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

[Pescador]

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

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.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

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.

All of the Pellets should be churning and moving in the reactor, more flow the better. My pellets are turning and flowing around my reactor with heavy flow. Pellets that are just tumbling on the top is not enough flow.

[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..

[Reefer Rob]

Looks like the pellets work great for reducing nutrients, and safer than carbon dosing. I'm wondering if there's any use for this in a system that already has low nutrients.

I know it produces bacteria that provides food for corals, but won't live rock be doing essentially the same thing? Bacteria-plankton should be sloughing off the rock in the same manner, it's just not as obvious.

Still on the fence... but this looks very interesting.

[Chin_Lee]

What are you guys using on the TLF reactors to get these thing tumbling? MJ1200?

[banditpowdercoat]

Originally Posted by Chin_Lee

What are you guys using on the TLF reactors to get these thing tumbling? MJ1200?

I've just T'd off my Sump return. A Little Giant 4

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Originally Posted by Chin_Lee

What are you guys using on the TLF reactors to get these thing tumbling? MJ1200?

MJ1200 is what I am using and works perfectly.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Originally Posted by Reefer Rob

Looks like the pellets work great for reducing nutrients, and safer than carbon dosing. I'm wondering if there's any use for this in a system that already has low nutrients.

I know it produces bacteria that provides food for corals, but won't live rock be doing essentially the same thing? Bacteria-plankton should be sloughing off the rock in the same manner, it's just not as obvious.

Still on the fence... but this looks very interesting.

Absolutely there is use for these in an already low nutrient system, I can now feed more and more often resulting in even happier fatter fish. The beautiful part of the pellets is that they are only used up based on the amount of nutrients in the system to sustain the bacteria. If the nutrients are low the pellets will deplete very slowly and the bacteria populations will be smaller.

[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!