The Bacterial “Rip Clean” Method

[Subsea]

This is starting point of Dual 55G Skid tanks. Initially set up to process 200lbs of diver collected live rock & 50 lbs of live sand from Gulf Live Rock. The top 55G display is skimmerless, sumpless and fishless, with a powerful biochemical filter that uses a reverse flow thru 2” of aroggonite to perform powerful oxidation chemistry and the cryptic void in plenum is the habitat for the “sponge loop” that feeds detritus to the microbial loop and recycles POC back into the system as DIC which feeds photosynthesis that converts carbon dioxide into glucose.

In instrumentation, we call this ” a positive feedback loop”.

In Nature, we call this “Sustainable Maraculture”

PS: Top apex predators are Sally Lightfoot Crab and six Peppermint Shrimp.


Dual 55G tanks
Because this is a thread about bacteria and management of bacteria using diverse filter feeders specific enzymes, I will use liquid seaweed (inorganic carbon & little nitrogen) to favor growth for everyone and compliment that with phytoplankton as an organic carbon source.

There are no fish in this tank, I choose to favor amphipods & copepods as my gardeners, I can see them better than the bacteria. I also have much green macro algae and several red macros. Included in this tank are a variety of ornamental sponges, with my most recent joy two deep water NPS Gorgonions. The flame scallop is hiding and healthy.

I should note, that I occasional dose 5ml of ammonia when lights come on.

Note the last picture of muscle shell on sand bottom. Twenty four hours ago, I took live mussel from r

Bottom 55G tank: This tank is less than 2 months mature. Everything in this tank was brought in from mature systems. It is the third stage of pest elimination before releasing curated rock to LFS.

Note some pruning required on fast growing Caulerpa Paspoidies, This tank is nitrogen limited even though I have dosed 5ml of ammonia for 2 days in a row.
There are no fish in this tank, I choose to favor amphipods & copepods as my gardeners, I can see them better than the bacteria. I also have much green macro algae and several red macros. Included in this tank are a variety of ornamental sponges, with my most recent joy two deep water NPS Gorgonions. The flame scallop is hiding and healthy.

I should note, that I will up ammonia dose of 5ml to twice a day. Also, from the light green coloration of Caulerpa feathers, this system needs IRON. For that purpose I will add “liquid seaweed” at 1ml per 10G of system water.

PS: I dosed 5ml of ammonia and 5ml of liquid seaweed into both 55G tanks. There was (15 second delay) an immediate feeding response from NPS Gorgonion to this dosage combination.

PSS: I will attempt to use these three products to run my Caribbean mixed garden lagoon.

 

[Dan_P]

I often equated seaweed going sexual as a survival technique in which dna spores are released to water column. I still hope that eggcrate grid will be inoculated in cultivation vessel.

In the case of my Ulva, with sufficient nitrate, phosphate , and trace element dosing, the algae shows strong growth, robust fronds and lots of gamete releases. I think going sexual could also indicate the water is in good condition for gamete settling.

I am not sure which or both stories reflect reality.

 

[exnisstech]

I've decided to start dosing NP bacto balance in my 180 gallon, 200-220g total. I had ordered it when the reef actif was unavailable. I do have reef actif coming now so I'll do a bit of a comparison between the two. I'll be using the reef actif in my reefer 170. I'm not a science guy so this will be basic, dosing amount, frequency, and images. Starting dose amount is 1ml every other day. Recommended dosage is 2mm per day (I'm rounding from the dosage calculator) After one week I'll go to daily then after that I'll increase it to obtain a max of 2ml daily. Dosing will be just after lights off. I'll see how things look before I decide how fast to increase to the max amount dosed. Images are from last night before dosing. Currently have GHA and cyano going on. I ran chemi clean a few weeks ago and it helped but very briefly. I'll see how this proceeds and try not to clutter the thread with images that do not show any change. First dose was last night.

The glass is like this after 3-4 days without cleaning







EDIT: FTS for reference

 

[brandon429]

agreed that's a great test with a clear target. really good tank too, lots of $$ corals to work with as well.

 

[beesnreefs]

I've decided to start dosing NP bacto balance in my 180 gallon, 200-220g total. I had ordered it when the reef actif was unavailable. I do have reef actif coming now so I'll do a bit of a comparison between the two. I'll be using the reef actif in my reefer 170. I'm not a science guy so this will be basic, dosing amount, frequency, and images. Starting dose amount is 1ml every other day. Recommended dosage is 2mm per day (I'm rounding from the dosage calculator) After one week I'll go to daily then after that I'll increase it to obtain a max of 2ml daily. Dosing will be just after lights off. I'll see how things look before I decide how fast to increase to the max amount dosed. Images are from last night before dosing. Currently have GHA and cyano going on. I ran chemi clean a few weeks ago and it helped but very briefly. I'll see how this proceeds and try not to clutter the thread with images that do not show any change. First dose was last night.

