AF Zeolites while using a BP Reactor

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Adamc13o3

Adamc13o3

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I have been using the probiotic reef salt for the past month doing weekly 25% water changes on my 200G tank (300g system). My system currently has a bio-pellet reactor on it as well. I do not want to make my change too swiftly and was wondering if I am likely to see any adverse effects using the AF Zeolites while using my BP reactor and continuing my 25% week water changes. I don't mind taking the BP reactor off once i've converted over to the zeolite method, I just want to know what the best method of making the switch is.


Thanks,

Adam
 
Hey Adam,
In the Probiotic method, using AF Probiotic Reef Salt, NP Pro(carbon source liquid polymer) and Pro Bio S are the heart of the Probiotic system. I would imagine the dosing of NP Pro is sort of redundant to BP's due to it being a polymer as well, but in liquid form. That said, I would imagine that once the Pro Bio S and NP Pro begin to work, you may see a decline in the BP breaking down, at that point I would remove them. Zeo Mix will be fine in any type or reactor, as with AF they do not need to be shaken. I would wait and add them online when you decide to pull the BP's. At this point, in converting over to the system, I would begin to add biological media, my personal favorite being siporax, it take awhile to seed them, but they help tremendously in nutrient breakdown once seeded. Many AF systems run this way. I personally use 5 liters of siporax in a AF 150 media reactor, and 2 liters of AF Life Bio Fil media in a TLF 550 reactor. This helps to keep my nutrients very low, and the daily dosing of bacteria and salt water changes will seed the media over the course of time. AF Life Bio Fil is a new AF product, it is a media that comes impregnated with bacteria, so upon entering your system, it begins to work. The media is still making it's way to the states, but selling very quickly. These medias are not necessary, but imagine having another display full of live rock added to your system, that is essentially what this media is doing, but many times more efficient and certainly more porous. So, I would continue water changes, but not 25%, it would not be good to have a bacteria bloom with such a huge volume, so maybe 10-15% each week would be better. Also, the salt needs to be used within 24 hours once mixed, I usually do so within 15 minutes of mixing. Next, I would try and get 15-20 liters of media in your system. They can run passive, but I believe personally that through a reactor is the best way for me and my system. I have seen some make baskets that sit in the sump, some people claim the work better in the return section of the sump before the skimmer, many ways to do this. If you keep the media free of detritus, then you likely never need to clean the media. This is why some like the baskets, as they can shake them in the bucket of water removed from the tank during water changes. Keeping the media clean will not require this though, and for me, I just blast my reactor with more pressure to clean the media in the reactor every so often. The media can take awhile to seed, so getting that going before you pull the BP's, IMO. Good luck, and let me know if I can help you out :)
 
Thank you very much for your reply! What type of siporax should I run and how much? As far as adding the zeolites once I take the BP off. Is there any benefit to have them shake a few times a day? Do you recommend dosing NP Pro and Pro Bio S if I continue to do weekly water changes however doing cutting the down to 10% to 15% weekly? Once the siporax and Zeolites are working would you continue to use activated carbon in a reactor and some sort of GFO or there is no reason for them anymore?


Thanks,

Adam
 
Adam,
All of this is determined on nutrient processing, skimmer functionality, and maintenance routine, personally I use Zeo Mix, AF Carbon, and AF Phosphate Minus, but I prefer to feed heavy and have larger fish and corals, so my tank will work differently than say a new system with frags. Yes, to dosing NP Pro and Pro Bio S, they will seed the siporax, I would acquire while you are converting, prior to adding Zeo Mix and prior to removing your BP's. Shaking the Zeo Mix is not necessary, but if you prefer to do it, it will not harm anything, your choice, I would imagine it will release mulm which will feed fish and corals and ultimately skimmed off, but again, not necessary. Cheers
 
Thanks I was asking about the shaking of the zeolites because I was curious if like Zeovit, the mulm will feed the corals. I have a spare avast marine vibe reactor which has a feature to automatically shake the media. I am trying to weigh weather to run the siporax in it and have them shake once a day to keep them clean or of to run the zeolites in it. My tank is heavily stocked with fish and corals and i'm a super heavy feeder. All off the fish are very fat and healthy because I really do feed a lot. As far as my skimmer I run a BK Sm250 and it gets the job done. From what I've gathered on a system that has 300g total water volume I should be adding 3,000 ml of siporax. I wish I can find the life bio fil. I will start dosing the np pro and pro bio s and take the bio- pellets off within 6 to 10 weeks. I think I will gradually remove them every few days. I currently run 2,000 ml of BP. Here's a picture of the system.

