Clean, new sediment cartridge on the left, compared with cartridge after 8 months (approx. 1500 gallons production) on the right.

The carbon filter was less obvious visually, but because they protect the RO membrane from chlorine damage, I like to change it whenever I do the sediment filter. Also, remember that the micron rating on the sediment filter should be at least as fine as the rating of the carbon.

After I made the change, water pressure coming into the membrane went up instantly, and production of filtered water accelerated. Thanks to the in-line TDS monitors on my Spectrapure unit, I also notice that water coming out of the first two stages and coming out of the RO stage is lower in TDS than before.  And, this will also further the life of the expensive DI resins, which equates to additional cost savings.

Maybe most exciting, my wife claimed to notice a sudden difference in the taste of our drinking water (we get that out of the RO stage but before the DI). She even brought this up without me telling her I’d made the change. This ancillary benefit helps with continuing efforts to keep my spouse on board with the two reef aquariums in the living room, which is, of course, always day-to-day.

Tunze Mangrove Box

Another product fairly new the aquarium industry is Tunze’s new Comline Mangrove Box. These boxes are designed to hold mangroves and other plants that are commonly used for nutrient uptake or decoration. Tunze also has Black Mangrove seeds (sold separately) that can be placed in the Mangrove Box to be grown out. Red Mangroves grow differently than Black Mangroves, and I’m not sure if they could (or should) be grown in this device. The box attaches to the side of your aquarium or sump with a magnet mount (seen on Tunze pumps) and automatically draws in water from the underside.

Dimensions: L 125 x W 113 x H 300 mm (L 4.9 x W 4.4 x H 11.8 in.)
Retail Price: 45,37 €.

Below are a couple more pictures, as well as a product statement from Tunze.

Tunze Mangrove Box with Black Mangrove

From Tunze:

Mangrove Box
The Comline Mangrove Box 3178 has been developed especially for the growth of mangroves in saltwater or hydroponic plants in fresh-water paludariums. The plants grow well because the bacterially decomposed organic waste matter is absorbed by the roots in a concentrated way. At the same time, the aquarium water is relieved. The Comline Mangrove Box has an ideal immersion depth of 100 to 130 mm (3.9 to 5.1 in.). On account of the water exchange surface on the lower side, no additional water circulation is required in the aquarium. Attachment with Magnet Holder 6200.500 up to a glass pane thickness of 19 mm (.74 in.).

Black mangrove
Various types of mangrove have been used in aquarims for a long time already. The black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) has the advantage that it needs little air humidity only for its growth. This particular type has been selected especially for its ideal and fast growth on the side of the basin of an aquarium. Delivery: The black mangrove is supplied as seeds or small plants for the exclusive use in saltwater. In the packaging, it can be transported for about ten days. Availability depends on season.

Tunze Black Mangroves

Dimensions: L 125 x W 113 x H 300 mm (L 4.9 x W 4.4 x H 11.8 in.)
Retail Price: 45,37 €

So there you have it, the new ZEOvit media have been improved on in size mostly. I’m assuming the smaller stones per bag yields a higher surface area for bacteria to grow on.

ZEOvit Filter Media

Korallen-Zucht has released a new version of their ZEOvit media, which is pretty much the backbone of the ZEOvit filtration system. It is a substrate that is housed in a ZEOvit media reactor and works with other additives to reduce excess ammonia and phosphates in your aquarium. There are very few details circulating as to the differences between the new ZEOvit media and the old type, but I’ve contacted a few of my ZEOheads for a little more information and will update as soon as we know.

Below is the product description taken from the Korallen-Zucht website. This is translated from German, so there might be a few sentences or phrases that sound a little odd or are difficult to read.

ZEOvit® is a balanced mix of different zeolites. It is an absolutely natural Zeolite mix of highest quality.

Run the ZEOvit® in a special ZEOvit® filter. Please note:

1. The ZEOvit® always has to be clean. To clean the material, push and pull the rod of the filter daily, which can be done simple, fast and easy within a minute.
2. If possible, the flow direction is from the bottom to the top, so that the material is always in the water.
3. The flow rate in the filter through the ZEOvit® is 400L/h per L ZEOvit® maximum!
4. Dosing of the ZEOvit®: take 1 L ZEOvit® for 400L water.
5. Exchange the ZEOvit® after 6-8 weeks.

