the official ECOBAK thread...

OK, "dirty" was not the right word. I meant I was feeding bacteria to the system to try and balance it out. I have been adding 80ml of Microbe Lift Special Blend once a week for the past month.

The pellets are tumbling gently and the discharge is going back into the skimmer intake. Skimmer cup is filling up about once every 5 days (Octo SRO 2000).

Any thoughts on getting rid of the algea issue? The tank is just now one year old and the outbreak begin at about 9 months.

 

What type of lighting do you use and how old are the bulbs?

 

8 bulb TEK T-5 about 4" over the top. I change the bulbs every 6-7 months, mostly ATI Blue+. I have been running only 4 bulbs for the last few months as the more light, the faster the algae grows. Been running the lights about 5 hrs a day, but has running longer before the algea started.

 

update: I have been running the ecobak for 9 days....my phosphates were at 0.5 when I started. I havent changed anything since adding the ecobak, water, feeding, etc. and I just tested my phosphates and it was 0.1! Coincidence???

I was thinking that I wasnt going to see any results for at least 2-3 weeks. Giving the time it takes for the bacteria to take root on the media. But I also had some existing cyano that I did a heavy scraping on the glass, and it's not coming back....so hey, who knows? Maybe with such a light bio-load, things are kicking in faster than normal.

Comments? Thoughts?

 

There are a lot of factors involved. People who have more PO4 inside the live rock in older aquariums will need more time to see PO4 drop. Some systems may see more rapid drops... enjoy not having to buy GFO!

 

quick update: It's been another 2 weeks and I have added a fish and some mushrooms to my bioload, and havent done a water change in since adding them. I still have a little bit of a cyano issue,(which was present before adding Ecobak) but it's definitely on the decline. I'm thinking the algae issues are just from having a new tank, and it being somewhat inherent with the cycle.

I have also not changed the coarse filter pad in my canister filter, and am not seeing any clumping. I just kinda tilt the filter around every few days to make sure everything is being moved around, and nothing is just sitting dormant. All that being said, I just tested my water.
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
phosphates 0.1

so far so good

 

Hi Jon,

First, let me thank you for your product and what you've done for the hobby! I ordered some Ecobak from you about 8 months ago, and have been very happy with the results.

One thing I cannot seem to find or see brought up anywhere is how many pellets is too much? Is it possible to use too many pellets, for instance 2L in a 120 Gal system?

I cannot think that it would hurt, though it may be overkill... what are your thoughts?

 

Good point. While the instructions clearly suggest usage per water volume, I haven't seen or heard anything on over-use. The way they work you would think they can't be overdosed but what do I know? I'll wait for Jon's reply

 

I don't see anything on water changes. Someone on another forum suggested that you shouldn't do any water changes for the first 30 days. Would doing regular water changes slow down the process or does it matter?

TIA

 

I don't think it matters. I performed water changes regularly even after introducing mine, but then again I started out with 0ppm measurable NO3 and PO4.