The glass is like this after 3-4 days without cleaning







EDIT: FTS for reference

Thanks for all the details on this. I’m really curious to see how this works out for you

 

[areefer01]

Member Tanks

Show off your tank and document your progress.

www.reef2reef.com

This marks the start of documenting Reef Actif protocoal. I estimate that 120G display holds 130G of water.

This is the third day and second dose was administered. I prefer to measure dry weight with scale. I added 3g in first and second dose.

Please note that I am skimming through the thread but caught your use of reef acif and wondering your use case and expected result. Did you go into any detail on it or what you want to accomplish?

I've used Tropic Marin Bio Actif salt and enjoyed the results. I've since switched to Tropic Marin Pro for auto water changes that I'm currently implementing and considered manually adding Reef Actif which would more or less achive the same thing. Bio Actif salt has to be used within 12 to 24 hours ideally with 36 hours pushing it.

 

[Subsea]

Please note that I am skimming through the thread but caught your use of reef acif and wondering your use case and expected result. Did you go into any detail on it or what you want to accomplish?

I've used Tropic Marin Bio Actif salt and enjoyed the results. I've since switched to Tropic Marin Pro for auto water changes that I'm currently implementing and considered manually adding Reef Actif which would more or less achive the same thing. Bio Actif salt has to be used within 12 to 24 hours ideally with 36 hours pushing it.

Please note that I am skimming through the thread but caught your use of reef acif and wondering your use case and expected result. Did you go into any detail on it or what you want to accomplish?

I've used Tropic Marin Bio Actif salt and enjoyed the results. I've since switched to Tropic Marin Pro for auto water changes that I'm currently implementing and considered manually adding Reef Actif which would more or less achive the same thing. Bio Actif salt has to be used within 12 to 24 hours ideally with 36 hours pushing it.

Skimming this thread does not justify the knowledge to be gained here.

in a nutshell, nutrient management using targeted bacteria to develop diversity of filter feeders using nutrient recycling.

 

[areefer01]

Skimming this thread does not justify the knowledge to be gained here.

Fully aware - I skim posts that are of interest then go back and read. As I noted the reef actif is what caught my eye so hit reply. Apologies if that was out of order.

in a nutshell, nutrient management using targeted bacteria to develop diversity of filter feeders using nutrient recycling.

I know what it does - I was curious as to why you chose it as opposed to other products since one could argue it is a medium level nutrient export and/or binder.

 

[Subsea]

Fully aware - I skim posts that are of interest then go back and read. As I noted the reef actif is what caught my eye so hit reply. Apologies if that was out of order.



I know what it does - I was curious as to why you chose it as opposed to other products since one could argue it is a medium level nutrient export and/or binder.

I don’t need extraordinary products to do good husbandry . First & foremost, nutrient export is last on my agenda. I am all about nutrient management using recycling to grow desirables. I have never used Tropic Marine products that I know off. I only became aware of Reef Actif because of the thread title but most importantly @sixty_reefer opened up a discussion at a scientific level that I found intriguing.

What are my goals? I have four tanks on this thread. Each has different goals: my 120G tank crased in September and I thought that with a group of wise consel, we would solve the problem, my 75G display at 25 yr mature has a reoccurring Cynobacteria problem that seems to have developed an immunity to chemical treatment of ChemiClean.

@areefer01
I didn’t seek this thread for a magic product. I got involved in this thread because I like to teach and I like to learn,

Why are you here?

 

[sixty_reefer]

I've decided to start dosing NP bacto balance in my 180 gallon, 200-220g total. I had ordered it when the reef actif was unavailable. I do have reef actif coming now so I'll do a bit of a comparison between the two. I'll be using the reef actif in my reefer 170. I'm not a science guy so this will be basic, dosing amount, frequency, and images. Starting dose amount is 1ml every other day. Recommended dosage is 2mm per day (I'm rounding from the dosage calculator) After one week I'll go to daily then after that I'll increase it to obtain a max of 2ml daily. Dosing will be just after lights off. I'll see how things look before I decide how fast to increase to the max amount dosed. Images are from last night before dosing. Currently have GHA and cyano going on. I ran chemi clean a few weeks ago and it helped but very briefly. I'll see how this proceeds and try not to clutter the thread with images that do not show any change. First dose was last night.

The glass is like this after 3-4 days without cleaning







EDIT: FTS for reference

Thank you for posting, I will be following to see how the bacto balance performs, I have never use it although it will be interesting to see if it performs well at outcompeting nuisance.
Please keep us updated.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Fully aware - I skim posts that are of interest then go back and read. As I noted the reef actif is what caught my eye so hit reply. Apologies if that was out of order.



I know what it does - I was curious as to why you chose it as opposed to other products since one could argue it is a medium level nutrient export and/or binder.

Hi, on this thread we are working together to verify if actif can be beneficial at reducing the growth of nuisance photosynthetic organisms, I have been using actif for a long time and noticed that in a system with poor filtration nuisances we’re struggling to take over. The suspicion is that actif encourages the growth and divisions of beneficial decomposing bacteria that reduces organic matter in a system by assimilating them into their mass that if left unchecked it can contribute to the growth of nuisance organisms like GHA and Cyanobacteria.
it’s a basic bacterial nutrient export as you mentioned, it’s just showing to be effective at reducing pollutants that case issues
In addition as @Subsea mentions is a great way to transform uneaten food into bacteria that will be beneficial for organisms that prey on them, for example my sea star is doing fairly well with that extra nutrients.

