25g Mid-Week Detritus Export Video

[Beverly]

I don't know what you mean by consume. The sandbed will have nitrifying bacteria, but you will still be left with nitrate and phosphate as a result. At least, this is the way I understand the process.

If you remove the detritus, you remove the resulting nitrate and phosphate - unless you have chemicals that do that for you. I'm not up on biopellets or those things, but I do have elbow grease and don't mind getting my hands wet

Video I shot this morning Detritus the Day After Mid-Week Detritus Export. As you will see, there is still detritus in the tank. It only really clears up after I siphon it out during a 20% water change - only to begin reappearing again that night.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Beverly

I don't know what you mean by consume. The sandbed will have nitrifying bacteria, but you will still be left with nitrate and phosphate as a result. At least, this is the way I understand the process.

If you remove the detritus, you remove the resulting nitrate and phosphate - unless you have chemicals that do that for you. I'm not up on biopellets or those things, but I do have elbow grease and don't mind getting my hands wet

Video I shot this morning Detritus the Day After Mid-Week Detritus Export. As you will see, there is still detritus in the tank. It only really clears up after I siphon it out during a 20% water change - only to begin reappearing again that night.

By consume, I mean "eaten" by the nitrogen cycle. In other words, you would have less visible detritus as in your video. Instead it would be trapped and consumed by the bacteria in the sand. I can see there would be a limit as to how much the sand can consume, and detritus will become visible if there is too much.

Before I was using bio pellets, my tank was a real mess with detritus and algae covering my live rock and sand. My nitrates went as high as 100 ppm (now less than 20). I had to frequently scrub my rock with a tooth brush, just to try and release more detritus into the water where the flow could move it to my sump with the filter sock and skimmer.

But after I dosed with MB7 and bio pellets, the visible detritus all but disappeared, and I stopped scrubbing my live rock. I still vacuumed the sand bed. But gradually my rocks became clean and shiny with coralline, and the nuisance algae all disappeared. So that's why I think that beneficial bacteria (which need a surface) have a lot to do with a clean tank.

[Beverly]

I can only guess that the MB7 and bio pellets are doing what they are supposed to do. Is the water in your pail dirty after vacuuming your sand? How dirty your water is indicates how much detritus your sandbed still accumulates.

I'm wondering if anyone has taken the time to do the sand and tankwater in a jar experiment I suggested earlier in this thread

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Beverly

I can only guess that the MB7 and bio pellets are doing what they are supposed to do. Is the water in your pail dirty after vacuuming your sand? How dirty your water is indicates how much detritus your sandbed still accumulates.

I'm wondering if anyone has taken the time to do the sand and tankwater in a jar experiment I suggested earlier in this thread

Yes, the water from the sand is still dirty after vacuuming, but a lot less now. I think the MB7 is what probably makes the biggest visible difference in my tank. The bio pellets just take out the nitrates.

You should try it in your nano (without the bio pellets) just to see what it does.

[Beverly]

Oh, I don't use bio pellets and don't intend to use them. And, no sandbed to put in the jar

Just wondering if anyone thought of doing the experiment for their own information and to share with the rest of us

[RuGlu6]

last time when i used bio pellets i lost about $450 worth of my best SPS.
Plus the $$$ lost to buying pellets and equipment.
Will stick to overskimming for now.

[Reef Pilot]

I didn't want to turn this thread into a discussion on the merits of bio pellets. Some have been successful using them and some have not. There are many potential reasons for this, and it has been extensively discussed elsewhere.

I became interested in this thread to try and gain a better understanding on the role of a thin sand bed and its relationship to detritus and ability to increase a tank's bio load capacity while maintaining low nitrates and phosphates. Beverly highlighted how much detritus is generated even in a BB tank. But what I am not sure of is whether this detritus is reduced with a thin sand bed because of the beneficial bacteria that would reside there and consume it.

Also, would be interested if just the use of MB7 (without bio pellets) would reduce detritus. I know in my tank, detritus (and algae) was dramatically decreased (along with the reduction of N03 and P04) after I started using it with my bio pellets. But have never tried MB7 without the bio pellets. I might try that later after I reset my upstairs display tank.