If used together with ZEObak and ZEOfood you can eliminate with the ZEOvit® Nitrate and Phosphate from your tank, and with some patience you will get very natural coral reef water after some time. Your corals then will maintain their natural color and growth.

Take care that you get the original Korallenzucht.de bags. Without our print on the bags the material is not Korallenzucht.de original product.

Price: 12,60 € *

Hanna Checker Phosphate Meter

Hanna Instruments has released a new phosphate calorimeter, and it’s small and very affordable. This tiny device weighs only 2.3 ounces and is priced right at $49.50. It’s small size, cheap price, and ease of use will take away any excuses reefkeepers had for not checking their phosphate levels.

Here are a few specifications:

• Model: HI 713
• Free Phosphate Range: 0.00 to 2.50 ppm(mg/L)
• Accuracy of +/- .04 ppm, +/- 4% of reading @ 25C
• 0.01 ppm resolution (250 points)
• Auto-shutoff to preserve battery life
• 10ml glass cuvettes

Hanna Checker Phosphate Meter

Here’s the description on the Hanna Instruments website:

Easier to use and more accurate than chemical test kits

Adaptation of Standard Method 4500-P E Accuracy 4% ±0.04 ppm (mg/L) of reading 0.04 ppm (mg/L) resolution (250 points) Large, easy to read digits Auto shut-off

Dedicated to a single parameter

Designed to work with HANNA’s powder reagents Uses 10 mL glass cuvettes.

Small Size, Big Convenience

Weighing a mere 65 g (2.3 oz.), the Checker®HC easily fits into the palm of your hand or pocket. Use for quick and accurate on the spot analysis.Single button operation: Zero and Measure Operated by a single AAA battery

Ideal for

Natural, waste and drinking waters.

ACCURATE AND AFFORDABLE CHLORINE MEASUREMENT

Orthophosphates are found in natural and waste waters. They are commonly added to drinking water as a corrosion inhibitor. The instantaneous analysis of orthophosphate by colorimetric determination provides rapid results using a standard analysis technique. The HANNA HI 713 Checker®HC bridges the gap between simple chemical test kits and professional instrumentation. Chemical test kits are not very accurate and only give 5 to 10 points resolution while professional instrumentation can cost hundreds of dollars and can be time consuming to calibrate and maintain. The HANNA HI 713 Checker®HC is accurate and affordable. The HI 713 Checker®HC portable handheld colorimeter features a resolution of 0.01 ppm (250 points) and 4% ±0.04 accuracy of reading. The HI 713 Checker® HC uses an adaptation of Standard Method 4500-P E. The contoured style of this Checker®HC fits in your palm and pocket perfectly and the large LCD is easy to read. The auto shut-off feature assures the battery life will not be drained if you forget to turn it off. The HI 713 Checker®HC is extremely simple to use. First, zero the instrument with your water sample. Next, add the reagent. Last, Place the vial into the HI 713 Checker®HC, press the button and read the results. It’s that easy.

Hanna Phosphate Meter Guide

I’ll go into more detail about the dosing regimens and specifics in a later post, but for now I wanted to show you the color progression of one of my favorite Acropora colonies when I was using ZEOvit.

Blue Acropora Coral Before ZEOvit

Blue Acropora Coral At Start of ZEOvit

Blue Acropora Coral At Start of ZEOvit

Blue Acropora Coral After a Couple Weeks of ZEOvit

Blue Acropora with Beautifully Developing Tips

Blue Acropora after Several Weeks of Zeovit

The lighting scheme did not change at any point during this time frame. The colors clearly intensified and the coral polyps would extend further. Again, I’ll go into product specifics at a later date, but I just wanted to share some progression shots.

NP BioPellets

Aquarium Specialty has secured exclusive distributorship of NP BioPellets for the United States. Dubbed “solid vodka”, NP BioPellets are composed of biodegradable polymers than can be placed virtually anywhere in the aquarium. These BioPellets will allow aerobic bacteria to use the carbon source provided by the pellet, allowing the bacteria population to grow. Bacterial growth directly results in the reducing of nitrates, phosphates, and other nutrients. This conversion of organic BioPellets into microbial biomass is called immobilization. In addition, anaerobic layers will develop, resulting in additional denitrification. The excess bacteria will be removed by a protein skimmer or filter feeding invertebrates.

