144G Half Circle Mixed Reef

[kien]

I have a lot of LPS and so far none of them seem phased by the low nutrients, like zero Nitrates (and presumably phosphates)! They are all still growing (new heads, larger tentacles, etc). I have always spot fed my LPS from time to time though and that routine has not changed.

That is weird about the Coral Snow. I have dosed that stuff too at full dose and never noticed any changes to corals really. Coral snow is very different from the pellets.

[Delphinus]

That's really strange about the Coral Snow... if it was a really fast decline with them then I would suspect brown jelly disease (it's a protozoan) in which a LPS can melt off literally overnight or a matter of hours. And it may have been coincidence with the Coral Snow.

But at any rate, you don't have to do Coral Snow anyhow. It's just something that grabs ahold of the yellowing compounds and makes it easier to skim out so your water is theoretically a little more polished once the initial cloudiness clears up.

And it's totally different than the pellets anyhow. Think of the pellets as an alternative to a phosphate remover that instead 1) does both nitrates and phosphates, and 2) does not need to be replaced every month.

Hope this helps.

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

That's really strange about the Coral Snow... if it was a really fast decline with them then I would suspect brown jelly disease (it's a protozoan) in which a LPS can melt off literally overnight or a matter of hours. And it may have been coincidence with the Coral Snow.

But at any rate, you don't have to do Coral Snow anyhow. It's just something that grabs ahold of the yellowing compounds and makes it easier to skim out so your water is theoretically a little more polished once the initial cloudiness clears up.

And it's totally different than the pellets anyhow. Think of the pellets as an alternative to a phosphate remover that instead 1) does both nitrates and phosphates, and 2) does not need to be replaced every month.

Hope this helps.

Coral snow also acts as a binding agent, making it easier for your corals to assimilate nutrients.....also neutralizes acids that cause diatoms and cyano

The pellets do indeed seem to be the shiz....except for one thing....$100/L and 1L/100g.......ouch!......

Good to hear that your happy with the tank again Girly

[Carmen]

Well I sure got a lesson in both Coral snow and pellets! Cool...! Thanks Tony, Kien and Doug! I know they are pricey! Seen them at the shop! So...I suppose that is a once a month thing then...ouch...ya I think it may be a tough sell in this household!

[kien]

Originally Posted by Carmen

Well I sure got a lesson in both Coral snow and pellets! Cool...! Thanks Tony, Kien and Doug! I know they are pricey! Seen them at the shop! So...I suppose that is a once a month thing then...ouch...ya I think it may be a tough sell in this household!

Once a month as in dumping in pellets once a month? Um, nope! You fill a reactor full of the pellets. You decide how much you want to run depending on your tank size and fish load. The pellets will start to be consumed by bacteria which also consumes Nitrates and Phosphates at the same time. You do not need to dump out the pellets and replace them (like GFO or carbon; not like that at all). Just let the pellets get consumed and as they deplete, top up your reactor as needed. They do not deplete that quickly actually. I have been running a liter of pellets for about 3 months now and still do not see a need to top up the pellets. In theory these pellets should last a year, so you're really looking at maybe $16 a month to run these. I'm not sure how much Nitrate reducing chemicals or ZeoRocks are but for $16 a month to have my nitrates dropped to zero seems like a smoking deal to me. Also, you can not overdose these pellets to just fill that bad boy (your reactor) with pellets (but make sure the pellets tumble!!).

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by Carmen

Doug! I know they are pricey! Seen them at the shop! So...I suppose that is a once a month thing then...ouch...ya I think it may be a tough sell in this household!

The initial purchase price is high but you get a LOT of longevity out of them.

Kien pretty much nailed it down. You don't replace these, you just let them get used up.

When you get a chance read my thread (yeah, it's long, but you don't see anyone complaining about DOUG'S thread, so .. um .. yeah, so there. MINE has stuff like pictures and regular test results and stuff.)

