Ryan2002 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 i have a biocube 29 mixed reef and i want to know the most cost effective to results in lps soft and sps solution. cal: 450 ppm alk: 8 dkh mag: 1350 nutrients: medium to high Link to comment
jservedio Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Any of them can work and only you can decide what will be best for your tank. Research, research, and research some more. GFO is by far the cheapest and easiest route since all you need is some media and a bag. I ran GFO in a reactor for almost 2 years and finally took it offline completely - corals need nutrients and regular water changes, vacuumng the sand, cleaning the rocks, and a big skimmer on a mature system are incredibly effective at removing nutrients so anything else was just overkill and stripped too much out of the water. Corals need nutrients - you don't want to remove everything. Whatever you choose, go slowly. Corals in tanks with nutrients always look better than corals in tanks with extremely low nutrients - so go slow. Link to comment
Ryan2002 Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Any of them can work and only you can decide what will be best for your tank. Research, research, and research some more. GFO is by far the cheapest and easiest route since all you need is some media and a bag. I ran GFO in a reactor for almost 2 years and finally took it offline completely - corals need nutrients and regular water changes, vacuumng the sand, cleaning the rocks, and a big skimmer on a mature system are incredibly effective at removing nutrients so anything else was just overkill and stripped too much out of the water. Corals need nutrients - you don't want to remove everything. Whatever you choose, go slowly. Corals in tanks with nutrients always look better than corals in tanks with extremely low nutrients - so go slow. will gfo be too much for my lps and softies in the system? i also have sps Link to comment
jservedio Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 will gfo be too much for my lps and softies in the system? i also have sps I can't possibly tell you that - you need to research exactly what products you are considering and at what dose and compare that to your nutrient levels, coral nutrient requirements, feeding habits, number/type of fish, etc. and decide how much of what you are going to use. If you have a ton of phosphates, feed heavily, and don't have a lot of uptake or export, GFO would probably be perfect. If you have no need for it and just "want to do something" to make it "better", you probably don't need it. Link to comment
Formula462 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Bio pellets are a fluidized filter media (they are friable) that encourage nitrifying bacteria growth in a reactor by breaking down and feeding the bacteria carbon molecules. Gfo is a synthetic media that binds and absorbs phosphates. Zeovit is a foundational dosing system that cost way too much money for unnoticed (IME) results. Three different things for three different things. This is a generalized summary btw. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 It's not as simple as "which is the best?" Do more reading and come back with specific questions. Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 For biopellets or any sort of carbon dosing i.e vodka, vinegar or nopox you WILL need quite a large skimmer, not sure about zeo but I think you need a fairly large skimmer for zeo also. Are you currently skimming the tank? If not it might be a good idea to start skimming, or step up with your water changes. GFO in a media basket probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Just with everything though, start off slow. I know you said your levels are high but any idea what your no3 and po4 are currently at? Is there algae in the tank? How do the corals look? Link to comment
TJ_Burton Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 If you want to reduce phosphates in a simple way that is less likely to cause other issues, just use GFO. Don't overdue it either. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 For a small tank, a simple bag of Purigen and/or Chemi-Pure in a media rack, as well as regular water changes. Link to comment
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