Hello all-
I signed up on this site a few months back, however I am not new to saltwater. I have two tanks, a 60 rimless cube, with seahorses and LPS, and a 155 fowlr.
Since doing this from the late 90's, I have always had small bouts with nitrates. However, since heavily stocking my 155, I have had a never ending war with high nitrates. I will outline what I have currently, what I just did, and track the results.
Tank Setup- 155 AGA bowfront, 40 gallon sump, SRO 3000 skimmer, 25w UV light, 2 inches of sugar sand aragonite, and about 50 lbs of live rock. The tank has been running since 1999. For flow, I have two return pumps, both at about 500 gph, after head pressure. I also have a Vortech MP40 for circulation.
Maintenance- 45 gallon water changes weekly(30%), using instant ocean. During water change, I siphon sand (not much to siphon, thanks to not a lot of rock, and lots of flow) clean out skimmer body and cup, and replace filter sock. I have no other mechanical sponges or socks.
Bioload- Like I have mentioned, I do have a lot of fish. I have had all for some time, and have no apparent issues with them.
1 Large Naso Tang (7 inches)
1 Large Powder Blue Tang (5 inches)
1 Medium Yellow Tang (4 inches)
1 Medium Achiles Tang (3 inches)
1 Medium Sailfin Tang (3 inches)
1 Medium Maculiceps Tang-"White spotted face" (4 inches)
1 Large Paddlefin (Rainbow) Wrasse (6 inches)
1 Medium Green Bird Wrasse (5 inches)
1 Medium Aussie Tusk (5 inches)
1 Medium Blue Face Angel (4 inches)
1 Medium French Angel (4 inches)
1 Large Guinea Fowl Puffer (5 inches)
1 Medium Porcupine Puffer (3 inches)
1 Magnificent Foxface (4 inches)
1 Medium Red Stripe Anthia (4 inches)
1 Large Indian Black Trigger (6 inches)
1 Medium Niger Trigger (4 inches)
1 Medium Blue Throat Trigger (4 inches)
1 Fire Clownfish (2 inches)
1 Small Miniatus Grouper (3 inches)
As you can see, I have a lot by I am sure anyone's definition. I feed 1 sheet of Nori per day, Pellets once a day, and frozen once per day. (PE Mysis, Mysis, SF Brand Angel Formula, Krill, Silverslides, and Clams. I also use selcon twice per week.
I feed enough so that the food is gone, with Vortech off, in about 40 seconds. Any food particulate large enough I see, such as a silver slide or a krill, that is left uneaten I remove via net.
I do not have any algae whatsoever. I may have to use magnet on glass once every 2-3 weeks. Perhaps I just do not have intense enough lighting.(Current USA 48 inch LED)
With 30 percent water changes, and along with an oversized, aggressive skimmer, and cleaning out detritus, I have nitrates around 120. (Used Salifert Kit as well as API)
My number specs are as follows: Amm: 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 120 +,-, PH 7.9, Alk: 8, SG 1.022. Temperature varies from 78-80 throughout the day. I do not run carbon, or any additives.
After realizing water changes were not keeping up with Nitrates, (and for all I know, maybe nitrates are not harmful for FOWLRs, however my goal is to make that number shrink) I decided to rehome some fish. However, as the fiancé was looking at the ads I was writing on craigslist, she said to me, that's over two thousand dollars I spent on fish, I was almost giving away for nothing. There has to be something to prevent that. And my response was yes, buy another tank. Then, I did some more reading, talking, comparing charts, and have decided to try bio pellets.
So here we are, 4/28, and my nitrates are @ 120. Keep in mind, this is just after a water change, and a week ago, I also did a 75 gallon change. (50 percent). Rather than rehome expensive fish, or go thru two boxes of instant ocean a month, rather than one, I spent just under two hundred on a SMR1 reactor, 1000 ml Ecobak, and a Maxi 1200.
The reactor has been on for two days now, and I started with 150 ml pellets, as opposed to the 750 dose. I am starting super slow, and I am also not running a lot of flow through it. (100 gph, timed with stop watch to see how long 5 gallon bucket took to fill)
Every 5 days, I will be adding 150 ml of pellets, until I reach my 750 mark.
