the official ECOBAK thread...

Jon,

thanks for the response. I will keep plugging away. I ordered some MB7 which arrived today. will this work?

yes, I am running ~100 gph thru the pellets. they barely churn in there. some more than others. and we are reducing the KH to the 8.0 on my salifert kit.

 

Pickupman66,

What reactor are you running them in? If they barely churn then that is something that needs tending to.

 

The slow tumble is best... I only recommend a more aggressive tumble with very low nutrient systems where the owner requires a more aggressive stripping of nutrients. Most users will do best with a slow tumble.

 

which of these two bacteria supplements do you prefer... if u were going to use it in your tank... the microlobe is a huge difference in price... is the prodibio that much better

 

The Microbe Lift product is what I use personally and will use until we finish development of our own bacteria product.

 

Jon,
I finally read through this entire thread. Thanks for be available to the hobbyists using your products. This is more of a report of my experience with Ecobak but I welcome any suggestions you may have.

I have a 34g Solana and started with 100ml of Ecobak about 3-4 months ago in a ViaAqua PR20 reactor driven by an MJ1200. I got no results after a few weeks and added in another 100ml bringing the total to 200ml. Then I started seeding with Microbacter. With the MJ1200 the pellets were flying wildly.

Up to this point I did everything wrong and got no results. Then I got smart and switched out the pump to a Hydo Pico Evolutlon 400 that created the perfect slow tumble and finally got some good results along with a big increase in skimmate. My plate colored up -- I was about to get rid of it , my ocellaris bred for the first time and my water became crystal. My RBTA doesn't expand as much anymore but that could be from the water clarity. My clams, other LPS and softies were not affected. Most importantly nitrates went from 5-6 to under 3.

After a little while the pellets stopped tumbling along with a falling off of skimmate. I would shake the reactor and this would start them up for a while but this started to work less and less. A couple days ago I went back to the mj1200 but now with a ball valve dialed way down. Last night I cut the flow further and now seem to be back on track.

 

I just started using pellets...I'm thinking it has been 3 weeks. I have no noticiable differences with the small tufts of GHA, and my water is not clearer yet. However, my skimmate is darker than previous method of carbon dosing (Bio-Fuel), but the amount remains the same. My glass only needs cleaning once every few days instead of daily. I have not noticed any difference in coral coloration or growth as of yet. I'm still really new in the process...I will keep updating.

 

Hello, yes it seems that getting the right reactor and pump combination is very important. Your numbers and system sound like they're doing well...

 

That's great that you're seeing results so early... most start to see results at 4-6 weeks. Give it some time and your clarity and coral color will start to pop and don't forget to feed the system as your nutrients levels start to drop!

 

I feed daily...varieties of foods day to day. Thanks for the response!