tank crashing......

[turbo21]

Those test results are the reason i stay away from reef crystals. 13 !!!!! way too high imo

bob

 

[CJO]

Any idea if these were single samples for each salt? Salt varies a bit from batch to batch.

CJ

 

[turbo21]

quoted from the test. looks like single batch. I have also seen the real high numbers on alk coming from reef crystals from Dr Randy Farley

"Here is a list of what I measured for the big three in a number of the salt mixes we use today. This is intended as a guideline and I, in no way, guarantee these figures. All I can say is they were all tested under the same conditions, with a number of different brand test kits, using the same methods for each test. I believe these numbers are reasonably what you can expect from these salts mixed at 35 ppt or SG 1.0264 @ 25 C."

 

[Troylee]

@reefthreads podcast #28 sara and gparr........
listening to your pod cast i agree with a lot of things you guys brought up but i can and i do test for iodine and potassium... one of the essentials with a zeo tank for instance was the stones remove potassium in large amounts and they need to replenished... the only one i can't test for is strotium and i only dose 2ml daily not a huge amount fwiw.... like you mentioned i didn't just blow the pellets out of the water but im really beginning to.... i started back on the vodka last night to see where it goes... i never had a problem with it in my years of reefing..... it could be my fault of not doing water changes and maybe the pellets did poision the tank because i didn't change it "not sure" it doesn't say anything on the label it just says add x amount... anyone using these are gonna be on there own since there is no info on the subject really..... also you mention my use of gfo i always have and always will... to me bio pellets are just like bio balls there really good in lowering no3 but i have never seen them drop po4 i know it goes hand in hand but most of all threads i have read people exp a no3 reduction but the po4 don't budge......really hard to say.... but for now im not using the pellets and my tank is back to normal fwiw...lol

 

[Troylee]

I don't have all day to link every thread with the problem but this will sum it up...
Way to many similar threads....
bio pellets and rtn - Google Search

 

[gqjeff]

removed pellets last Friday and some zoos I have had problems with over the last couple months that did not melt look 1000 times better and some are starting to open. REALLY weird.....

 

[Troylee]

I think the safest thing I can say pellets work but use at your desrcetion since there is no directions it's all on you..... Agree????

 

[nvfishman]

It sounds like reef crystals is one of the best.:wink: for large tanks or small water changes. It pulls the levels up more. 175 gallons like Lees tank could use it for water changes since he is getting rid of pellets

 

[SaraB]

I think the safest thing I can say pellets work but use at your desrcetion since there is no directions it's all on you..... Agree????

Yes, I don't think pellets should be discounted as many do have great success with them. One needs to watch their tank VERY closely and see how it reacts and make adjustments as running pellets is not a "one size fits all" sort of product and as you said, there are not really "clear" directions to follow. One should also not take the easy route and completely try replicate what others do on their systems as everyones tanks are different and we don't know what they are also doing that they don't post on the forums about.

 

[Troylee]

Gotta play devils advocate for a second here!!!!!
@ gparr and Sara and anyone else who says I'm crazy for dosing something I can't test for...

Why would you use pellets since you can't test what there adding to the water???? Why would you even consider using something that has no directions????? Just saying....:tongue:

 

[Troylee]

^^^^^^ everyone took off running...ahahahahahahahahahah lol... you so craaaaaazy!!!!

 

[Murfman]

Yes, I don't think pellets should be discounted as many do have great success with them. One needs to watch their tank VERY closely and see how it reacts and make adjustments as running pellets is not a "one size fits all" sort of product and as you said, there are not really "clear" directions to follow. One should also not take the easy route and completely try replicate what others do on their systems as everyones tanks are different and we don't know what they are also doing that they don't post on the forums about.

I have to agree with you, Sara. I'd do it like with GFO, and under supply the media and then over a period of weeks up to full dose. I monitor my Lemon Eye Acan and if it is fat and swollen, I leave things alone.

 

[Troylee]

this is what i did since there was no guide lines to follow... my tank 200gal is suppose to run 1000ml of pellets.... week 1 i added 50ml i didn't exp any blooms etc. week2 i added a additional 50ml week 3 i added another 100ml put's me at 200ml i exp tissue necrosis so i left it there and didn't go any higher.... after a month or so i lost a piece here and there nothing out of the norm i would say you can't keep them all happy... then another 2 months roll by and wala im losing a piece a day... maybe the pellets just built up and by me not doing water changes it caused the problem...this could be the case and i guess we will never know since i dont plan putting them back on nor changing my water ahahahahahahahah... i guess this is a poor example because i don't follow the rules of reef keeping and changing water but i know for sure im not the only one and won't be the last!!!!!!

 

[melev]

That makes it tough to determine what the cause of your tank issues were. All this is conjecture.

 

[Paul_N]

this is what i did since there was no guide lines to follow... my tank 200gal is suppose to run 1000ml of pellets.... week 1 i added 50ml i didn't exp any blooms etc. week2 i added a additional 50ml week 3 i added another 100ml put's me at 200ml i exp tissue necrosis so i left it there and didn't go any higher.... after a month or so i lost a piece here and there nothing out of the norm i would say you can't keep them all happy... then another 2 months roll by and wala im losing a piece a day... maybe the pellets just built up and by me not doing water changes it caused the problem...this could be the case and i guess we will never know since i dont plan putting them back on nor changing my water ahahahahahahahah... i guess this is a poor example because i don't follow the rules of reef keeping and changing water but i know for sure im not the only one and won't be the last!!!!!!

This concerns me that you only started at 50ml and only put up to 200ml in. Did you stop your vodka dosing completely before starting the pellets? If you stopped vodka dosing cold turkey and then only put the small amount of pellets in, I could see that causing problems. When I started the EcoBak I was in touch with John and he said it would be good to continue both and reduce my vodka dosing to zero over a period of several days. My system would have needed 750-1000ml so what we came up with was putting 500ml of pellets in initially and continuing my vodka/mb7 dosing regimen for the first two or three days. I then started to ween my system off of the vodka and mb7 buy cutting the vodka dosing by like .5ml every two days until I hit zero. I now only add mb7 every two weeks for some bacterial diversity. IMO the way you did it would have caused a major shock to your system.

 

[Troylee]

Actually quit the vodka like a month or 2 before when I had the Dino outbreak I didnt want to fuel it....

 

[Troylee]

Fwiw I only dosed 3ml daily of vodka for my maintenance dose which was low but I like to error on the side of caution...
I have never truly ran a super low nutrient system I didn't see Any reason to starve my animals... Keeping the dosage low and my no3 below 10 with my po4 at around .03 is where I like it...

 

[Troylee]

Day 6 no pellets.... Glad to report my tank looks awesome now!!!! Water is crystal clear sps are looking better than ever and the couple pieces that were receding are making a nice recovery!!!!! All the cyano has disappeard that I had just a couple small patches nothing major... Did exp a loss today a chalice of all things... all my challies looked great while I had the pellets online so I'm not sure if this is any way related or just one of those things... Don't ask!!!!! It will be dearly missed.....

 

[Kbra]

Could be something got into the tank from your hands. Grease or soap

 

[melev]

Might need to break down and actually change some water at last.