bio pellets and carbon dosing

[coralcruze]

biopellets and carbon dosing
I have been reading so much on this forum about bio pellets but now that I have implemented it I have some questions...

first my current situation and params:
after 3 weeks with bio pellets...
Cal = 470
Kh = 10.5
Mg = 1350
Po4 = .07
No3 = 20ppt
PH = 8.35
Temp = 80
salinity = 1.025

My pO4 has gone from over .4 on hanna checker to the above No3 from 120 ppt to 20ppt. I have cut back on food fish and increased water changes so unsure how much my pellets have actually done. purchased sps frags which have turned brown as I did not realize my No3 was so high. siphoned the sand which seemed to make the biggest dent.

questions:

I'm having difficulty seeing N03 reduced beyond 20 which is still high. since po4 is .07 ids this the reason no3 is not reducing. I read that you need to have po4 present to reduce no3 is this correct? if not why am I unable to reduce No3? is there anything else I can try to reduce No3?

#2 will my browned out sps color back up? once levels ha ve stabilized? all sps polyps are retracted. is there anything else that I can do in the mean time during the pellet waiting period?

#3 I read that pellets can strip your water of nutrients so feeding should be kept up but also read that you should cut back of feeding. which is true?

hopefully others can chime in and learn alongside. any advice would be appreciated. thanks

 

[coralcruze]

#4 do bio pellets somehow increase salinity? I have noticed a salinity spike to over 1.029 which was quickly corrected with water changes over time.

 

[coralcruze]

ammonia = undetectable

 

[mbg75]

Pellets are carbon dosing, so you will want to get your alk and cal down to natural saltwater levels. They can take a few months to really start working.


As far as salinity, are you using 2-part to maintain those levels? If so, that is a salt and can raise salinity.

 

[coralcruze]

Pellets are carbon dosing, so you will want to get your alk and cal down to natural saltwater levels. They can take a few months to really start working.


As far as salinity, are you using 2-part to maintain those levels? If so, that is a salt and can raise salinity.

I use instant ocean salt mix which tests high for calcium out of the bucket I raise alk with sodium bicarbonate to levels indicated. other than that I have a calcium reactor to maintain levels... I hate 2 part additives used B-ionic and also used kalk in the past calcium reactor has worked best for me to date.

 

[coralcruze]

BTW, calcium always reads high in my tank its the alk that is lowered by the corals. range is as follows


cal 500-450
alk 7- 11 dkh

 

[lnevo]

You really need to stabilize your alk... 7-11dkh is the acceptable range but sps need stability. With a reactor you shouldnt be seeing such a range. I'm not a calcium reactor user but i think you might need to either increase the amount of effluent coming out of the reactor or raise the amount of co2. You want your reactor to even out the usage by your corals so that you are always at the same number.

Also the reason you see alk usage and not calcium is because the ratio of alk to calcium. 1dkh usage (which is a alot of dkh) is only 5ppm of calcium which is less than the standard error of most calcium tests. If i have those numbers correct. So its much easier to see alk usage than caclium.

 

[coralcruze]

You really need to stabilize your alk... 7-11dkh is the acceptable range but sps need stability. With a reactor you shouldnt be seeing such a range. I'm not a calcium reactor user but i think you might need to either increase the amount of effluent coming out of the reactor or raise the amount of co2. You want your reactor to even out the usage by your corals so that you are always at the same number.

Also the reason you see alk usage and not calcium is because the ratio of alk to calcium. 1dkh usage (which is a alot of dkh) is only 5ppm of calcium which is less than the standard error of most calcium tests. If i have those numbers correct. So its much easier to see alk usage than caclium.

My alk levels are the only thing that I see shift. but it takes quite a while to see a shift. we are talkin about months. Perhaps my thinking has always been wrong but at 480 my alk would hover around 8 dkh and I would try and raise it to 10. I was under the impression that the hugher the calcium range the higher the alk needs to be for corals to utilize the componds. yes?

 

[lnevo]

Alk will balance out based on co2 levels in your tank and air in the house. If it tends to balance out at 8 then thats where you should target. The levels of both depend on a good magnesium level.

 

[coralcruze]

Alk will balance out based on co2 levels in your tank and air in the house. If it tends to balance out at 8 then thats where you should target. The levels of both depend on a good magnesium level.

awesome... thanks for that. Yeah depending on season we tend to keep windows open which does lower co2... I do run a single reaction chamber calcium reactor by korallin. do you recommend getting a second chamber? I know guys say that could lower possible co2 being released into the tank. I keep and control the PH in the reactor at 6.3 - 6.6 is there any way to test the efflo to see if there is high co2 being released back into the tank?


Mag levels are always at 1300-1450. again pretty stable but that's the range I would see in a years time. thanks again

 

[vio]

Do u have sand ? if Yes how much ? What u got on sump ? How about Protein Skimmer ?!, If u use any Carbon ,Bio pellets,Vodka,Vinegar etc. u need a GOOD protein Skimmer.

