BRS 160 - Do you guys still run all the Marinepure blocks in it?

[AZMSGT]

I was looking at the BRS 160 videos and in the early stages you guys had a whole bunch of Marine Pure blocks in the sump. How many do you still have in the sump?

 

[lacrosseboss18]

I’m pretty sure they removed them all a long time ago while running the zeovit system.

 

[Bulk Reef Supply]

We're no longer running them, but I can't remember exactly when they were removed. I want to say that they were removed right around the time we made some big sump modifications to run the Triton method back a few years ago. Looking back on some BRS160 update videos, we have them in the sump as recently at late 2017.

 

[User1]

You are still using the Brightwell bricks though on some tanks, correct? I think I saw them in the video last week with regards to the flow test(s).

 

[AZMSGT]

Thanks folks, would love to know the reason for yanking them out if anyone can recall.

 

[User1]

I can't speak for BRS let alone the marine pure blocks I can speak on the Brightwell bricks and why one would want to move them. Simple reason would be the location and/or placement of them. I placed mine in a higher flow area of the sump and they are eroding which leaves a mess in the sump. The bricks are soft and porous so placement is key.

When I turn off my return pumps that stuff gets picked up and blown into the display once they get turned back on. May not be a issue for most because people are better at cleaning the sump than I am but that is at least one reason I can see.

 

[Bulk Reef Supply]

You are still using the Brightwell bricks though on some tanks, correct? I think I saw them in the video last week with regards to the flow test(s).

That's correct. We are using the Brightwell bricks in many of our test tanks as well as the Red Sea 750 XXL tank

 

[AKReef]

Do the Brightwell bricks leach aluminum like the MarinePure? I used to have Marinepure blocks in my stump and found high levels of AL when doing ICP testing. Removed bricks and ran GFO, and now no AL.

 

[AZMSGT]

Do the Brightwell bricks leach aluminum like the MarinePure? I used to have Marinepure blocks in my stump and found high levels of AL when doing ICP testing. Removed bricks and ran GFO, and now no AL.

I was wondering if this might have been why they pulled them out of the 160. The brightwell website says they aren’t supposed to leach AL

 

[Silver14SS]

Do the Brightwell bricks leach aluminum like the MarinePure? I used to have Marinepure blocks in my stump and found high levels of AL when doing ICP testing. Removed bricks and ran GFO, and now no AL.

Same here, I didn’t notice any issues from the aluminum but figured it would be one variable to remove.

 

[NY_Sea]

I’ve heard good things about the maxspect ones

 

[vangvace]

I was wondering if this might have been why they pulled them out of the 160. The brightwell website says they aren’t supposed to leach AL

Marinepure also claims not to leach, though I had horrible PO4 with their spheres in my tank. I have 3 Brightwell blocks going into my future build with a small batch of Marinepure cubes for transfer/use in QT tanks.

If I recall correctly, it was going from zeovit to triton as why they removed the blocks. The current use of brightwell products could be a sponsorship thing.

 

[Cyricdark]

Marinepure also claims not to leach, though I had horrible PO4 with their spheres in my tank. I have 3 Brightwell blocks going into my future build with a small batch of Marinepure cubes for transfer/use in QT tanks.

If I recall correctly, it was going from zeovit to triton as why they removed the blocks. The current use of brightwell products could be a sponsorship thing.

BRS likes the bright will bricks because they are denser and more solid the Marine pure bricks you have to be very careful with you can actually crumble them in your hands if you squeeze really hard the Brightwell ones are more like bricks. ICP test cannot differentiate between inert Aluma silicates and aluminum so it's debated as to whether they actually Leach aluminum at all. Considering I've had two of them in my sump along with two of the Brightwell bricks for years now and my tank is full of leathers that grow like weeds I would have to say it's the inert form since aluminum leaching would be bothering my leather corals if not. My personal opinion is that the Marine pure blocks are better for standard filtration because the pore network is larger and more interconnected and the Brightwell bricks I think are better for denitrification because the pores are smaller and more likely to create anaerobic areas.

 

[randyBRS]

The Marine Pure bricks were removed a month or so after that episode came out, as it was intended to help demonstrate some other options for biological filtration that you can add to your tank. I'd say the main reason they were removed was to add in a refugium and the Theiling Roller Mat. Not that there was anything wrong with them or that they "didn't work".

As with almost everything we've done to the BRS160 (I.e. - going from Zeovit to Triton to barebottom and BRS/WWC) it has always been to demonstrate the various options out there in the reefing world and share our experiences with the community. Sort of like experimenting on our own tanks so you don't have to experiment on yours.

 

[AZMSGT]

The Marine Pure bricks were removed a month or so after that episode came out, as it was intended to help demonstrate some other options for biological filtration that you can add to your tank. I'd say the main reason they were removed was to add in a refugium and the Theiling Roller Mat. Not that there was anything wrong with them or that they "didn't work".

As with almost everything we've done to the BRS160 (I.e. - going from Zeovit to Triton to barebottom and BRS/WWC) it has always been to demonstrate the various options out there in the reefing world and share our experiences with the community. Sort of like experimenting on our own tanks so you don't have to experiment on yours.

Thanks for the response Randy, maybe a future BRS investigates can be about this whole Aluminum thing.