 

[Subsea]

Hi, on this thread we are working together to verify if actif can be beneficial at reducing the growth of nuisance photosynthetic organisms, I have been using actif for a long time and noticed that in a system with poor filtration nuisances we’re struggling to take over. The suspicion is that actif encourages the growth and divisions of beneficial decomposing bacteria that reduces organic matter in a system by assimilating them into their mass that if left unchecked it can contribute to the growth of nuisance organisms like GHA and Cyanobacteria.
it’s a basic bacterial nutrient export as you mentioned, it’s just showing to be effective at reducing pollutants that case issues
In addition as @Subsea mentions is a great way to transform uneaten food into bacteria that will be beneficial for organisms that prey on them, for example my sea star is doing fairly well with that extra nutrients.

I must add, that unless protein skimmers are involved in the process:

I see NO NUTRIENT EXPORT., In my systems, it’s nutrient recycling, until I frag & sell coral.

@sixty_reefer
If a company that specializes in reef bacteria populations were to test bacteria populations then we would have a scientific experiment with “peer review” and independent “third party” quality assurance.

 

[Subsea]

Please keep updating this pictures and any other observations you see whether they are positive or negative.

Lights on 15 minutes; system water clarity continues to be stellar. Film algae growth on glass & sand is minimal.

All is Quiet in the Algae Wars on second day of second treatment of 1,5 grams of biofloc. When lights go out, the third treatment will be dosed.

 

[Subsea]

Member Tanks

Show off your tank and document your progress.

www.reef2reef.com

This marks the start of documenting Reef Actif protocoal. I estimate that 120G display holds 130G of water.

This is the third day and second dose was administered. I prefer to measure dry weight with scale. I added 3g in first and second dose.

End of the second light cycle after second treatment of 2 grams biofloc. Overall, I see more reflective light that is not being absorbed by algae. In two hours when lights go out, the third dose of 2 grams will be added.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

I think I may start trying to dose actif. I may be wrong but I believe people who go through nuisance such as Dino’s, cyano, or gha. Have experienced out of balance nutrients(starving beneficial bacteria)or used products such as mb7 and may have unbalanced the beneficial bacteria’s in the tank. I once used too much GAC to remove organics, and stripped trace elements from my tank.
When I had these isssues I found it was best to stop using products and allow my n & p to rise while maintaining trace elements. I believed this allowed my biome to estamblish and eventually start out competing the algae’s naturally.
I now am trying to restablish the best biome I can in my tank.

 

[brandon429]

Subsea what do you mean the big tank crashed I missed that part, where are the pics of it crashed


was it fish loss or coral crash

 

[Subsea]

Subsea what do you mean the big tank crashed I missed that part, where are the pics of it crashed


was it fish loss or coral crash

No fish loss. All urchins & ornamental sponges and 90% of flower anemoneas and a large BTA that had divided several times Expired.

In September while at family reunion for two weeks on Long Island, the epoxied electrical supply to submersible pump pulled apart exposing motor windings made of copper to salt water. To add ”insult to injury“ the gfi on electrical bus did not “turn off” which caused arcing of electricity in salt water, which produces chlorine gas. When I got home after two weeks, it was very discouraging to witness the carnage in display after 5 years of TLC.

Electricity & Copper in a Reef

In swimming pool maintenance, electrical devices are used to transfer copper into water treated. However, I got a double dose of contamination into 5yr mature mixed garden, when power cord pulled out of epoxied MaxiJet powerhead which supplied reverse flow into plenum under 2” aragonite...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[brandon429]

Well my goodness that’s terrible and nice tracing of cause. I hate that it crashed / I’m always wanting to study those causes / clearly without insult that would not have happened.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

Wend using an organic carbon source there is always a risk of affecting nitrates and phosphates, that can be easily corrected by just dosing more.
reef actif would help reduce organics that are feeding your Cyanobacteria and algae, take in consideration that mb7 has organic carbon and you could achieve a similar result with it although it could take longer and be more expensive on the long run.

Isn’t the idea of the reef actif to remove organic carbon? Wouldn’t dosing mb7 be adding to the problem butt it is aimed more towards heterotrophic bacterias and essentially the same as carbon dosing? Just want to be clear as I did not seem to like mb7.

 

[sixty_reefer]

I must add, that unless protein skimmers are involved in the process:

I see NO NUTRIENT EXPORT., In my systems, it’s nutrient recycling, until I frag & sell coral.

@sixty_reefer
If a company that specializes in reef bacteria populations were to test bacteria populations then we would have a scientific experiment with “peer review” and independent “third party” quality assurance.

I have been curious for a long time on the bacterial shifts that this could bring unfortunately as I live in the United Kingdom I don’t have access to aquabiomics.