Filtration In a Bottle = Genie In a Bottle?

[revhtree Verified Admin]

It's mid-week and we're rolling along on the filtration train! We've had some pretty good discussions going and this one should be no different. Wouldn't it be so nice if there was liquid in a bottle, like a genie in a bottle that you could pour into your dirty reef aquarium and then.....voilà, your tank was clean? Let's talk about it today!

How do you know if chemical filtration products are beneficial to your tank?

What do you use and how do you use it?

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

I don't think such a thing really exists. It would be nice if it did, though!

 

[Montiman]

I don't currently use anything, but I would consider Lanthinum and Liquid Carbon Dosing filtration in a bottle.

 

[djf91]

It sounds like you’re describing Vibrant. I’d be wary of anyone pushing bottled instant fixes in this hobby. There’s no substitute for hard work in the long run.

 

[w8lifts]

I dose MB7 daily

 

[Pelagikos]

I've recently started dosing PNS ProBio by HYDROSPACE and PNS Yellow Sno, as a food source. Research seems intriguing.
I've also been Carbon dosing and MB7 for quite some time.

 

[jkobel]

Just started dosing MB7. Also (for water clarity only) just started dosing Calcium Carbonate.

 

[ChiCity]

i think carbon dosing like nopox as part of a routine for heavily stocked tanks is beneficial…
not as a cure all,
but more as a preventative to avoid skyrocketing nutrient levels that can otherwise get out of hand.

 

[ReefGeezer]

I use MB7 (possibly bacteria in a bottle) to mix DIY Coral Snow per @SunnyX. I dose it once a week as part of my maintenance routine... Blast rocks with turkey baster, scrub problems areas with a brush, then dose DIY Coral Snow. The process seems to limit the excess organic mass that wants to build up on my rocks, makes the water very clear, and seems to make it hard for Cyano to get a foot hold.

 

[design.maddie]

I marked no, but now that I am thinking about it. Would NP-Bacto count? If that counts then I have used it for over a year and felt like I had zero understanding of my water's general chemistry during that entire period. No longer use it and feel much more secure about what is happening in my tank.

 

[Aspect]

Only thing I ever added from a bottle was "live" nitrifying bacteria. Other than that, I don't like to add chemicals to my aquarium as I feel like it's just not natural.

 

[saltyfins]

I dose MB7 daily

that's a bacteria though...that's not quite filtration

 

[design.maddie]

that's a bacteria though...that's not quite filtration

Biological filtration?

 

[Jeffcb]

I used NeoPhos to get some Phos. It worked. Went to .2.

Then I used Chemi Elite to lower it. It worked.

Now I just leave it alone.

 

[w8lifts]

that's a bacteria though...that's not quite filtration

Well I 100% disagree with you

 

[james670]

I've been dosing DIY coral snow (calcium carbonate) mixed with MB7 every night after blowing cyano off my sand. I just happened to stumble upon the DIY coral snow thread when it was still new while looking for non-ChemiClean methods of dealing with cyano.

While my cyano is still there, my water clarity has improved greatly!

 

[rtparty]

Is MB7, Bacto Balance, and/or DIY Coral Snow considered "filtration in a bottle?"

I'd say they all are so yes, I do. Routinely. Works wonders

 

[A Young Reefer]

I don’t believe that what you are describing fits under the definition of filtration…

 

[saltyhog]

I marked no because I don't use anything regularly. Use some Lanthium occasionally when needed to keep my PO4 around 0.1

 

[HB AL]

For my reef tank populated with let's just say fish that eat alot, Nopox has been a savior for the last 5 years. As my tank is in my bedroom I have limited options, limited by space so this helps me keep things simple, which is my mantra.