Thanks,


Adam
 
Imffage-3.jpg
Picture
 
Adamc13o3 said:
Thanks I was asking about the shaking of the zeolites because I was curious if like Zeovit, the mulm will feed the corals. I have a spare avast marine vibe reactor which has a feature to automatically shake the media. I am trying to weigh weather to run the siporax in it and have them shake once a day to keep them clean or of to run the zeolites in it. My tank is heavily stocked with fish and corals and i'm a super heavy feeder. All off the fish are very fat and healthy because I really do feed a lot. As far as my skimmer I run a BK Sm250 and it gets the job done. From what I've gathered on a system that has 300g total water volume I should be adding 3,000 ml of siporax. I wish I can find the life bio fil. I will start dosing the np pro and pro bio s and take the bio- pellets off within 6 to 10 weeks. I think I will gradually remove them every few days. I currently run 2,000 ml of BP. Here's a picture of the system.

Thanks,


Adam
Click to expand...


I know in Europe the siporax or biological media is recommended at 1 liter of media per 100 liters of water. I am a bit over that, but very happy with nutrient levels. Best of luck, sounds like a solid plan :)
 
Thanks! Thanks for your help as well I really appreciate it. A few more questions. How much NP Pro and Pro Bio S should I be dosing. I will continue to run GFO and Carbon. should I use the vibe reactor for shaking the zeolites or siporax? Anywhere that still has the life bio fill right now? Also I see so many variations of siporax on Amazon. Which should I get?
 
I would start with 1/2 recommended dosing, and increase as you gain comfort and with test result readings. 1 drop per 27 gallons is the recommended dose for both. Yeah, I use the smaller ones, the larger ones are hard to find in the states. They are all the same material, the larger ones are for ponds I think, but the choice for Euro's. The media is not cheap by any stretch, but it lasts for a long time :) I heard mid December before it arrives, and it will likely sell fast, the Life Bio Fil that is. No need for shaking either of these materials, but if you want to shake Zeo Mix you can, just not necessary. Some people stack, like me in one fluidized reactor using AF Zeo Mix, AF Carbon, and AF Phosphate Minus, stacking in that order from bottom of the reactor to the top. Set flow to tumble the Phosphate Minus but not too much to escape the reactor, that is your flow rate :)
 
I use a sponge that separates the AF Carbon from the AF Phosphate Minus, but have forgotten on occasions and it did not fall through to the bottom. I do prefer the sponge however :)

IMG_7443_1.jpg
 
I had matrix in the basket, I have since started using 5 liters of siporax in a AF 150 media reactor, and 2 liters of Life Bio Fil in a TLF 550 reactor.
 
I see in a few places that the minimum amount of siporax should be 100 ml to 100 liters of water. So @ 280 net gallons of tank water I would need close to 1,100 ML to get to the minimum amount of siporax needed. Does that make sense? Not to mention I usually don't do things to the minimum. I would like to do a ratio of 150 ml to 100L .
 
Hey Adam,
I hear you, I went over the limit with use myself, but there is always room for more media, lol... I plan to add 2 more liters of siporax to my AF 150 reactor. Minimum I would use on your system is 12 liters :)
 
I have a GEO Media Reactor the UMC618. I don't think any stock media reactors are larger. It hold 2 gallons of media. I would need 3 to run 6 gallons of media :)
 
Hey Adam,
The AF 150 holds up to 7.2 liters of media. You do not have to run this media active, I just have the ability to, and for my application seems to work the best. You can place the media simply in the bottom of your sump, run some in a reactor, and place some in the sump. A basket would work well, assuming you have the room for it, some make these out of egg crate, and some simply find baskets, one guy told me that Target has some mesh basket that he uses. As long as the flow is good, and you can eliminate detritus from clogging the media, really no way to mess up :)
 

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