Anyone "solid vodka dosing" or using biopellets?

[acr0p0ra]

Has anyone started using biopellets yet? I know there are several different brand that have came out with these and I was wondering which one you guys are using and what do your thoughts on these pellets? GFO isnt cutting it anymore and I'm trying to decide between pellets or prodibio. I need to lower my po4 as it is about .07ppm(hanna checker) and I have never had good colors in acropora but growth is good.

-Brian

 

[Troylee]

do a search on here...plenty of threads for all your questions....

 

[gilmour01]

just started with the warner marine pellets, but its too early to give worthwhile feedback.

 

[soccerbag]

Hey Brian. Do you have a high bioload in your tank - leading to higher PO4? Just wondering what is contributing to the higher levels. I am not using the pellets but just curious

 

[acr0p0ra]

Thanks for all the replies.

Gilmour, Where did you get the WM pellets? how long have you been using them and for what reason?

Soccerbag, I have a 90 gallon, mostly sps and some lps. I have a yellow tang, tomini tang, blue jaw trigger, bimac hog, percula, and 2 chromis. I have approx 80-90lb of rock, I Tech cone skimmer. I dont think I have too many fish for my size tank.

 

[gilmour01]

i ordered them directly from warner. they will sell them directly if you ask. i think they're still waiting for labels and packaging to distribute them to retailers. i've only been using them for a couple days, and i'm using them b/c i was tired of constantly buying GFO at mucho $. hoping this will work better and require less maintenance on my part.


bottom line is I'm lazy...lol!

 

[Troylee]

Tangs and triggers are messy fish... What are you feeding them and how often???
Vodka will help mine stays at 0 without gfo.... You need to read alot and now the warning signs before jumpin in thou...

 

[wishntoboutside]

your po4 is lower then mine.. i had great color until a hmm a ballast issue. but then plan is pellets.

 

[acr0p0ra]

I know my po4 isnt super high but its the only thing i can think of as to why my acros dont have good color. I have a good skimmer, 6x54 ATI sunpower, vortech, k4, maxijet mod. My colors are very light.

I dont want to do straight vodka dosing because of the risks involved. I have read a lot about it and decided to go with zeovit(back in September) but recently sold the basic4(still have the reactor if anyone wants it) because i realized that its going to be a ton of work and money to have a zeovit system when people are getting awesome colors with out any bac dosing.

 

[acr0p0ra]

I should mention my no3 is 0 or undetecable, and I feed corals elos AA, kz coral vitalizer, and kz pohls xtra. along wiht the addition of potassium floride iodide.

 

[SunnyX]

The reviews I have been hearing on the biopellets have been mixed. Some reefers state that they work, while other say that they don't work well at all. Have you ever considered using regular vodka and a bacterial additive? I have been dosing vodka for about two years now with great results. If you have all the proper equipment(skimmer, flow) then you need not be overly concerned about wiping out your tank. The only crashes I have seen with vodka were in tanks that did not have proper skimmers or flow.

If you would like some tips or more info on vodka dosing please let me know.

 

[Jon Warner]

Has anyone started using biopellets yet? I know there are several different brand that have came out with these and I was wondering which one you guys are using and what do your thoughts on these pellets? GFO isnt cutting it anymore and I'm trying to decide between pellets or prodibio. I need to lower my po4 as it is about .07ppm(hanna checker) and I have never had good colors in acropora but growth is good.

-Brian

.07 for an SPS tank is high enough to give issues... and the theory of "Svd" is sound... eliminates the need for all the silly "bacteria in a bottle" and "carbon in the water stream" products...

 

[soccerbag]

I should mention my no3 is 0 or undetecable, and I feed corals elos AA, kz coral vitalizer, and kz pohls xtra. along wiht the addition of potassium floride iodide.

I would cut out the Aminos until you can get your PO4 down to where you want it. Aminos raise nutrients - can't recall whether the Pohl''s Xtra does or not. If your corals are colored down, the simple addition of Aminos usually won't fix the entire issue. As you stated, get your PO4 under control and then you can start back with a an amino regimen that will keep your parameters in check. When I am having nutrient issues, it try to eliminate all external factors until I get it under control. This starts with additives...

 

[schminksbro]

I am running a probiotic system using vodka and MB7. From my observation the only time I have had faded colors is when nitrate was too low. Your PO4 is a little high but I would be willing to bet that your color issues are due to starving the corals of NO3. I have never had good results with AAs. I simply began to feed a wider variety of foods more often and my colors darkened right back up. As for pellets...I prefer direct dosing so that I know exactly how much carbon I am adding. I observe my tank and dose according to what I see.

 

[Jon Warner]

I am running a probiotic system using vodka and MB7. From my observation the only time I have had faded colors is when nitrate was too low. Your PO4 is a little high but I would be willing to bet that your color issues are due to starving the corals of NO3. I have never had good results with AAs. I simply began to feed a wider variety of foods more often and my colors darkened right back up. As for pellets...I prefer direct dosing so that I know exactly how much carbon I am adding. I observe my tank and dose according to what I see.

this is the most common misconception with SVD... do you believe that adding 500ml of pellets is adding more Carbon to your system than adding 1000ml?

It's not. ;)

SVD Pellets are suppose to be insoluble in water, meaning you add them to your system and NO Carbon goes into your water stream. Bacteria consume the pellets as a Carbon source.

Any time you use some "bacteria in a bottle" and some "Carbon in a bottle" you're simply creating a temporary overpopulation of specific strains of bacteria that will die off as soon as the temporary food source is gone. Do you have any knowledge whatsoever how much "bacteria in a bottle" it takes to grow x number of bacterial colonies with how much "Carbon in a bottle"? No, you don't... no one does.

The concept of SVD is to provide a food source for strains of bacteria that are ALREADY PRESENT in the marine ecosystem so that these bacteria will grow in relation to the amount of nutrients (C, N, P) in the water stream. The bacteria populations self-regulate... more available nutrients, more bacteria. So your bacterial levels are consistent and correct.

Seriously... as of May, 2010... adding your own soluble Carbon source and Live bacteria is primitive.

 

[ReeferBen]

Jon, can you tell us how warner marines pellets are different then the NPbiopellets, two little fishes, or vertexs pellets? Just wondering what the variations are if you know.

Thanks

 

[Jon Warner]

Jon, can you tell us how warner marines pellets are different then the NPbiopellets, two little fishes, or vertexs pellets? Just wondering what the variations are if you know.

Thanks

Most of us in the business know what the other guys use... and it's safe to say that the other 3 are "extremely similar" and that the ecoBAK ULNS Pellets are "a somewhat similar, but unique polymer"

Early reports seem to indicate ecoBAK is more aggressively removing PO4 than the others.

Not only is the individual polymer important, but we also look at surface area, crystalline structure, extrusion technique and presence of additives/fillers or lack thereof.

 

[ReeferBen]

Thanks Jon, appreciate the info. Just saw SWC is releasing there own also, this stuff is coming out everywhere. Seems like yours has the best price, and no fillers, seems like the best deal.

 

[Nicks387]

I am using the np biopellets and have had excellent results. I have a thread I started a couple of months back on here somewhere. I have done zeo and did the regular Vodka and this has been the best so far. I may try the Warner one from Jon but I still have plenty of the np ones for now. Honestly, for me its been the best thing since protein skimmers..

 

[gilmour01]

after about a week of running the WM pellets, i have a nice white bacterial film that has developed in the reactor.