I invite anyone interested, or naysayers, to glance to see where my numbers wind up. I have been doing this a long time, and have read the good, the bad, and the unknown about bio pellets. Truth is, if this does not work, chances are finances will not allow another, larger tank, and my fish will most likely be given to other homes.
One thing that is clear to me, is that the advice I have been given by several local lfs's, is not working. And it all comes down to math. Unless I am doing 100 percent water changes, the nitrates will be constantly moving upward.
I did my homework, this was not an impulse, and I have contacted many people who use this pellet set up first hand. A few things I learned are:
Less flow, is better than more. Start slow, adding all the pellets at once, is never good, and you will see bacterial blooms.
What I also learned, much to my surprise is, this is NOT a form of carbon dosing. Carbon (sugar, vodka etc) is added to water column, and reaches areas of rock, sand, overflow material etc. Bio pellets, in this case Ecobak, (these are the ones I read most about) are not water soluble. If you place 100 grams of ecobak in a sterile, virgin tank, with no nitrogenous activity, in ten years, if you removed the pellets, you will still have all 100 grams. The only things that can break them down, is bacterial consumption. So essentially you are taking the effect of carbon dosing, and inhibiting it so it can only take place in a reactor.
What I also learned, is when someone uses them and gets a bacterial bloom, or cyano, a particular instance occurred. The bacterial biomass that adheres and grows on the pellet, consumes nutrients. If the flow is greater than it needs to be, this "mass" or growth, can break away from the pellet, and thus enters your water column. If your skimmer does not remove it, it can certainly end up on your sand or gravel. Which can then feed cyano, just like uneaten food wastes could. To me, to avoid this, keep your flow on the slower side.
So with all that in mind, my journey begins (began). I will update periodically, and will be using both Nitrate test kits. When in doubt of a false reading, I will retest.
My end goal, or my desire, is to not change any of my maintenance practices, and in 6 months, have nitrates at or below 30 ppm. Like any experiment, the variables need to be kept the same, so my temp, feeding schedule/quanitity, bioload, water changes and siphoning routine will not change. I will log all of that here, even if I lose a fish, I will document that here. I have seen a lot of threads following bio pellets on SPS or Mixed Reef tanks, with nitrates around 15 or so, but none as high as mine are.
I signed up on this site a few months back, however I am not new to saltwater. I have two tanks, a 60 rimless cube, with seahorses and LPS, and a 155 fowlr.
Since doing this from the late 90's, I have always had small bouts with nitrates. However, since heavily stocking my 155, I have had a never ending war with high nitrates. I will outline what I have currently, what I just did, and track the results.
Tank Setup- 155 AGA bowfront, 40 gallon sump, SRO 3000 skimmer, 25w UV light, 2 inches of sugar sand aragonite, and about 50 lbs of live rock. The tank has been running since 1999. For flow, I have two return pumps, both at about 500 gph, after head pressure. I also have a Vortech MP40 for circulation.
Maintenance- 45 gallon water changes weekly(30%), using instant ocean. During water change, I siphon sand (not much to siphon, thanks to not a lot of rock, and lots of flow) clean out skimmer body and cup, and replace filter sock. I have no other mechanical sponges or socks.
Bioload- Like I have mentioned, I do have a lot of fish. I have had all for some time, and have no apparent issues with them.
1 Large Naso Tang (7 inches)
1 Large Powder Blue Tang (5 inches)
1 Medium Yellow Tang (4 inches)
1 Medium Achiles Tang (3 inches)
1 Medium Sailfin Tang (3 inches)
1 Medium Maculiceps Tang-"White spotted face" (4 inches)
1 Large Paddlefin (Rainbow) Wrasse (6 inches)
1 Medium Green Bird Wrasse (5 inches)
1 Medium Aussie Tusk (5 inches)
1 Medium Blue Face Angel (4 inches)
1 Medium French Angel (4 inches)
1 Large Guinea Fowl Puffer (5 inches)
1 Medium Porcupine Puffer (3 inches)
1 Magnificent Foxface (4 inches)
1 Medium Red Stripe Anthia (4 inches)
1 Large Indian Black Trigger (6 inches)
1 Medium Niger Trigger (4 inches)
1 Medium Blue Throat Trigger (4 inches)
1 Fire Clownfish (2 inches)
1 Small Miniatus Grouper (3 inches)
As you can see, I have a lot by I am sure anyone's definition. I feed 1 sheet of Nori per day, Pellets once a day, and frozen once per day. (PE Mysis, Mysis, SF Brand Angel Formula, Krill, Silverslides, and Clams. I also use selcon twice per week.
