the official ECOBAK thread...

Currently mine are in a BRS dual carbon/GFO reactor. the sponge filters were replaced with screens. I get about 100gph thru this setup. they do churn and are not stuck together. the only issue I have is that my skimmer is run by my main system pump. so not all of the water discharge from the pellets may make its way into the skimmer.

could this possibly be the issue? I know you suggest to feed the fish more, but since I have increased this feeding, I have noticed the cyano coming back.

 

I don't want to answer this question for Jon, but I have read other people having troubles with pellets using a similar setup with a main pump running a skimmer vs. a dedicated pump. I will look for the post...but I don't think it was EcoBak they were running.

 

I hate to hear that.. I sold the Genx I was originally going to use for it.

 

Remember as we discussed earlier, the Cyanobacteria is coming from a bacerial instability and not the ecoBAK. Once you get the bacterial issue solved you will see the Cyanobacteria go away. I'm not fond of using RO/DI cannisters as reactors but some have reported good results using them.

 

Jon, thanks so much for the help and advice. I truly appreciate your knowledge and the fact that you are even here to answer stupid questions. ill dose the tank and see where we go.

 

No problem at all... I can talk about this stuff all day. It's obviously my hobby, too... so it never gets old. Let em know how it goes.

 

Hi Jon!

I started using biopellets ten days ago and am worried I might run into a few problems in the near future because of how I set everything up. I have a 90 gallon tank with as msx extreme 200 skimmer that has been pulling out skimmate very well! I keep my alk between 7 and 8 and all other parameters are where they should be. I'm worried though because I did not add the total amount of pellets slowly, I just put all in at once (which was about 3/4 of a cup) I have seen no cloudiness at all and some of the corals seem to be coloring up already, although that may just be me wanting that to happen so bad that I'm imagining it lol.

But if I have not seen any cloudiness just yet, do you think I should expect anything to go wrong? If so, is there anything to look for to know if disaster is around the corner or something I can do to prevent it? I also have some cyano blooming in a few spots which brings me to my next question... if I dose anything to get the bacteria back in line will I have to continue dosing this forever or just until the correct bacterial population becomes dominate?

Thanks!!

 

hey i got a question.... i was reading the other day and somewhere it said while running bio pellets you need to make sure you keep your alk low, around 7-8...

my question is do bio pellets raise your alk... everyone talks about what there nitrates and phosphates are but what is everyones alk while running bio pellets..

 

you're probably fine... not all systems will experience a bloom. Most people will add a product like Special Blend for a couple weeks and be rid of the Cyanobacteria issue as long as the other "triggers" are in check.

 

Hello,

No they contain nothing that would raise Carbonate Alkalinity. All low nutrient systems do best at 7-8 ALK.