Does Vibrant really work? Will UV affect Vibrant? We test 6-tanks to find out! | BRStv Investigates.

[randyBRS]

So after some success on our Red Sea MAX-S 400 studio tank, we decided to test Vibrant in a more controlled environment in the BRS Lab.


Today, we see the results of dosing 9-weeks of Vibrant to tanks riddled with various types of algae in order to find out if it really works!

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I will say that it worked for my Bubble Algae when NOTHING else would. That said, I don’t continue to dose it. For me it was just a 2-3 month treatment. I had no issue with my acros or other corals during treatment.

 

[Scorpius]

I took an entire week off to redo my system to get rid of turf algae. IT'S BACK. Sigh..................... Vibrant should arrive next tuesday.

 

[jinsun2000]

Giving Vibrant a try as well after watching the BRS video. Thanks BRS!

 

[Jamestown]

What vibrant did for me

 

[bubbaque]

The tanks may of cleared on their own as it was a new tank that may of just went through the normal algae stage.

Was there any tank used as a control where no vibrant was dosed to see if it would of turned out the same.

I usually love all the experiments you guys do but this one seems like it really could of used a control tank.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

The tanks may of cleared on their own as it was a new tank that may of just went through the normal algae stage.

Was there any tank used as a control where no vibrant was dosed to see if it would of turned out the same.

I usually love all the experiments you guys do but this one seems like it really could of used a control tank.

I can’t speak to their video, but I had bubble algae for years. I was seriously thinking of starting over, it was that bad. Vibrant took care of it in 2-3 months. It was a miracle.

 

[Lasse]

@randyBRS - I´m very sorry to say but this test says nothing about the effectiveness of Vibrant. It could be true that it is effective - but it could also be a huge illusion like a magic Las Vegas show. In every tank with one exception - day 1 up to day 9 a tang from the family Ctenochaetus occur (probably Ctenochaetus strigosus ) In tank 5 - it is there during the start but disappear (with the other inhabitants) during the following weeks. However in one of the views - I can see a lawnmower blenny.

The Ctenochaetus family and especially Ctenochaetus strigosus is my preferred start in every tank with tangs. Why - they a very good eaters of early stage algae and a Ctenochaetus strigosus can quickly clean up a tank infested of diatoms and other early stage algae. You do not have a control tank as @bubbaque state and you use proven effective algae eaters in the set up.

Therefore - there is at least 3 ways to explain the result in the video

1) Vibrant is a magic substance
2) Vibrant + an effective algae eating fish is a magic combination
3) Algae eating fish (especially The Ctenochaetus family) is a magic organism

I have also an other remark. This is the first time I get an explanation why Vibrant work. It says that it is a heterotrophic bacteria that clean up organics. I do not believe in that. All heterotrophic bacteria feeds on organic matter - in reality - that´s the definition of a heterotrophic organism. The waste of their work is however inorganic compounds like PO4 and NH3/NH4. These compounds are the food for autotroph´s (algae, green plants and other organisms). If the bacteria in Vibrant promote normal mineralization - the result of vibrant should be more growth of autotrophic organisms - not the opposite

I will stress that I have no experiences of using Vibrant - i do not know what type of bacteria it content but I hope that my strongest nightmare of the content is not true. It looks like the content of chlorophyll disappear from the algae. This could be due to lack of nutrients but also by an attack of a pathogen destroying chlorophyll. I really hope that it works by zeroing one or more nutrients/micro nutrients (in a way unknown for me) - the other way of working would be my worst nightmare according to reefing ever,

Sincerely Lasse

 

[bubbaque]

I can’t speak to their video, but I had bubble algae for years. I was seriously thinking of starting over, it was that bad. Vibrant took care of it in 2-3 months. It was a miracle.

Many people have had success with vibrant and it seems kill many people’s bubble algae. I was just saying the way they did this experiment was poorly done. Every experiment should have a control and to leave it out didn’t make sense.

 

[robbyg]

Hey Randy that was an excellent video. I wish we could see the next 9 weeks after the treatment stopped but I know that tying up the tanks that long on a single test would be problematic. I really enjoyed the way the video was done and while I am not a reefer who puts chemicals in my tank I still appreciate a well done video and the way it may help others who want to go down that road. The video had very few errors in it's scientific approach. No test will ever be perfect but this one was clearly well thought out and executed.

 

[randyBRS]

@randyBRS - I´m very sorry to say but this test says nothing about the effectiveness of Vibrant. It could be true that it is effective - but it could also be a huge illusion like a magic Las Vegas show. In every tank with one exception - day 1 up to day 9 a tang from the family Ctenochaetus occur (probably Ctenochaetus strigosus ) In tank 5 - it is there during the start but disappear (with the other inhabitants) during the following weeks. However in one of the views - I can see a lawnmower blenny.

