Hey guys just looking for a little feed back from those of you also running BP... I've been running 500ml of Ecobak pellets for about 6 months now. Nitrates are in check but p04 is .25. My sps colors are decent but could def be better so I want to get that po4 number down to about .05. My question is what have you guys done in this situation. TDS on RO water is zero and the tanks been set up for 3 years so I don't think I'm leaching phosphates anywhere. Must be coming in through my feeding which is pellets and 1 cube a day of mysis which I am rinsing. Should I go ahead and try to just add pellets or should I run a little GFO. I don't want to starve my sps from things being to clean. Anyone try using phosphate rx?
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Bio Pellet users
- Thread starter Brizjuan
- Start date
What are your nitrates reading?
You need both nitrates and phosphates for biopellets to work. If the ratio is off, one or the other won't be brought down. It's not necessarily the Redfield ratio (16:1, N to P), but in the ballpark. I'd run GFO to bring the phosphate down, and then let the pellets do their thing.
Paul do you think I should stay at 500ml or attempt to increase? I have about 120 gallons after all considered
is that a typ-o? 500ml is like a huge bag of the stuff and i dunno if it can all fit in a TLF phosban reactor.
EDIT: nevermind i just double checked, I guess it's possible to fit 500ml in a TLF. Is it gently tumbling or at a boil? I'm trying to imagine all of those in a TLF.
Is the EV180 tuned to extract the skimmate properly? I know those devices need a larger mag than suggested and the airvalve needs to be clear to be effective. If it's not skimming it out fast enough adding more pellets won't help.
btw- i still have your Yellow tail blue damsel...how many years ago was that lol?
Lol that's awesome Phil glad to hear he's doing well. I still have a yellowtail that I got like 4 years ago so it'd have to be before that. I have the pellets gently tumbling. As for my skimmer I do in fact run it with a larger mag and it's been pulling out all kinds of funk. I have definitely fallen victim to the clogged air valve so I check it once a week. Surprisingly enough I still do have some room left for more pellets. I'd like to see some more data on the new BP that have phos media fused into them. Perhaps they could stop the BP's falling short on po4 removal.
i know that when i don't change out my t5s on time -there is a slight and then gradual color change on my sps (what's left of mine lol). So wait - did you start with 500 or ramped it up to 500? you're supposed to start at 1/4 the optimal mix. Anyways - someone with more exp on the bp hopefully will chime in.
lol yeah - i also think you were still "engaged" back then and not married yet...lol. Oh boy how time flies.
lol yeah - i also think you were still "engaged" back then and not married yet...lol. Oh boy how time flies.
That's more than enough bacteria food.....you need to either boost nitrates (adding something like sodium nitrate) or lower phosphates (like running GFO)....to get the nitrate - phosphate ratio in line to what the bacteria need to eat the pellets, leaving you with a balanced low N/P tank.
As Paul has mentioned, 500 mL is about right for your system @ ~ 236mL per 50 gal. of net tank volume. Adding a GFO reactor will help get the P04 down to where you want it, although I would add it in small amounts and let it decline slowly. I would also suggest, if you don't already have one, using a Hanna checker for this test. A basic understanding of the Redfield ratio is something that is beneficial for everyone in this hobby. Here is some reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redfield_ratio
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Redfield_Ratio
Although this isn't about "Warner" pellets it is a good video, and may help with the basic understanding of how the pellets work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lMaAQwyV-M
Although it's possible that you may be leaching some PO4 from your rocks, etc., most of the "excess" is most likely coming from your feeding. This is normal, so I wouldn't change anything if your tank is reasonably healthy. I would however, make sure your PO4 readings are accurate, i.e. using a Hanna checker, and then deploy some GFO if necessary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redfield_ratio
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Redfield_Ratio
Although this isn't about "Warner" pellets it is a good video, and may help with the basic understanding of how the pellets work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lMaAQwyV-M
Although it's possible that you may be leaching some PO4 from your rocks, etc., most of the "excess" is most likely coming from your feeding. This is normal, so I wouldn't change anything if your tank is reasonably healthy. I would however, make sure your PO4 readings are accurate, i.e. using a Hanna checker, and then deploy some GFO if necessary.
Run the gfo. Once you get things dialed in you should be able to take it off line. I have been running pellets for about 4 years. And no gfo for about 3. I recently transferred my tank to a new larger system. In the move I must have disturbed some nasty stuff as my po4 shot up and put everything out of balance. I had to start running gfo again to bring it down to balance.
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Ok guys so I have to revive this thread after over a month of running gfo I am still battling this green slime algae. I'm at loss here. Starting to think that maybe ditching the BP would be my best option thinking it may some how be the cause of the green slime? What about dosing vinegar along with the pellets for multiple carbon dosing? Input would be much appreciated as I'm becoming frustrated and getting tired of blowing green slime off the rocks.