I feed enough so that the food is gone, with Vortech off, in about 40 seconds. Any food particulate large enough I see, such as a silver slide or a krill, that is left uneaten I remove via net.
I do not have any algae whatsoever. I may have to use magnet on glass once every 2-3 weeks. Perhaps I just do not have intense enough lighting.(Current USA 48 inch LED)
With 30 percent water changes, and along with an oversized, aggressive skimmer, and cleaning out detritus, I have nitrates around 120. (Used Salifert Kit as well as API)
My number specs are as follows: Amm: 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 120 +,-, PH 7.9, Alk: 8, SG 1.022. Temperature varies from 78-80 throughout the day. I do not run carbon, or any additives.
After realizing water changes were not keeping up with Nitrates, (and for all I know, maybe nitrates are not harmful for FOWLRs, however my goal is to make that number shrink) I decided to rehome some fish. However, as the fiancé was looking at the ads I was writing on craigslist, she said to me, that's over two thousand dollars I spent on fish, I was almost giving away for nothing. There has to be something to prevent that. And my response was yes, buy another tank. Then, I did some more reading, talking, comparing charts, and have decided to try bio pellets.
So here we are, 4/28, and my nitrates are @ 120. Keep in mind, this is just after a water change, and a week ago, I also did a 75 gallon change. (50 percent). Rather than rehome expensive fish, or go thru two boxes of instant ocean a month, rather than one, I spent just under two hundred on a SMR1 reactor, 1000 ml Ecobak, and a Maxi 1200.
The reactor has been on for two days now, and I started with 150 ml pellets, as opposed to the 750 dose. I am starting super slow, and I am also not running a lot of flow through it. (100 gph, timed with stop watch to see how long 5 gallon bucket took to fill)
Every 5 days, I will be adding 150 ml of pellets, until I reach my 750 mark.
I invite anyone interested, or naysayers, to glance to see where my numbers wind up. I have been doing this a long time, and have read the good, the bad, and the unknown about bio pellets. Truth is, if this does not work, chances are finances will not allow another, larger tank, and my fish will most likely be given to other homes.
One thing that is clear to me, is that the advice I have been given by several local lfs's, is not working. And it all comes down to math. Unless I am doing 100 percent water changes, the nitrates will be constantly moving upward.
I did my homework, this was not an impulse, and I have contacted many people who use this pellet set up first hand. A few things I learned are:
Less flow, is better than more. Start slow, adding all the pellets at once, is never good, and you will see bacterial blooms.
What I also learned, much to my surprise is, this is NOT a form of carbon dosing. Carbon (sugar, vodka etc) is added to water column, and reaches areas of rock, sand, overflow material etc. Bio pellets, in this case Ecobak, (these are the ones I read most about) are not water soluble. If you place 100 grams of ecobak in a sterile, virgin tank, with no nitrogenous activity, in ten years, if you removed the pellets, you will still have all 100 grams. The only things that can break them down, is bacterial consumption. So essentially you are taking the effect of carbon dosing, and inhibiting it so it can only take place in a reactor.
What I also learned, is when someone uses them and gets a bacterial bloom, or cyano, a particular instance occurred. The bacterial biomass that adheres and grows on the pellet, consumes nutrients. If the flow is greater than it needs to be, this "mass" or growth, can break away from the pellet, and thus enters your water column. If your skimmer does not remove it, it can certainly end up on your sand or gravel. Which can then feed cyano, just like uneaten food wastes could. To me, to avoid this, keep your flow on the slower side.
So with all that in mind, my journey begins (began). I will update periodically, and will be using both Nitrate test kits. When in doubt of a false reading, I will retest.
My end goal, or my desire, is to not change any of my maintenance practices, and in 6 months, have nitrates at or below 30 ppm. Like any experiment, the variables need to be kept the same, so my temp, feeding schedule/quanitity, bioload, water changes and siphoning routine will not change. I will log all of that here, even if I lose a fish, I will document that here. I have seen a lot of threads following bio pellets on SPS or Mixed Reef tanks, with nitrates around 15 or so, but none as high as mine are.
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