NP BioPellets Closeup

NP BioPellets Diagram

Some more info on this new product from Aquarium Specialty

On average this “solid wodka method” takes 2-4 weeks to give rise to sufficient bacteria to allow nitrate and phosphate levels to drop. The main advantage of this method over using Wodka or sugar as a carbon source is that NP-reducing BioPellets stimulate local growth of bacteria in a filter compartment, instead of all over in the aquarium where they may clog up pipes and hoses. They also prevent the growth of cyanobacteria, as the bacteria growing on NP-reducing BioPellets will compete with these phototrophic nuisance microbes. Finally, NP-reducing BioPellets will save the aquarist a lot of time, as no daily dosages of carbon are required.

A proper starting dosage is 0.5-1 liter of pellets per 500 liters of system volume (12,5-25 fl. oz. for every 100 USG). After about 2-4 weeks, nitrate and phosphate levels should start decreasing. For some aquaria experiencing heavy feeding, higher dosages are appropriate. NP-reducing BioPellets are consumed by bacteria, which is why new pellets need to be added every 3-6 months to compensate for digested substrate. This can be seen during inspection of the filter. These figures however depend on aquarium conditions and are strongly influenced by feeding regimes and livestock. Taking regular measurements of both nitrate and phosphate levels in the aquarium is recommended, after which dosages may be increased or decreased.

We also suggest placing the outlet of the pellet filter in front of a protein skimmer, to limit the amount of bacteria entering the system. This has the additional benefit of increased gas exchange (CO2-removal and O2-addition). The pellets should never be used without sufficient aeration, as this may lead to low oxygen and pH levels, especially during night time. Proper aeration can be established with air pumps and protein skimmers.

When heavy feeding is required, it is recommended to combine the pellets with standard phosphate adsorbents. The reason for this is that most aquarium feeds contain higher levels of phosphate than is consumed by bacteria, fish and invertebrates, when compared to nitrogen. Some phosphate adsorbents however deplete alkalinity and may reduce pH. Using phosphate adsorbent media based on iron hydroxide does not have this disadvantage.

Important:
- Maintain sufficient water flow through the BioPellets, to prevent production of hydrogen sulfide gas.
- The use of ozone and UV will negatively affect bacterial recruitment of the BioPellets and increase the maturation time of the filter.
- When nitrate and phosphate are already very low before applying BioPellets, a decrease in these levels may not be detectable with standard aquarium test kits.

NP BioPellets

Permissions and Sources:
Aquarium Specialty

(Part 2 is a follow-up of Phosphates in Your Reef Aquarium – Part 1)

Sources of Phosphate
Phosphates come from a wide variety of sources. They can show up in fish and coral foods, fish waste, decaying or uneaten food, aquarium salts, pH and kH buffers, filter media, the water used in the aquarium, and even the sand. And every time you use any of these products, you introduce a little bit more phosphte into the system. If you are having phosphate issues in your aquarium, create a list of everything you add to the tank and research each item. Chances are there are several items on the list that could be responsible and each one has its own unique solution.

Frozen Mysis Shrimp

*Image of Frozen Fish Food Courtesy of Marine Depot

Phosphate Prevention
Phosphates are difficult to prevent and remove from the standard home reef aquarium. The best method of prevention is using pure water when you start the aquarium and do water changes. Some people still use tap water in their reef tanks. Some have even tricked themselves, and others, into believing that water from the “Windmills” and other

AquaFX RODI Water Filter

drinking water self-serve stations is good enough for their aquarium. But the absolutebest method for getting pure water is to purchase a reverse osmosis with deionization water filtration unit, or RO/DI for short. This setup sounds fancy and expensive, but considering the benefits, they are well worth it. Sure, you could buy water from your local fish store to save a little green. But how do know if the water is clean? With

EuroReef RS250 Protein Skimmer

an RO/DI unit of your own, you can monitor and control the quality being produced by changing the filters regularly and using a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids).

Another way to prevent phosphates from getting into your aquarium is by the rinsing/soaking of fish foods, sand, and filtration media prior to their use. Frozen fish food contains phosphate-based binding agents that, with a small investment of time, can be rinsed off. Just place the frozen food into a coffee filter or pantyhose and rinse with RO/DI water. Sand and filtration media can be treated similarly. Since aragonite based sands contain some levels of phosphate, you should soak them in RO/DI water prior to adding it to your aquarium as substrate or using it in a calcium reactor. Soaking the sand will help to leach out some of those phosphates so they don’t make it into your aquarium.

