Jestersix

Ecobak/Bio Pellet Questions

Very interesting....last night all of a sudden the pellets started tumbling with a vengence. I had to turn down the flow. It's like they were sticking together before. Thick bacterial film? When they were sticking it reminder me of natto without the sticky strings. Don't know but they're doing fine now.

Did a nitrate test last night when I saw that the tumbling had really started again. I actually had to do the test twice as my nitrates had dropped by 1/2 and I couldn't beleive it.

-Gregory
 
Pellets are actually tumbling much better now...almost like they were sticky before.

Nitrates continue to decline. I had discontinued WCs on this tank when the Ecobak was started, 4/2, but did not change feeding routines. The nitrates rose to about 80ppm quite quickly (not a biggy as this is the softy tank). The pellets clung together as a mass for about 2 1/2 weeks. When they broke up and began tumpbling again the nitrates has declined to approx 40ppm (this is about the one month mark. 5/5). The readings last night put the nitrates at about 30 to 35ppm (I hate colour charts!), 5/9. The skimmer output over the last couple of weeks has gone up. Per EcoBak recommendation I have the reactor output near the skimmer pump. The skimmed liquid which is usually a very strong tea colour, kinda brown/green, has gone to an brown/black colour. The smell has also increased. Now I can tell when the skimmer needs to be drained/cleaned now just be walking by the tank. It starts to smell like the bay at low tide.

So the preliminary results appear that the pellets work...at least partially. I'm waiting for the two month mark which is where the pellets are supposed to be fully seeded and productive before I start WCs again on this tank. I just want to see how effective they really are with no outside intervention.

-Gregory
 
Other than our little love fest here I've not seen any reference to this issue anywhere else. One would think the manufacturer would document this as part of the process. Tonight I'll do some searches.

-Gregory
 
Tony - How's the flow? Mine is starting to slow again...about 1/2 the mass is clumped (shaking does temporaryly unclump)while the other 1/2 is still tumbling, but at a reduced rate.

-Gregory
 
slow. ..then last night, I unplugged the pump, back flushed a little, then restarted. Back up to normal. I think it just needed the to a little shifting of the stuck pellets.
 
Are there PVC/plastic transition pieces for plastic tubing? I have a Rio 1100 (or 1200. I’m at work and doing this from memory) with a ¾” output. I can run a ¾” tube to a ball valve (to control flow) and then through a transition piece to reduce the size of the tubing to ½” (I think that’s what’s on the reactor) and see if that would keep the pellets in motion.

Would that work? Or does reducing the tubing through a transition piece defeat the purpose of the extra flow? Funds are low so I’m trying to get out of purchasing a new reactor right now.

-Gregory
 
It's a conductance issue. The longer you have 1/2" the more flow restriction you get. If you want, I can dig up some formulas for you to work with. It it slows for you, try the little backflush trick. My tumble rate now is as fast as the day I installed it.
 
So the backflush worked for a few days. Then it stopped again. Tried another backflush and got it to tumble for few more days before it stopped again. Broke down and cleaned the entire unit and pump (kept the pellets in bowl with water and an airstone[prolly not necessary]). The return screen in the reactor was completely clogged with a thick white paste like material. Took some hot water, a soft brush, and a toothpick to get it all out. The pellets are tumbling good as new. This is prolly going to need to be a monthly maintenance issue going forward.

-Gregory
 
So after the cleaning it tumbled well for a while. For the last week I've had to give the reactor a shake every morning when adding the 2 part and top off with decreasing effectiveness. This morning the shake had a minimal effect. So now it looks like its time break down to clean the reactor again.

Sigh....

This is getting frustrating....the pellets seem to be helping but I believe their efficiency is being hampered by the lack of consistent flow. I'm going with Greshams suggestion this weekend and rigging a larger pump and tubing to see if that will solve the problem. I'm also going to check the screen I used for the chamber and see if it’s too small...but if I remember correctly any larger would let the pellets through.

-Gregory
 
Tony - what were your nitrates prior to using the pellets?

Mine hit 80ppm without WCs. Its' now level at 20ppm (anthias eat a lot!). I wonder if I'm supporting a higher bacterial population which is causing the pellets to stick and creates that white paste that clogged the screen last time?
 
OK..it took a bit longer than expected but tonight my nitrates are undetectable. I still have to shake the damn thing everyday and give it a REALLY good clean monthly to remove the white pasty build up on the screens, but it works. :party: :beer:

-Gregory
 
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