the official ECOBAK thread...

Jon,
Been running ecobak for over 4 weeks now. NO3 has been a steady 0.50. PO4 has been a steady 0.16-0.36. I'm listing a PO4 range because I honestly can't tell the differrence on the Red Sea test no matter how many times and in how many different lights, angles, etc - I will be replacing with a Hanna checker.

I'm still seeing lots of hair algae which quickly grows and seems to be going through every shade of color. I've been keeping it down only through manual removal.

A video of my reactor flow is linked below. I'm using a Maxijet 1200 through a BRS reactor. There doesnt seem to be enough flow to be moving all the media which I'm guessing is a problem. But I was sort of thinking that could be good initially since I have high PO4. Or do I not have enough NO3?

Ecoback Reactor - YouTube

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

We usually expect to see numbers move at 4-6 weeks so you're right about there. If you have an imbalance between NO3 and PO4 just run GFO for a few weeks to bring PO4 down in proportion to NO3. Your NO3 is nice and low... but your PO4 is pretty high. I would run GFO for a couple weeks and then pull the GFO and let the ecoBAK keep the PO4 and NO3 low.

Regarding the flow and tumble... it doesn't look so good. Those DI canisters aren't really made to be biopellet reactors. The problem is to make the bottom move a little you probably have to turn the flow way up.

Let me know how it goes

 

Hey jon! Have crazy algae in my 125gal I cant get rid of. System is about a year old. Decided to start using ecobak. How well does it perform in a brs reactor? Also how much should I buy for my 125gal? Start low and work my way up to recomended amount correct?

 

Hello,

It's not the best reactor certainly, but may work so go ahead and give it a chance. You can buy a 1000ml jar and add about 600ml of ecoBAK. And yes, start with 1/4 of your recommended amount and add another 1/4 each week for 3 more weeks.

 

Hmm. So 1600ml? On marinedepot page it says 250ml per 50gal....so i figure about 150gal total water volume. Wouldnt that be 750ml?


Or I think I missread...buy 1000ml. And start by using 600? Lol

 

Correct... less expensive than buying a 500ml jar and a 250ml jar. The extra 400ml will last for at least 6 months (or extra 250ml if your water volume is 150g.)

 

Great! Thanks!

1 more question. Ecobak or ecobak plus? Assuming plus. Is it just a "better" version of the original?

 

Just made a trade for one of my rbta for a reef octo br110 biopellet reactor! This should work great for ecobak right?

 

EcoBak Plus is the first and only advanced multi-polymer "bio-pellet" on the market. It is especially aggressive and promotes great bacterial diversity.
On the other hand, classic ecoBAK is the best reviewed, best performing "bio-pellet" out there so you can't go wrong either way.

 

That's a great trade for a nice reactor. Must be some nice rbta you're growing...