@Doug - I was just getting at that I don't think the Coral Snow had anything to do with the LPS issues she had shortly after. Binding agents blah blah blah whatever, it's all good. But thought it worth mentioning that when I hear torch lost a head and so on, I immediate think brown jelly disease. It's a nasty nasty phenomenon, happens every so often though. Lost some Euphyllia myself this way. One day the coral is fine, the next day it is literally gone and if you don't notice the brown jelly right away it too will disappear thus leaving behind no evidence of what transpired. Just a dead coral skeleton.

FWIW, I do Coral Snow every day. No issues that I know of, just cleaner looking water. It should be a fairly safe thing to use if you ever wanted to try it again, Carmen..

[kien]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Kien pretty much nailed it

I nailed it.. hehehehehe.. sorry, that was really juvenile of me..

Anyway, as you've already mentioned Carmen, Kevin has got them running at the store now, have a look at them as that pretty much demonstrates exactly how they work. You will see that in a month from now the pellets are still there, doing their thing.. and in two-three-four months from now the pellets will still be in there doing there thang

[Carmen]

Originally Posted by kien

Once a month as in dumping in pellets once a month? Um, nope! You fill a reactor full of the pellets. You decide how much you want to run depending on your tank size and fish load. The pellets will start to be consumed by bacteria which also consumes Nitrates and Phosphates at the same time. You do not need to dump out the pellets and replace them (like GFO or carbon; not like that at all). Just let the pellets get consumed and as they deplete, top up your reactor as needed. They do not deplete that quickly actually. I have been running a liter of pellets for about 3 months now and still do not see a need to top up the pellets. In theory these pellets should last a year, so you're really looking at maybe $16 a month to run these. I'm not sure how much Nitrate reducing chemicals or ZeoRocks are but for $16 a month to have my nitrates dropped to zero seems like a smoking deal to me. Also, you can not overdose these pellets to just fill that bad boy (your reactor) with pellets (but make sure the pellets tumble!!).

Actually that doesn't sound so bad then Kien...perhaps something I will check out!

Originally Posted by Delphinus

The initial purchase price is high but you get a LOT of longevity out of them.

Kien pretty much nailed it down. You don't replace these, you just let them get used up.

When you get a chance read my thread (yeah, it's long, but you don't see anyone complaining about DOUG'S thread, so .. um .. yeah, so there. MINE has stuff like pictures and regular test results and stuff.)

@Doug - I was just getting at that I don't think the Coral Snow had anything to do with the LPS issues she had shortly after. Binding agents blah blah blah whatever, it's all good. But thought it worth mentioning that when I hear torch lost a head and so on, I immediate think brown jelly disease. It's a nasty nasty phenomenon, happens every so often though. Lost some Euphyllia myself this way. One day the coral is fine, the next day it is literally gone and if you don't notice the brown jelly right away it too will disappear thus leaving behind no evidence of what transpired. Just a dead coral skeleton.

FWIW, I do Coral Snow every day. No issues that I know of, just cleaner looking water. It should be a fairly safe thing to use if you ever wanted to try it again, Carmen..

Tony, I PROMISE I will read your thread okay! I am sure it's full of excellent information! Thank you for all your insight into the pellets!
As for the coral snow...I refuse to believe it was a coincidence. I have read of others having similar occurences right after adding the coral snow...not exactly sure what the "bad combination" was that caused the LPS losses but it was all too ironic for it to suddenly happen right after adding it. Perhaps it is a combination of the snow and something else in my particular tank at that particular time but...I guess I will never know and am hesitant to try it again. I did check for brown jelly and dipped. (I have seen brown jelly before). But these corals literally just fell off their skeleton in one day.
The pellets are something I will consider if the nitrates do not resolve. I do have to remember that this is a new system and I tend to rush things a little working at the store and such. Just too easy to bring something home every week. I will try to check those nitrates today.
Thanks guys!