the official ECOBAK thread...

hmmmm... the red slime appeared when you started dosing vodka and has only gotten worse while using ecobak. Was anything else happening when you started dosing the vodka? Many people report the Carbon source in Vodka promotes Cyanobacteria more than Vinegar...

The red slime mystery is truly a mystery. I would estimate 10% of people report an issue with red slime... but how many people have red slime who aren't using a bio-polymer?

Could it be the solid polymer? Well... just to go back to a few basics, ecoBAK is not soluble. That means ecoBAK doesn't and can't add anything to the water. However, bacteria consume ecoBAK while stripping nutrients from the water stream. Excessive flow will strip bacterial mass (slime) off of the pellets surface and distribute them through the system. If this bacterial biomass settles... it can act like a nutrient source just like uneaten food.

Bacterial biomass has a higher nutrient concentration than the water around it so I can see how a little cyano could grow locally around settled bacterial biomass just like I can see it happening around uneaten food.

Servillius, so at this point, it's tough to say. It can be lights, flow, water chemistry, salt mix, source water, bacterial imbalance or ??? If it were me... I'd try dosing 5ml of vinegar per week and watch for changes.

 

Hello,

No thats not really true. ecoBAK encourages the growth of bacteria that remove Nitrate and Phosphate from the water stream.

Having said that... ecoBAK makes water quality better and with better water quality your coral growth will improve and growing corals remove many trace elements from the water.

 

Thank you for the swift response, I am

 

Running a baffleless sump and want to go the biopellet route, would you also suggest that I supplement with bacteria to diversify ie bac7

 

At this time it doesn't appear that any bacterial additives are necessary or do anything to aid ecoBAK. However, some bacterial additives are helpful for a system for other reasons... I like BioDigest, Special Blend and Dr. Tim's additives.

 

Don't get me wrong Jon. I don't mean to accuse EcoBak of being the cause of red slime. I have a system wide problem in my tank; red slime. To deal with it I have to make sure every system in my tank is set to the ideal level to avoid aiding or promoting the problem. I'm adjusting lights, skimming, everything. Your help in understanding the product is very much appreciated.

Until you invent and deliver something better, I will never set up a tank without EcoBak again.

 

Servillius,

Cyanobacteria is amazing stuff. It can use Nitrogen and CO2 from the atmosphere as a nutrient source. It was one of the first living organisms on the planet and may be one of the last.
We can fight it by out-competing it (beneficial bacteria and enzyme products) and removing PO4 and NO3.
Someday the hobby will come up with a better solution... we've been working on them!! But a cure to marine aquarium Cyanobacteria may be as elusive as a cure for Cancer.

Try the vinegar and update us in a couple weeks.

 

My bio reactor just came in and will now add 250 ml of pellets to my 120.

 

thats great! Before you start, is it a new system? What are your PO4 and NO3 readings? You may want to start with 1/3 or 1/4 of the jar if you have an older system with high NO3 and PO4.

 

I'm not gonna lie Jon...I just put it in there!

It's Aprox 150-160 of total water volume that has been running for about a month with a mix of LR from my previous tank.

So I will test it later, however since the tank is relatively new the impact should be minimal....right?