The Ctenochaetus family and especially Ctenochaetus strigosus is my preferred start in every tank with tangs. Why - they a very good eaters of early stage algae and a Ctenochaetus strigosus can quickly clean up a tank infested of diatoms and other early stage algae. You do not have a control tank as @bubbaque state and you use proven effective algae eaters in the set up.

Therefore - there is at least 3 ways to explain the result in the video

1) Vibrant is a magic substance
2) Vibrant + an effective algae eating fish is a magic combination
3) Algae eating fish (especially The Ctenochaetus family) is a magic organism


I will stress that I have no experiences of using Vibrant - i do not know what type of bacteria it content but I hope that my strongest nightmare of the content is not true. It looks like the content of chlorophyll disappear from the algae. This could be due to lack of nutrients but also by an attack of a pathogen destroying chlorophyll. I really hope that it works by zeroing one or more nutrients/micro nutrients (in a way unknown for me) - the other way of working would be my worst nightmare according to reefing ever,

Sincerely Lasse

I can easily see how any reefer would/could expect the same, that the utilitarian fish had a major role in the algae eradication. I don't doubt that to some degree they did feed on the algae throughout the test, but there is a key component that I just can't overlook when considering the fish's role.

These tanks were repurposed from our UV Sterilizer experiment to include all of the same fish species, where the tanks developed the algae issues over 8-weeks of cycling. It wasn't until the Vibrant test started when we started to see a shift in the algae's form and color (which may not have came across very well in the video) where every bit of algae follicle inside the tank turned white/translucent and began sloughing off the rock and tank surfaces. That type of reaction isn't something that I could reasonably attribute just the fish alone and because there were no other variables or factors changed in these test tanks other than the Vibrant...I personally have to give the majority of credit to that outlier variable.

 

[randyBRS]

The tanks may of cleared on their own as it was a new tank that may of just went through the normal algae stage.
Was there any tank used as a control where no vibrant was dosed to see if it would of turned out the same.
I usually love all the experiments you guys do but this one seems like it really could of used a control tank.

I couldn't agree more. This test absolutely needed a control and in hindsight we would do it again with one.

 

[ahiggins]

@randyBRS i tried vibrant once but after it concluded, I had a massive cyano and diatom outbreak. That was about 4 years ago. What happened to your tanks after the experiments concluded?
When this first came on the market it was advertised as a sort of likeness to vodka dosing (nutrient elimination). Now it seems it’s more of a bacteria dosing.

 

[Flatlandreefer]

I would like to see if it has any effect on coral health and if the algae comes back after discontinuing use

 

[jrill]

While a control tank would have been nice, has anyone seen that amount of algae disappear that fast without vibrant. I know I haven't.

 

[piranhaman00]

I cant see video, what was the result with UV? Should it be turned off?

 

[Kellie in CA]

I had moderate success with Vibrant, but ever since I stopped using it I have had constant diatoms that I can't seem to get rid of months later. Trying to decide if I should start using it again.

 

[Colin_S]

This was a really helpful video. my tank is 2 years old and i have had dino's for about the last 7 months (my second outbreak), doing the usual things to get rid of it.
Whilst trying to figure out a solution, this video came out. i had just installed a UV but found out my dino was not the algae affected by the uv (goes at night, comes back in the day).
So, i made a algae turf scrubber which went into operation the same time i started dosing Vibrant reef. I try and stay away from chemical dosing but i had to give in for this.
so after 3 weeks of dosing once a week, having ATS running and introducing a blue cheek Goby the alage is starting to go. I do have algae on the rocks which is starting to die off, and this is not down to the goby as he dose not touch it.
This could be down to any of the three
1. The goby putting the alage into the water collum and the uv getting rid
2. Vibrant reef doing its thing
3. ATS but this is really for nutriant control

i'm currently still dosing, think i'll do it for 6 weeks maybe longer if required. Then report back after another 6 weeks after the dosing is complete to see if anything has come to light if that helps

 

[Colin_S]

I cant see video, what was the result with UV? Should it be turned off?

watch it on their youtube cahnnel and subscribe but it does say if you have uv running its ok to do this but may delay the results

 

[Reefs and Geeks]

For those that have a fuge, is there a good way to save the macro algae while dosing vibrant? Do people normally take it out, stick it in it's own tank with a heater and save it to put back in the tank, or would returning the cheato reintroduce the issues that vibrant was meant to solve in the first place? What about the maintenance dose of vibrant? Would continuing the maintenance dose essentially mean I won't be able to run a fuge?