Prodibio, anyone?

[hayabusa2003]

hmm..do u have first hand experience with the MATRIX product? I've heard/read from various sources that the product is good for nitrifying bacteria, but useless for denitrifying. This is because of the size of the media, being so small it could not truly provide anaerobic pockets where denitrifying bacteria can colonize. But if you've used it and have good results, I will definitely give it a try.

I currently have a canister filter for this purpose. I took out all the pad/media and replace the chambers with Phosban and GAC. I also have LiveRock rubble in the other chambers (hoping to have the same effect as the matrix product...but I never documented my results before/after doing this so not sure if it really has any benefit). Downside of using canisters is that you have to clean it WEEKLY. Anyway, maybe I'll try putting the MATRIX product in my canister for a few months and see how it goes.

I do skim wet, since this is the only way i can get my skimmer to consistently pull anything out. I also have 120+ lbs of LR in my 75gal display.

Thanks again for all your great advice!

 

[Carlo]

Yes, most definitely have used it on a lot of tanks with good results. The key I believe where people "mess up" and don't get good results is in the placement of the media. You don't want to put it directly in a high O2 area. Some people put them in high flow canisters and such which isn't the most ideal place IMHO for it's use (for what you want to do anyway). Slow flow reactors (Nitrate reactors) or just sitting on the bottom like sand or live rock is much more effective IMHO with either product.

A couple years back I did a 5/6 month long experiment where I setup 6 10 gallon tanks with absolutely nothing in them except salt water. 3 had matrix covering the bottom and 3 with Siporax covering the bottom. Each was one liter of product. I'd dose X amount of ammonia to each tank every day and record the nitrogen numbers (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate). No water changes were done. Once the bacteria populated each product they both worked as advertised with an effective ZERO on all tests (hobby test kits).

I've actually thought about doing the experiment again and ramping up the food source each week (measured) to see which product will work the best long term and handle the most food source additions. This is something I didn't think about test before (Doh).

If you are in doubt on the Matrix product just use Siporax instead (not a copy cat product) and don't worry about it. Costs a bit more but you'll have peace of mind knowing it does the job. Siporax is well known for it nitrate "eating" cababilities and has a long track record. It's sort of "King of the Hill". It's a one time purchase for either product.

The main reason for the Matix over Siporax "recommendation" was cost and looks, nothing more.

Carlo