 

[coralcruze]

Do u have sand ? if Yes how much ? What u got on sump ? How about Protein Skimmer ?!, If u use any Carbon ,Bio pellets,Vodka,Vinegar etc. u need a GOOD protein Skimmer.

yes, I have a 35 gallon custom acrylic sump. have a powerhouse of a skimmer, sand however is only 1.5"-2" deep so not a deep sand bed. I recently siphoned the sand.


Was there something you were going to suggest I do? all help is appreciated thanks in advance.

 

[vio]

yes, I have a 35 gallon custom acrylic sump. have a powerhouse of a skimmer, sand however is only 1.5"-2" deep so not a deep sand bed. I recently siphoned the sand.


Was there something you were going to suggest I do? all help is appreciated thanks in advance.

I see threds on net ppl. have hard time, w/Carbon when they have sand. 1.5"-2" is really deep, if i was u, i will remove some sand, every week, then do water change, test the water next day,u need lots of flow.Try to connect intake air (Protein Skimmer) from outside.

 

[coralcruze]

after four months I still see not change in NO3... tests are still at 20 for No3. I've increased to 700 ml in the reactor and still no reduction. what to do?

 

[Mattl22]

What size tank what reactor?
After 4 months should be working?

 

[coralcruze]

105 gal with 29 gallon sump. reactor is the brs. but modified to recirculate. I have controle over the output flow and has always been full throttle from the start. never had to turn it down yet. I feed 4 ml of liquid food a day and 4 ml of fish food a day and still nitrates creep up.

 

[Mattl22]

Feeding 4ml liquid food ? Which one?
Seems like alot if its oyster feast espically if ur trying to drop no3 po4
Have u tired stopping the liquid food for few weeks?

 

[NYreefNoob]

bio-pellets take 4 weeks plus to start to colonize. and your not going to see some amazing results out the box. it does work, you do need to monitor cal and alk till you really start to see months of steady parameters. alk will be the most effected. i ran pellets years back for a long time. my fuge really wasnt a fuge, it was alot of rubble rock. i ran a 2" sandbed in my tank. and i always had skimmers or several to match my system. i didnt use phos or carbon on my system. but was a heavy wrasse, and other small fish stocked tank heavy sps and zoa's. personally i think pellets work best on a heavy stocked system. because of what it actually does. phosphates reduction is a bonus with use of pellets. but it mainly works on nitrates with phos as the bi-bonus. i could be wrong cause im to lazy to look it up. but if i remember correctly nitrates and phosphates play a role in each others reduction. ive played around with most of the carbon source dosing, sugar, vinegar, vodka, vit c, pellets. personally vinegar and kalk is my fav and helps maintain cal and alk. and kalk works to reduce phos

 

[reefoman]

We are on the same boat...
My po4 is very low but not zero and I don't want to keep it at zero... Best would be about 0.02
My no3 is over 25 and I have algae problem but not really sps coloration problem.
I decided to help my bio pellet reactor and started dosing prodibio bioptim and biodigest bacteria and vodka.
I have about 125 gal running water so I started with 2ml vodka a day for first week, second week 3ml, third 3,5 etc.
If you want I can share more info about my mystery plan via PM
After 2-3 weeks it should work just perfect and pull down no3.

 

[coralcruze]

bio-pellets take 4 weeks plus to start to colonize. and your not going to see some amazing results out the box. it does work, you do need to monitor cal and alk till you really start to see months of steady parameters. alk will be the most effected. i ran pellets years back for a long time. my fuge really wasnt a fuge, it was alot of rubble rock. i ran a 2" sandbed in my tank. and i always had skimmers or several to match my system. i didnt use phos or carbon on my system. but was a heavy wrasse, and other small fish stocked tank heavy sps and zoa's. personally i think pellets work best on a heavy stocked system. because of what it actually does. phosphates reduction is a bonus with use of pellets. but it mainly works on nitrates with phos as the bi-bonus. i could be wrong cause im to lazy to look it up. but if i remember correctly nitrates and phosphates play a role in each others reduction. ive played around with most of the carbon source dosing, sugar, vinegar, vodka, vit c, pellets. personally vinegar and kalk is my fav and helps maintain cal and alk. and kalk works to reduce phos

yeah I've been at it now for 4 months and do not see a reduction below 20... I guess I'll try reducing my feeding in half for a while but it doesnt seem right with all of the corals I have in the tank. It is fully stocked with sps and lps predomenantly. so seems like they need that minimal food. 4 ml of reef nutrition liquidand 4 ml of fish food does not seem like alot to me but I could be wrong. do you think I need another reactor to double the that surface area (pellets)? yes I have heard that Po4 and NO3 reduce together but have been afraid to allo Po4 to raise when I take out my GFO. I do see it rise when I do that. what do you suggest I do? I'm all ears and really want this to work. I do a 35% water change every month religiously. and I also siphon my sand bed every so often. so what should I do?