Pax Bellum Frustration

[daelie]

Bought one on black friday this year, already had to toss out some dense chaeto twice, so it appears to be working fine for me. I haven't had to dose any of the extra nitrate or iron yet either. Hoping I don't run into any of these issues you guys seem to be seeing, but for now, I love this thing, it's keeping my phosphates right around 0.04 ppm according to my Hanna ULR.

 

[Braves Fan]

Bought one on black friday this year, alredy had to toss out some dense chaeto twice, so it appears to be working fine for me. I haven't had to dose any of the extra nitrate or iron yet either. Hoping I don't run into any of these issues you guys seem to be seeing, but for now, I love this thing, it's keeping my phosphates right around 0.04 ppm according to my Hanna ULR.

You will have to dose the tank ,, read that part again ,, buy some liquid iron and dose your tank ,, if you don't ,, it will turn your Chatto to mush ,, once the iron in your system is used up ,,, Chatto sucks up iron , once the Chatto uses up whats in your system ,, it will stop growing ,, this would happen no matter how you go about growing your Chatto ,,

I just ordered a Kessil H80 light for my growing Chatto over my main tank ,, I am tired of messing with this Pax Bellum ,, I will move the Pax over to my Chalice tank ,, and will continue to try and get the thing working on that tank ,, if that happens I will move it back to the main display tank ,,

daelie I wouldn't steer you wrong even the Pax people tell you that you have to dose they sell the products you need ,, or you can buy from BRS or other sources ,, either way ,, you need it ,, I am just trying to help you not have a down time with your Chatto growth ,, while you dose your system up with the additives to get it growing again ,,

I would think abut raising your Phosphate number up a couple of points also ,, just until you see what growing the Chatto does to your system numbers ,, then adjust ,,

Good luck with the Pax ,, hope you have better luck that I have had

 

[stacksoner]

Hello Slewrock1- I was made aware of this thread by a customer and would like to help. As the inventor of internally illuminated macroalgae reactors and over 15 years of experience with them three US patents and many successful systems employing them I would like to help you and everyone following this thread get the most out of their ARID reactors.

Could you list your current water parameters, light schedule on the ARID, the other equipment you run, any media or supplements you dose? Photos of your reef and equipment would also be very helpful.

The light spectrum of the ARID is a full spectrum designed to activate all photosynthetic pigments not just chlorophyll a and b. The light intensity is much higher than knockoffs on the market. The intensity was designed for the fastest growth rate possible and to push the algae to take up ammonium over just nitrate that occurs under lower lighting. This intense lighting can make imbalances in water chemistry more evident. However, when water chemistry is correct growth rate is extremely rapid and so is the uptake of N, P, and C. Shortening the photo period and slowly ramping it up will acclimate the algae to the intense light and avoid photo-oxidation. Iodine levels need to be at least NSW levels 0.06ppm or higher preferrably 0.10ppm so the algae will not succumb to photo-oxidation, other elements also play a role but I look at iodine first since it can be measured reasonably accurately. If Fe and Mn are dosed at recommended rates they can generally be overlooked as a cause. Inline 12vdc dimmers are also available to lower the light intensity while the algae is acclimating.

From the pics it looks like a few things are going on and without information I can only speculate, but part of the issue is photo-oxidation.

For anyone following this thread that doesn't have our literature I have attached it. I'm looking forward to helping anyone using our products. Your success is our success. Tristan

Thanks for your reply. To your credit, I want to acknowledge that your product's quality is in a class of it's own, which I sincerely appreciate. I wish that other manufacturers looked to your product as a benchmark.

That said, I think the film that covers the canister is the biggest impediment for user success as it prevents one from visibly obtaining the realtime critical feedback needed for success here. It would be a lot easier to understand how the many variables mentioned impact success---and---would allow one to make minor adjustments as needed if one could observe problems in realtime, instead of opening up the canister after an extended period of time to evaluate extreme results.

 

[ScottB]

I swear I have made more bad decisions in this hobby than anyone, and they're all a result of my vulnerability to great photos. I've taken the bait for new equipment, electronics,corals, livestock, h20 storage, RODI,resins, powders, salt mixing, fancy broadfield failed overhauls, trident, reefbot, modifications, treatment regimens, wire mgmt, lighting schedules, you name it.

I was initially thinking I should have the title "more bad decisions than anyone" but you passed me with the reefbot. I will take the silver medal

Hang in. We learn more from failure than just about anything.

 

[Pax Bellum]

Thanks for your reply. To your credit, I want to acknowledge that your product's quality is in a class of it's own, which I sincerely appreciate. I wish that other manufacturers looked to your product as a benchmark.

That said, I think the film that covers the canister is the biggest impediment for user success as it prevents one from visibly obtaining the realtime critical feedback needed for success here. It would be a lot easier to understand how the many variables mentioned impact success---and---would allow one to make minor adjustments as needed if one could observe problems in realtime, instead of opening up the canister after an extended period of time to evaluate extreme results.

Thank you for valuing the high quality material and workmanship we put into our products.

Initially we did produce the ARID with a clear chamber. We received a lot of complaints about light spill lighting up bedrooms..... at night so we then offered a magnetically closed outer wrap. Unfortunately, many people thought the Tyvek that the wrap was made out of was paper and therefore must be packaging and threw it out. The manufacturer of the metalized tyvek stopped producing the material, and the time and skill to produce them was cost prohibitive. We moved onto the permanently bonded 100% light blocking film with the cut out window to solve this. I can see your point about not seeing the algae in the bottom of the chamber easily, we'll look into rearranging the window(s) to allow easier viewing of the entire chamber while keeping light spill to a minimum. Thank you for your feedback.

 

[stacksoner]

Thank you for valuing the high quality material and workmanship we put into our products.

Initially we did produce the ARID with a clear chamber. We received a lot of complaints about light spill lighting up bedrooms..... at night so we then offered a magnetically closed outer wrap. Unfortunately, many people thought the Tyvek that the wrap was made out of was paper and therefore must be packaging and threw it out. The manufacturer of the metalized tyvek stopped producing the material, and the time and skill to produce them was cost prohibitive. We moved onto the permanently bonded 100% light blocking film with the cut out window to solve this. I can see your point about not seeing the algae in the bottom of the chamber easily, we'll look into rearranging the window(s) to allow easier viewing of the entire chamber while keeping light spill to a minimum. Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for valuing the high quality material and workmanship we put into our products.

Initially we did produce the ARID with a clear chamber. We received a lot of complaints about light spill lighting up bedrooms..... at night so we then offered a magnetically closed outer wrap. Unfortunately, many people thought the Tyvek that the wrap was made out of was paper and therefore must be packaging and threw it out. The manufacturer of the metalized tyvek stopped producing the material, and the time and skill to produce them was cost prohibitive. We moved onto the permanently bonded 100% light blocking film with the cut out window to solve this. I can see your point about not seeing the algae in the bottom of the chamber easily, we'll look into rearranging the window(s) to allow easier viewing of the entire chamber while keeping light spill to a minimum. Thank you for your feedback.

I like this idea. It would be super cool if it had a ruler of sorts that indicated a recommended starting height, with notches that one could use to follow a growth trajectory and ultimate pruning height. Maybe even a simple web app to help log data/set reminders/navigate users through the lifecycle