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

[wayner]

Tony Thanks! and keep up the Good Work

[globaldesigns]

I just picked up a 1 litre bag from Tony. I have placed 500ml in my zeolite reactor with 1 litre of zeolites. I have my reactor running on a 3 hour interval and I mix the reactor twice daily.

As I am running 100% Zeo, and Tony is running some Zeo also, I will post with him on what I see. Is this ok with you Tony, as we can keep this in one thread then?

For me I don't have any issues, but want to see what kind of results I will see with color colorization and growth.

I will keep you posted.

[Delphinus]

Quick update. About a week ago I separated the pellets and put them into a phosban reactor, fed by a Maxijet 1200, throttled back on the reactor (not quite full bore on the pump).

I was optimistic that this would be a beneficial change, however, I am simply astonished at the results a week later.

Last week my nitrate reading was 10, as it had been for several weeks prior.

This week, my nitrate reading is bouncing between 3 and 4 (splitting the difference, let's call that 3.5). WOW.

But it gets better. I tested the effluent of the pellet reactor as well as the zeovit reactor:
- The zeolites are pulling nitrate down, the effluent has a reading of 2 for nitrate.
- The pellets have an effluent reading of zero (specifically, "under-range" on the meter, which means <1.0).

[nlreefguy]

but how are your corals doing? In your opinion is the mulm from the biopellets significant as a food source for the corals?

[banditpowdercoat]

How much tumbling do you have in the Phos reactor? And did you use the top foam? I have mine fed off my return pump, so am not sure about the flow. They tumble inside. Any more flow and 'm afraid the pellets would float out the reactors top plate holes and into the sump. Which probably wouldnt hurt, as have a screen on pump intake that is to fine for them to fit through LOL

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by nlreefguy

but how are your corals doing? In your opinion is the mulm from the biopellets significant as a food source for the corals?

I'm not sure. The mulm that gets released is fairly sizeable, unfortunately I don't have anything that eats large things right now - just some photosynthetic gorgonians for the most part.

However, some of the fish go nuts over it, in particular my lavender tang seems to love it.

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

How much tumbling do you have in the Phos reactor? And did you use the top foam? I have mine fed off my return pump, so am not sure about the flow. They tumble inside. Any more flow and 'm afraid the pellets would float out the reactors top plate holes and into the sump. Which probably wouldnt hurt, as have a screen on pump intake that is to fine for them to fit through LOL

I played with the flow so that there was just the slightest bit of tumbling. I actually thought at first it might be better not to have too much tumbling but it started to clump together, so now I think some slight tumbling throughout might be better. I'll try to take a video of it maybe.

I replaced the top foam of the reactor with a single layer of Enkamat. It seems to stop at least 99% of the escapees. If I didn't already have the Enkamat I would have sliced the foam in half like Kien did with his.

Originally Posted by Chin_Lee

Tony - any noticeable difference in PE on your SPS or LPS? I'm starting to ponder the use of this........

I can't really say. All I have are gorgonians and zoanthids in this tank (and clams). I have a pair of butterflies that were slowly turning the tank into a FOWLR so everything else got moved into my frag tank until I decide what to do with the butterflies.

Originally Posted by Pescador

So I've joined the club as well, thanks to a very piggy puffer in my 220. I'm running 2 litres in a converted CA reactor.
It's got a screen of that plastic needle point stuff and 2 layers of Enkamat that seems to work pretty well and not plug up.
But how much flow do you need to tumble this stuff? There's an Eheim 1048 on it now that just barely wakes it up.

I found it wouldn't tumble in the zeovit reactor but then I was agitating that thing manually. The wider diameter of the circle probably means it would need a step up in pump driving it to tumble it..

[Delphinus]

So, I've kind of let some of the week to week updates slide in this thread because there hasn't been much new to report, other than "my nitrates are still basically undetectable."

But it's closing in on 3 months in now (I think, haven't quite counted the weeks, please forgive me if I'm a little off), so I think it's time for an update.

1. Feedings. I have put two auto feeders on my tank. One is programmed to dump food on a 4 hour schedule. The other is a bit more primitive, is a battery operated drum that rotates twice per 24 hours. I've tried to time that one to dump in at 10am (shortly before lights on) and 10pm (shortly before lights out). The other dumps in at 10:30, 2:30, 6:30 and 10:30. I have the light sensor switch on so it only dumps during the daytime when lights are on.

So that is 6 feedings per day. I find it quite significant that I can do this and maintain nitrates at undetectable. I think the fish are looking great.


2. Filter feeders. I have noticed an increase in the density of feather dusters in the sump, particularly on the baffle directly downstream of the reactor effluent. I think that is telling.

I couldn't quite get perfect pictures that illustrate the phenomenon, but here is what I did manage to photograph:






3. Tumbling. This area hasn't been quite problem free and here's what I can share for key learnings.

It is crucial to optimal performance that the pellets are constantly fluidized energetically.

To that end, it is better to use a smaller volume of pellets than the recommended dosage for your tank volume, if it can be maintained as tumbling - than it is to worry about the volume used. A half litre of pellets will work far better than a full litre if that full litre is not tumbling. What will happen if you use a smaller volume than recommended is that they will dissolve faster and need faster replacement - however the overall nutrient reduction capacity is not diminished with fewer pellets.

I am considering upgrading my feed pump to perhaps a Seltz pump L35 or L40 to increase the vigor of tumbling in my own reactor.


4. Zeovit. I initially went into this with enthusiasm for mixing both systems. As time goes on, I must confess now that I am considering curtailing back the zeolites and compensating with additional pellets. I will still continue with other typical Zeovit products (eg., Coral Snow, Coral Vitalizer, and Sponge Power). At the moment I haven't made any final decisions towards this end, however.

[TJSlayer]

Should be starting the pellets on my tank next week!

[Willito]

hey Ton, what size tank are we talking about and can you name all the occuppance. I just wanted to have a better idea of the bioload. Keep up the good updates, it's very informative.

[RuGlu6]

Well i thought i would be able to hold it for at least 6 month and see how it works for others....

Could not hold any longer and picked up a 500 ml bag of bio pellets today.
I don't like testing and dosing thats why i decided to try this new product.

Like was mentioned before these pellets are promising and make a lot of sense, no dosing is a definite plus.

At any rate , i just simply placed it in TLF media reactor, the flow is whatever it is from MJ 1200 power head.

I do keep SPS and i do have some nuisance algae so that means i have both P04 and N03.
I do Not dose anything (well sometimes magnesium, strontium and occasional kalkwasser) and there is no change in my tank other then pellets.

I will contribute what i can to this new product research