just got some nitra guard bio cubes

[Salty Cracker]

[quote author=Salty Cracker link=topic=4370.msg40640#msg40640 date=1360786851]
[quote author=pulpfiction1 link=topic=4370.msg40638#msg40638 date=1360786495]
[quote author=Salty Cracker link=topic=4370.msg40636#msg40636 date=1360785581]
[quote author=pulpfiction1 link=topic=4370.msg40632#msg40632 date=1360784354]
dont know what to tell ya yet salty,bill says they are doing exactly what they advertised


http://www.orcalabs.co.za/?page_id=33
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Oh I don't doubt it, but as advertised:
Easy & convenient use, no daily feedings or dosings, just add as directed and enjoy 4 to 6 months Nitrate free water

I use the pellets, didn't even top them up for more than a year and had 0 nitrates. Hey, I'm a total believer in pellets, I would welcome something that works even better, but not something that just gets used up quicker, if you see what I mean

i do see what you mean,i am in the same boat as far as my pellets go as well,but the switch from vodka to pellets i was also skeptical about the effectiveness of the pellets
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I -hated- dosing vodka, it just seemed so redneck-y.  I was totally on the fence about pellets, but I can dump a dead hooker in the tank now and not see a spike in nitrate or phosphate so they must be doing something.
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Where do you live again?
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redneck ville? 

Over in bryon, come on over for a drunken barndance!

 

[AdInfinitum]

[quote author=AdInfinitum link=topic=4370.msg47537#msg47537 date=1365220922]
Went to Bill's to get some pellets and ended up leaving with some of these instead.

I made up a diy reactor for them tonight and will be putting them online tomorrow when they have finished soaking.  They look like the same type of material just \"puffed\" like polystyrene to increase surface area.  We'll see what they do for my old persistent nitrates.

No need for a reactor just use the supplied bag and a airstone ive read somewhwre were someone did a test on two tanks one using the bag and stone and other threw a reactor and the reactor actually destroyed the cubes and also took longer to remove no and phos.. but up to u
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I'm not setting it up to tumble the cubes like a regular reactor would.  Just created a controlled area to feed flow and air through the cubes an then direct the effluent towards my skimmer intake.

I agree that since they are so porous any amount of movement would just grind them to dust in no time.  I'm assuming that with the high nutrients in my system the first batch will get consumed fairly quickly and that rate will slow once it is just maintenance consumption rather than remediation.  If I hit that point I may switch to regular pellets since the increased surface area wold no longer be necessary.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Brizz,

You've been running these for a couple of months now... Did they work?  How do your numbers compare now to before?

 

[swissgaurd]

ive been running these cubes for 3 months now
water is clear,my nitrates have dropped from 25ppm to 3 ppm,im quite happy with them,if i add 250 ml more im sure ill hit zero,i came off a vinegar dosing so that might be a factor why it has taken a little longer,ive got my cubes in the overflow,using the bomb method

vic

 

[AdInfinitum]

ive been running these cubes for 3 months now
water is clear,my nitrates have dropped from 25ppm to 3 ppm,im quite happy with them,if i add 250 ml more im sure ill hit zero,i came off a vinegar dosing so that might be a factor why it has taken a little longer,ive got my cubes in the overflow,using the bomb method

vic

Good to know.  How much are you using? How big is your system? and approximately how much of the product do you think has been consumed from the starting amount?  If you don't mind all the questions...

 

[Camps23]

I just read up on these and the results sound amazing.....
I love the fact they discourage the use of a reactor.
It doesnt get much easier than that

 

[Salty Cracker]

I guess....although when pellets last 1+ years in a reactor, it doesn't get much easier than that.  When these cubes outlast that, I'll switch. 

Reading up on reefcentral there were two things, 1) the 'bomb' method is preferred for best results, and that they were discouraging v1 of the product, but instead saying v4 is the one to use.  Is there difference versions of this stuff?

 

[AdInfinitum]

I guess....although when pellets last 1+ years in a reactor, it doesn't get much easier than that.  When these cubes outlast that, I'll switch. 

Reading up on reefcentral there were two things, 1) the 'bomb' method is preferred for best results, and that they were discouraging v1 of the product, but instead saying v4 is the one to use.  Is there difference versions of this stuff?

The longevity of the pellets when used for maintenance is why I'm fairly sure I'll switch later but the much greater colonizing area in the porous cubes are likely why they can drop levels in higher nutrient systems...but time will tell... I am approaching it skeptically.

Bill's experience was that the results were very dependent on the amount of air going through rather than water.  When he used them in a reactor with just the air from the MJ's venturi, results were mediocre but when he added an air pump to the inlet they really started to work. 

Makes me wonder what effect aeration would have on a regular pellet system???

My ghetto cube reactor...

An old Berlin skimmer, center tubes removed and top plate inverted, mesh disks added, Venturi removed from inlet tube, air intake line hooked to an Optima from my bucket of old air pumps, powerhead from my bucket of old powerheads, and some line loc from my bucket of odd plumbing pieces to direct the effluent over the sump divider and back to the skimmer inlet.