25gal Starfire

[lorenz0]

I thought about it. But I have stopped dosing everything. Funny thing is my acans are doing awesome, its everything else, well the blasto's and mircomussa are doing great as well. I just want to add some purple gorgonia and some stags down the road once I have all my equipment (still need a ATO and a skimmer).

As for the biopellets, I have been considering replacing the carbon and running them instead

[Delphinus]

Carbon and biopellets are two independent things. Biopellets are a place for bacteria to colonize that feed off nutrients. It's like adding a bunch of live rock in your tank except they fit in a nice small reactor. Carbon on the other hand remove organics (not just nutrients) which can cause things such as yellowing of water (water always looks "polished" and "clear" after changing carbon) as well as impeding the growth of certain corals (some organics may not necessarily break down into ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and thus might not otherwise be skimmed or metabolized out of the system).

Basically I think carbon should still be run regardless whether you add pellets or not - there isn't really any overlap between the two. Biopellets and GFO on the other hand ... there might be an overlap there.

HTH

[kien]

Yes, I have not stopped running carbon since I fired up this tank over two years ago. As tony said, Carbon and BioPellets serve two completely different purposes. One is not a substitute for the other.

Originally Posted by zoaElite

...Kien where are my cookies, I seem to recall being part of this "Baking Soda Plan".

Laurier have you tried the zeovit LPS supplement? My acans exploded when I started dosing that, I would start slow though if you are going to try as it will add extra nutrients.

I've got your "cookies" right here big boy!

[lorenz0]

K guys so here is where I am getting confused

Aren't biopellets basically a source of vodka dosing which would mean it is a source of carbon dosing since the only product in vodka that your using is ethanol and ethanol is carbon based. I am just wondering how two sources of carbon can preform two seperate tasks

worse case, couldn't I run both in the same reactor? The amount of media I use on this system is small so it would fit in a TLF 150

[Delphinus]

Totally different things that just happen to have the word "carbon" in their names.

Carbon aka charcoal is a porous substance and happens to be really good absorbant of other materials. Once it's done absorbing "stuff" though then the pores are clogged and it cannot absorb any more.

Carbon DOSING is a generic term used to reference things like vodka or vinegar or sugar (or combinations thereof) as a source at molecules that involve carbon to be used as a food source or input for metabolic processes that also happen to consume nitrates and/or phosphates as part of the chemical/biological processes.

Biopellets are intended as a convenient method for carbon dosing because whatever polymer they are made of is carbon based and is also porous - but instead of being good for absorbing stuff, the pores are good for creating large surface area for bacteria to colonize. So bacteria feed on the pellets and in process of doing so consumes nitrate and to a smaller degree phosphates out of the water column. The "tumbling" of the pellets ensures that excess bacteria sloughs off, which is thought to be used by filter feeders but in general really requires mostly to be skimmed out (and they do skim out nicely - skimmate production does increase after starting pellets).

You wouldn't want to run them together in the same reactor as they have different lifespans. Pellets could last you months - carbon (depending on the amount you use per system volume) needs to be changed out every 2 to 4 weeks.

[lorenz0]

I can see what your saying. Sorry chemisty always gets me going.

But on a side note, I did my waterchange and everyone is looking great. I'm adding a skimmer to the mix this weekend. So just one thing at a time. But the acan garden is looking amazing

[Delphinus]

Yeah I agree with your approach. And the Acans do look awesome.

Sorry if I missed it but what was your reasoning for thinking you had a nutrient issue? Is it a high NO3 reading? If so what was it (and sorry if that was posted already)?