zeolite reactors

[beermutz123]

hi everyone I'm looking at getting zeolite reactor are they everything they say they are or can a person get by with just a bio pellet reactor

[jda]

What do people say that they are? What do people say that a bio pellet reactor is?

Neither anywhere near necessary. Both are only really suitable to solve a very few specific problems. What problems are you trying to solve?

[beermutz123]

I have some algae growth on my rocks and I cant seem to get my nitrates nitrite down my nitrates are 30 and nitrites are 24 with a hanna ulr nitrite reader I use a nyos tester for nitrates

[beermutz123]

BRS seems to recommend highly

[Breadman03]

So, there are a few things that I think you should consider first. Biopellets are a form of organic carbon dosing, which is typically done with vinegar, vodka, sugar or biopellets. This is done to help reduce nitrate and to a lesser extent phosphate. The theory is that bacterial growth in our tanks is limited by the availability of organic carbon.

Zeolite is used as part of an additive system. I believe it mostly provides surface area for bacterial growth. I don't know if it serves another purpose. Triton, Zeovit, and I think Aquaforest are examples of the systems that use zeolite.

But, as already asked, what are you trying to solve?

[jda]

BRS loves to recommend things that they can sell. They are car salesman on the internet.

Why do you have high nitrates? The source will help with the solution. If it is algae on the rocks, did you start your tank with dry/dead rock? What is your phosphate level? How old is your tank? Do you have a sandbed?

You should have no Nitrite. If you do, something is seriously wrong with your tank, or it is not finished with the cycle yet.

[beermutz123]

my tank is about 4 years old my tank is 125gal with sump I have about 125 lbs of live rock and a sand bed I don't remember but 100lbs I cant keep corals alive but my fish just do great. It all started when I had a green hair algae out break and glass anemone and the wife did a real heavy dose of both and I just cant seem to get it back also I never could get my protein skimmer to work right so after 4 years I bought a new one and this works great

[beermutz123]

i don't why i have have high nitrates or nitrites that's why i thinking on getting biopellet or zeolites the wife thing was about two years ago

[jda]

Please get a good nitrite test kit, or have it tested at a LFS. A four year old tank should not have nitrites - if so, then something is seriously out of whack.

If you have some phosphate along with your nitrate, then some organic carbon dosing could be in order. You can use any myriad of stuff, but I like sugar - it is cheap and pure. You can mix it in water and dose MLs if you like to be precise. This will make bacteria grow like crazy in your tank and your skimmer can pull them out - the bacteria will use up nitrate and phosphate as the grow and you end up exporting both. Start slow and dose the sugar by hand. If you go too fast, or a doser gets stuck on, the bacteria will use up all of the available oxygen and your fish will die.

You know that it is working when the skimmer starts to skim really heavily and the skimmate stinks like crazy. This is when you just maintain your dose.

[Hentz]

I've never heard of Triton using ZEOlites @breadman03. Switching from zeo to Triton on my upgrade.

As for zeolites, I'd recommend a zeolite reactor. Especially if you're using ZEOvit itself. The stones will grow bacteria, as they've mentioned above. It'll also produce mulm which generally you'd shake off and feed the corals with. This is why it's best to use a ZEOvit reactor. If you don't want to spend money on one, you could always get away with running zeolites in a nylon bag and run it as a passive form. Probably won't be the most efficient but it could work.

[beermutz123]

how much sugar to water for a solution how about how many ml of sugar solution to gals of tank water thks for help

[beermutz123]

also what do u consider a good nitrite tester I use a Hanna nitrite ulr tester

[Breadman03]

Originally Posted by Hentz

I've never heard of Triton using ZEOlites @breadman03. Switching from zeo to Triton on my upgrade.

I stand corrected

[Hentz]

Originally Posted by Breadman03

I stand corrected

Triton uses a Refugium with various macro algae to keep nutrients naturally balanced.

Ironically enough, they recommend you leave a little die off as it releases sugars and vitamins are released which is beneficial to the corals.

[PhreeBYrd]

I went full ZEOvit system for a couple of years or so... I can't say how many hundreds of $$ I spent on all of that stuff. I saw no benefit at all. In a mature tank, lighting and flow plus a good skimmer and high-quality salt mix made all the difference. I no longer use any reactors at all, and the only things in my sumps are skimmers, live rock and sand. I don't have the slightest speck of nuisance algae in my tanks. I only very rarely use any additives.

I have a complete 6" Vertex ZEOlite reactor if anybody's interested. It would be nice to get it out of the garage...

[jda]

I would start with 1/8 tsp every other day, work up to 1/8 a day after a week or so. Then add 1/8th more every week until you see your skimmer start to go crazy and the nitrates drop. You should be cleaning your skimmer cup every day and it should stink more than normal. There is no harm in going slow - this could take a few weeks to ramp up. You can go too fast and starve your fish of oxygen.

You want the bacteria to grow in the water column where it can be skimmed out, not in a reactor.

You should be changing water too. 20-25% a week will really help. You can also run some activated carbon to accelerate the process since it will trap even more bacteria - just change it out every few days - a cup at a time should be fine.

[beermutz123]

thanks for the help everyone do the sugar for a couple weeks and see how it goes I will let you guys know on how it works also what salt mix does everyone recommend

[jda]

Instant Ocean. Been the best salt for decades, IMO.

You will need more than a few weeks of this. Give it a month of two slowly ramping up until you start see some results... then stay where you are and monitor and levels go down.

Your skimmer should look like this every few days once you get ramped up:

[PhreeBYrd]

Originally Posted by beermutz123

...what salt mix does everyone recommend

Choose a quality reef salt mix. You will never get a consensus on what salt is 'best'; everyone has their own preferences, and every aquarium is unique. Your LFS probably uses IO or Reef Crystals because they are cheap. That doesn't necessarily mean they are good (or bad) for your tank.
IMO, Instant Ocean is garbage, and I wouldn't use it even in a FOWLR tank. Reef Crystals isn't much better. I'd rather use Morton Solar salt.
My suggestion is to choose something that you can comfortably afford while making at least 20-25% weekly water changes for a while. Then stick with that salt mix for at least 4-6 months and see how things go. If you think things could be better, try a different mix and repeat.

Over the years I've tried almost every salt mix on the market, including some I'm sure you've never heard of. ESV Seawater System is what I've used in my sps and mixed reefs for the past 6 years or so, and I won't use anything else.