xport no3

[Bigdaddy]

does anyone have experience with this product ? i have a higher level of nitrates than i want . and am considering using this product but i am unsure of it , i read the directions and sounds simple but do i need to does a carbon source while using it ? i know i need to presoak it in microbacter but any info is helpful here is a link to it Brightwell Aquatics - Xport-NO3
thanks

[revsgirl]

[Bigdaddy]

thanks for the bump

[lpslover]

Been curious myself.

I just ordered all three Xport items to try in my soft coral tank. I've had good success with the ZeoVit line on my stonies, but considering the softy tank is at the office and daily carbon dosing isn't going to happen I'm looking for other options to help with nutrient control. I also can't do a refugium on the softy tank due to space restrictions beyond my control.

The claims for the Xport line are pretty impressive. I'll post in a couple months and let everyone know how it goes.

[sirjustis]

I'll tag along too. I hope this post doesn't get overlooked!

[lpslover]

Okay, so a first preliminary report. I got the package and installed the new media on Tuesday. Before installation, ammonia & nitrite were 0 (seachem), nitrate was 4ppm & phosphate .16ppm (red sea pro). So I needed to replace the GFO anyway.

Couple notes: The xport bio looks like chunks of pumice, the xport NO3 looks like croutons made from ceramic beads and polymer bio beads. The xport PO4 looks like cubes of compressed GFO. Put all three in 800 micron filter bags as instructed. Ended up using more than directed, as the directions and common sense indicate that the water should not be able to bypass the media, and the directed amount would not be enough to create this effect. I rinsed all three thoroughly under tap water until the water ran clear (the PO4 took FOREVER) and then stacked them carefully in the filter compartment with ROX .08 downstream and a mechanical filter pad upstream. I DID NOT soak them with microbacter, partly because I don't have any, partly because I don't generally pre-innoculate my bio media before placement and I wanted to test how the media compared to my usual media not whether pre-innoculation helps. Instead I poured seachem stability at the "new tank" dose into the water steam going into the media and will repeat this dose daily for 7 days as I usually do with new biomedia.

Cautionary tale: about 10 minutes after installing the media the water turned orange and cloudy. This cleared within 24 hours and the fish and corals appear unaffected. In the future however, I will be adding a micro filtration pad downstream of this media as apparently it sheds a lot of particulates even when carefully rinsed.

So far the fish and corals are doing well and the water is sparklingly clear. I plan to run it for a couple months, and I will post back and let you know what I think at that point, but I thought I'd share what I had learned thus far.

[sirjustis]

Thanks for the thorough break down! Best of luck and we hope to hear back w positive results!

[lpslover]

After running it for almost two months I can say I like the XPort Bio and NO3. NO3 levels are staying down around 2ppm. Half that of the ceramic ring media I was using. I do still prefer liquid carbon dosing, the Zeovit system in particular. But for nanos and all in ones with owners who cannot commit to daily dosing it works well.

The XPort PO4 is a disaster. (See earlier post.) Even if you solve the mess, which is easy enough, it doesn't outperform regular GFO in my experience. Volume for volume it lasts about the same amount of time before exhaustion. The label that says it absorbs five times as much, I can only assume refers to a possible phosgaurd by weight comparison. Save your money and get bulk GFO from BRS for around half the price based on volume.

So there you have it. A less than scientific, but relatively methodical assessment from a fellow reefer of the spiffy new XPort line. Bottom line, while it may not be my first pick the Bio and NO3 are useful, the PO4 is a waste of time and money.

[luvmyacans]

I didn't enjoy using the PO4 myself...ended up with a rust colored coating all over everything even when running through a filter sock. Went back to GFO.

[lpslover]

Yep. As I said, the only way I solved that problem was to run a micro filtration/polishing pad down stream of the XPort PO4. Regular GFO is much better.

[arotbart]

started using it Monday of this week (today is saturday). so far, very positive results.
Stats are as follows:

I have about 250 gallons total volume (180 Display, 40 Sump, 30 Frag tank). my GFO was not doing its job and was time to switch it out. Readings were .11 PPM per Hanna.

I added approx 1 cup of xport po4 (not xport no 3 - i run ecobak pellets and they are doing the job) on Monday, and 1 and 1/2 more on Weds. Readings last night were .02 ppm.

I am probably going to remove some of it as i don't want to strip the system completely bare of po4.

I soaked the media in RODI water (I rinsed the media a few times until the water ran clear), and then per instructions soaked the media in tank water.

I have a TLF reactor and have the ball valve open about 50%. Media is static and should NOT be fluidized. I have it down stream of everything else in my system.

It took about three days to start seeing a drop. so be patient.

I will post again in about a week.

[arotbart]

okay...I turned down the flow over the weekend, and tested on Sunday was .06.
I turned up the flow in the reactor and tested last night and dropped to .02. Seems like the higher the flow, the more p04 is removed. I was going to remove some media, but it seems like I can control the amount of PO4 removed by adjusting the flow. More flow, more removed. Less flow, less removed....

[pink4miss]

thanks for the updates on this, i also am trying this product , just started a few days ago and trying to figure out how much to use, to keep phosphates at the level i want. ( still tweaking) and any user info is a great help. the normal gfo is a headache and always seems to have issues, at least this is my experience. if these croutons work as well as gfo i can already see benefits of no clumping and no dust since the flow threw is slower and the media also doesnt require a sponge in the reactor, which means one less thing to do maintenance on.