Bricky's new Elos......

[NaTe R]

i went back and looked at your earlyer pics on some of corals you added in january to now! Very nice growth rate. (despite the hickups)

seattle at 106degrees??? When you were going through that i was in a full on tux in a weding in bellingham, i felt there pain.

**You will be glad to know that global warming is over, now in case you didnt hear**

You have to be pleased non the less, of what that thing has done so far this year for sure, keep up the good work

 

[mike1441]

who needs a fireplace

 

[Bricky]

Not me!

I'd rather have a really big fish tank. It heats the house all year round.

 

[Saltyfish]

That is why I put my 300 in the basement. It is so warm down in my office now.

 

[Bricky]

So last night (Halloween night) was a lot of fun. I got to hand out candy and the kids got to enjoy the tank from afar.

The best comment all night though was, "Cool goldfishies man."

Here's a shot of the ghouls and goblins view. I hope everyone had a safe and fun night.

 

[JPG@CFI]

Well, you do have some sweet goldfish! Has the mighty gramma made it to the reef? Jason

 

[Bricky]

Not yet Jason, but soon.

 

[Bricky]

Loved running the Elos Purist Line, but thought I'd try Brightwell MB7 and BF. I will be running 4-5 liters of Elos Filtra M in my new PM reactor too.

 

[roscoe]

Man what is all this stuff you using? What is it suppose to do? Does it make your corals grow faster or look that much better? Is it necessary? I'm just wondering because there have been so much different bactaria, chemicals, additives coming out the last few years now claiming to do this and that and was wondering what the hype is all about with all these new products coming out. Enlighten me a bit Bricky.

Thanks, Sarang

 

[Bricky]

Basically the ULNS's (Zeo,Brightwell,Elos Purist Line, Prodibio, etc..) are bacteria strains in a bottle that aid in denitrification and nitrification of the nutrients in our systems. The zeolite stones that are associated with the systems are homes for the bacteria to live and thrive. Basically like adding more live rock to your system.

I am finding that I don't want to mess with a refugium. I don't want to light another tank, I don't want to harvest algae or deal with the detritus that always seems to be present in a refugium. I'm pretty sure that the bacteria strains and carbon dosing is also more effective at stripping the water of excess nutrients than a planted refugium.

I initially started my system running the Elos Purist Line (Filtra M, RB10-RB50). During that time I noticed that the macro algae in the refugium never really grew. There just weren't enough nutrients for them to grow let alone thrive. At the same time though, the display tank rock had little to no algae growing on it. This is something I now miss.

Around January I stopped dosing the Elos Purist Line. I wanted to see if there was going to be a noticeable difference. Ofcourse I still had the refugium on line while going through the changes. Well, the refugium started to actually grow, but at the same time so did algae on all the display tank rocks. Don't get me wrong, the algae wasn't unsightly or a nuisance, but it was there and growing.

 

[braddo]

Are those 5 gallon buckets? I didnt know you could buy in that quantity. Did Costco start stocking Brightwell products?

 

[NaTe R]

and you run this in a reactor chamber? like a big phosban reactor?

 

[Bricky]

I've chosen Brightwell's MB7 and Biofuel due to its simplicity and price point. You can run it with zeolites or not, but I have chosen to use the Elos Filtra M zeolith stone as I think they are the most porous and thus more effective. This time though I'll be using a media reactor to hold the stones instead of filter bags. My hopes are that this will make them easier to change out and keep clean.

I sure hope my observations and experiences help as I can't confidentally speak technically on the subject of ULNS's.

 

[NaTe R]

its a really interesting idea and process, keep us posted i would like to hear what u experience with it.

 

[dragoneggs]

Had the pleasure of seeing Bricky's tank in person this afternoon. Wow!!! First class set up and a beautifully scaped reef. Fish are loving it and I now have to patiently wait to get my tank up again. Quite inspiring!

 

[Bricky]

Thanks for your kind words Mark. It was nice having you over this evening. I look forward to your new tank.

 

[Ilovereef]

Thanks for your kind words Mark. It was nice having you over this evening. I look forward to your new tank.

Wow, beautiful setup, beautiful fish and corals! Just love the way it looks! Congrat on your new system, Bricky!

 

[roscoe]

Basically the ULNS's (Zeo,Brightwell,Elos Purist Line, Prodibio, etc..) are bacteria strains in a bottle that aid in denitrification and nitrification of the nutrients in our systems. The zeolite stones that are associated with the systems are homes for the bacteria to live and thrive. Basically like adding more live rock to your system.

I am finding that I don't want to mess with a refugium. I don't want to light another tank, I don't want to harvest algae or deal with the detritus that always seems to be present in a refugium. I'm pretty sure that the bacteria strains and carbon dosing is also more effective at stripping the water of excess nutrients than a planted refugium.

I initially started my system running the Elos Purist Line (Filtra M, RB10-RB50). During that time I noticed that the macro algae in the refugium never really grew. There just weren't enough nutrients for them to grow let alone thrive. At the same time though, the display tank rock had little to no algae growing on it. This is something I now miss.

Around January I stopped dosing the Elos Purist Line. I wanted to see if there was going to be a noticeable difference. Ofcourse I still had the refugium on line while going through the changes. Well, the refugium started to actually grow, but at the same time so did algae on all the display tank rocks. Don't get me wrong, the algae wasn't unsightly or a nuisance, but it was there and growing.

Thanks for the insight. What is the maintence involved with a ULNS? Do you have to dose those bactaria manually everyday? What are all the equipment needed to run these types of system?

 

[Bricky]

Daily dosing is ideal, but if you miss a day or two you should be fine. Some ULNS's want you to pump the stone that reside in a reactor daily though. I chose BW due to the simplicity. Dose daily and that's it. I've been looking at dosing pumps to take care of this for me though.

You should also run carbon and a strong skimmer. Other than those few things that's it. I'm runnning a reactor and Filtra M as an experiment of my own. GFO is also not needed, but can be run when you may need it (ie, stirring up your sandbed).

 

[roscoe]

HMMMM that is what I don't like is having to dose manually everyday. Is there a simpler way to do this? Can you use dosing pumps to do the job and how much of a dosage for each bactaria? How many different bactaria are you dosing? I know it shouldn't be a problem for me to dose manually every day since I am at my tank every day anyways but I don't want to work on it everyday LOL. I just want to be able to relax and view my tank without having to do this and that to it everyday. Ever since I took the 40b down I find more time to do other things now as I don't have to constantly monitor the tank and that is something I am striving to acheive for my big system. How do you like the maintenace routine thus far? Do you find yourself maintaining the tank more or less from a traditional system? Sorry for all the questions and thanks for all this great info Matt! I really appreciate it! I need to come by and check out your system one of these days.