Brightwell Aquatics Bio Fuel

Back in the day we used sugar and added Vinegar to our Kalkwasser for Carbon sources. This was before someone thought of using vodka. I would assume that this product is going to have the same downfalls as the aforementioned Carbon sources. Namely, if one stops dosing the Carbon, the bacterial biomass is going to adjust down to Pre-Carbon-Dosing levels and die "in mass" which creates a lot of headaches. In effect, once you start, you can't just decide one day to stop.

Has anyone used this product for a while and then stopped using it? I would be curious to hear first hand experiences. This has been the reason I'm always a little leary of dosing Carbon. I've cured huge LR shipments with a couple of gallons of vodka. However, I'm not worried about keeping sensitive corals alive when I'm doing that....I just want the bacteria to clean the rock for me.

 

Hi Inwal - appreciate the heads up, going with cautious dosing approach bearing the above in mind.

Im going to eventually be in a position to know, what happens when you cease using it

I commenced directly with the Bio Fuel on the 11th -
My Salifert and Red Sea, kits for Phosphate and Nitrate respectively both tell me I have 0 traces of either P or N
my flouro green rockwork tells me differently

decided to go directly in with the Bio Fuel, as tank has been set up 2 months now, using rock from previous set up , which was up and running for 2 years or so, hence I was confident , I had adequate bacteria already cultured

I used the dosage recomended for low bioload systems and also considered my tank a 60 gallon instead of the 70+ that the calculator tells me it is
this gives me a nice easy 3 mils dose - for which I use an old syringe from a spent test kit ( the syringe was only used to collect SW from tank and add to test tube so its never contained any chemicals)

dosed 3 days running , and I am already noticing some overall improvement in water clarity

Ill continue dosing and keep the thread updated with progress, and any positive and/or negative feedback



this is my benchmark image - you can see the state of the rockwork clearly in this picture

I will put a pictures up of same area after every week of dosing (although I cant garauntee my leopard wrasse will be in same spot) and then we can all judge if this product has made any difference

Steve

 

I got the same results as crank did. But when I add new fish i dose the tank for about a week so the bacteria will keep up with the new additions. only difference for me is I don't use bio fuel, I dose with vodka.

 

Today is 7th day of dosing this product at min level required for low nutrient systems

things noticed thus far

1) the micro algae is not building up on the glass as quickly as it did prior to this last week . Only used the magnet once in 7 days, was using it twice or more prior to dosing this product

2) the LPS corals, react positively to the presence of this additive - I see feeder tentacles appearing on the carpet lobo and some of the Wellso's within minutes of this additive being put in the tank - they also seem to inflate a bit more

3) to early for any significant difference to rock work to be noticeable , but I am convinced that the development of the micro algae has been affected in the same way on the rocks, as it has on the glass

update in another week

Steve

 

Hmmm, that all sounds good. Are you feeding at night when the polyps are already out ?

Any noticable reaction by the acroporas?

 

Great update, hope the success accelerates.

 

Hi Corailline
there is no immediate change upon introduction with the SPS
Im using the Bio Fuel during the day at present, and the LPS dont have the tentacles out prior to me adding it, they start to appear within minutes of it going in - it definitely triggers a feeding responce
similar but not quite as good as when you broadcast feed something like cyclopeze

Thanks 2 in 10

Steve

 

I'm a 2 weeks ahead of you with the same combo Steve. So far I have noticed improvements in LPS as well as a slight drop in Nitrates. Do you turn your skimmer of for 4 hours as it suggests?

 

I have not to be honest Nor Cal Guy
I am getting more skimmate and its a dark green colour
and the label did state "you can chose to leave skimmer on"

I took that option, as dialing in a skimmer and getting it to produce efficiently is something that once its done, I dont like to interefere with

Steve

 

I leave my skimmer on as well. I am getting much more skimmate now too.