

Delphinus · #1 02-06-2010, 06:44 AM

Welcome to Canreef.

I don't really have any before/after shots, although I suppose I could dig up a photo from a month ago and take another in the same angle. But to be honest there's really not that much visually to go on. The only metric I have that something is happening is the nitrate reading.

Pescador · #2 02-06-2010, 06:22 PM

Hey Tony, I know you have a nitrate meter but are there any test kits that you tried that compare to your meter readings?
I have kits by Salifert, Hagen, and Elos. They are all different values and hard to read. I guess I should forget about numbers and just stick to one test and look for a decrease.

Delphinus · #3 02-06-2010, 09:25 PM

I think I have both Elos and Salifert for nitrate but it's been some time since I used them. Unless it's a really low reading I usually have a really hard time with colour comparisons and there's a lot of guesswork involved. It's like you say, I end up just using them to spot trends rather than establish an actual number.

Pescador · #4 02-07-2010, 10:12 PM

I finally got some movement tumbling the pellets, I tee'd off the aux pump and still using the Eheim.
There's 65 gph exiting the reactor so we'll see what happens. My nitrates are bad, closer to the dark side of the chart.

selekt · #5 02-08-2010, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Welcome to Canreef.

I don't really have any before/after shots, although I suppose I could dig up a photo from a month ago and take another in the same angle. But to be honest there's really not that much visually to go on. The only metric I have that something is happening is the nitrate reading.

Thank you.

Well I was just wondering if you were experiencing the crazy colours and growth that is being experienced with vodka dosing and other similar methods (bacteria driven).

RuGlu6 · #6 02-10-2010, 09:14 AM

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

from Dr. van Houten
NP-Reducing BioPellets Product Guidelines
http://www.dvh-import.com/Site2/Prod...-products.html

globaldesigns · #7 02-10-2010, 03:43 PM

Just an update:

Since moving the Pellets to their own fluidizer, powered by a MJ1200, I can see even quicker changes. I am running 1 full litre of the pellets now and can say that the green film algae on my glass is litterally falling off and turning a dark brown color. Any algae or other un-wanted stuff on my rocks are forming a dark brown covering on it and when I use my turkey baster to blow it off, it reveals a nice clean rock underneath.

All I can say is this stuff is working. Haven't tested nitrates yet, but will probably do that tonight.

Willito · #8 02-10-2010, 03:43 PM

Ok Tony, it's been almost 6 weeks since you started, what is your conclusion at this point. I ask becasue I want to know if the results are anything echoed by the creator. He states that it would take 2-4 weeks to see progress. What positives, if any, have you observed up to this point. Negative? I am all for it if you does what it claims, as I am in need of such remedy for my large fish population. Tell us the real truth.

Delphinus · #9 02-10-2010, 04:17 PM

Pretty much full on win in my opinion. To me the most telling thing is that in a single-passthrough Phosban reactor running maybe 3/4litre of pellets that the water at the input had a nonzero nitrate reading, and the water exiting at the output had a zero nitrate reading, not just a slightly reduced reading an actual zero reading. Thus the turnover proportion through the reactor versus the tank volume becomes the limiting factor in how fast you will see nitrate reduction in your tank.

In a nutshell, I would say it does what they claim, but if anything what we can learn from this thread is that how you run it is the most important variable. The pellets will do nothing for you or in fact can make nitrates worse if just run passively - they need to be fluidized 24/7. So the the reactor you choose needs to be sized appropriately or you have to tailor back the volume so that the reactor you do use can appropriately energize the pellets without clumping issues or slamming into the top of the reactor and gumming up. The slightest obstruction at the output means the mulm will not have a chance to escape and it's amazing how fast it builds up and then the pellets start to congeal together. It's important to have a strong skimmer removing mulm from the water column.

But compared to other methods I've run - ULNS, sulfur denitrators, chaeto, remote DSB's .. this one seems the most win. ULNS work better for visual results but involves more labor, my sulfur denitrators never dented my nitrates and I tried many different configurations, chaeto never makes a dent for me, and neither did remote DSB.

I would totally recommend for a heavy FOWLR as well as a reef.

Delphinus · #10 02-10-2010, 04:21 PM

Another thought - I would say it's more important to have the reactor charged up and able to run energized pellets without intervention, than the actual total volume of pellets itself. Ie, if the recommendations are 1 litre per 100g, but your reactor can only reliably fluidize say somewhere between 1/2 - 3/4 litre of pellets, then run the 1/2 - 3/4 instead, and just plan to reload the reactor more often than you might with the larger volume.