Red Sea Coral Pro Sea Salt

*Image of Aquarium Salt Mix Courtesy of Marine Depot

Other items like aquarium salt mixes and buffers are sort of unavoidable. The best route here is to research each product and find the ones with the lowest amount of phosphates present. Various companies like AquariumWaterTesting.com have done synthetic sea salt studies and others are present as well. But if a product you are using doesn’t have any data regarding their phosphate levels, do a study yourself. Simply make a sample batch using the product and test it with a low range phosphate meter or test kit (the digital meters work the best). If testing isn’t available, do a trial and error in your aquarium. Add the product and notice any changes in algae levels. If algae becomes more pronounced, stop using the product.

Phosphate Removal
Since phosphates will make it into your aquarium no matter what, you have to be prepared for their removal. Large, frequent water changes will help the most, unless of course your salt mix

ZEOvit Additives

is full of phosphates. If that is in fact the case, you might have to take a different approach. A popular method for removing excess phosphates, besides the water change, is the use of phosphate absorbing media like Two Little Fishies Phosban or D-D ROWAphos. These and other phosphate absorbing media utilize ferric oxide hydroxide, which removes both phosphates and silicates. Other than phosphate removing media, there are also phosphate removing chemicals. A big one that comes to mind is ZEOvit. ZEOvit is a dosing procedure that uses ZEOlithic stones and various ZEOvit additives that removes ammonia and phosphates tremendously. It is an expensive dosing regimen, but ZEOvit has spectacular results.

Two Little Fishies Phosban Reactor

PhosBan Media

*Images of TLF PhosBan Reactor and TLF PhosBan Media Courtesy of Marine Depot

Another tool for phosphate removal is the use of Kalkwasser. Kalkwasser, Kalk for short, is a calcium hydroxide based supplement that has been used for calcium supplementation for decades. An additional benefit to raising calcium levels while keeping pH up is its ability to bind phosphates, which essentially make them unusable by algae and other organisms. Kalk has been a favorite calcium delivery method for decades, especially by early German aquarium keepers. Today, Kalk is easily attainable. It can be found as pickling lime, aquarium targeted products, and even soda lime.

The last method of phosphate removal is via the macroalgae populated refugium. The refugium is essentially

Grape Caulerpa

an aquarium located under and plumbed to the display aquarium. Of course, the location is a personal preference, but they all serve the same function…and that is to grow algae. Algae feeds off excess nutrients like nitrates and phosphates. Hence the algae outbreak in the display aquarium when phosphate levels climb. With a refugium, you can control the location of algae growth to some extent. It grows out of site in the refugium and helps keep your display aquarium clean and algae-free. Two popular algae used in the refugium are Caulerpa and Chaetomorpha. They are similar in their requirements, but each has its drawbacks and advantages. For more information on Caulerpa and Chaetomorpha, see Chaetomorpha vs Caulerpa, a previous article we wrote. Simply prune the algae back once it starts to grow out of control and donate the rest to another aquarist who is just starting up or having algae issues in their aquarium.

Permissions and Sources:
Marine Depot
TLF PhosBan Reactor from Marine Depot
TLF PhosBan Media from Marine Depot
Red Sea Coral Pro Salt from Marine Depot

Why Phosphates are a Bad Thing

Phosphates, although a major component of natural sea water, can wreak havoc on a closed aquarium system. Even in low concentrations, phosphates can spur algae growth and slow coral calcification. With higher phosphates, algae can absolutely take over an aquarium and corals can virtually stop growing, and even start to recede.

Phosphates are a good fuel for algae. Algae feeds off phosphates and various other nutrients as it grows, and if the nutrient levels are high enough, the algae can overtake your entire aquarium system. Corals will eventually become overgrown by the algae and become shaded. By this I mean the algae will block light from reaching the coral. The coral will slowly starve if not given ample light. As the coral fades slowly, the algae will attach to the coral skeleton itself, thereby making a recovery less likely.

Besides fueling algae growth, phosphates can retard the uptake of calcium by calcifying corals. This of course is bad news for reef keeping aquarists who house a lot of hard corals. The corals will slow their growth rates as phosphate concentration rises. Some may even begin to die or have tissue recession. The latter part is obviously an extreme case, but it can happen when phosphates reach higher concentrations. A slowed calcification not only means slow growth, but slow repair when damaged by fragging or hands moving about the aquarium.

How Do You Know If You Even Have Phosphates?

A lot of aquarium keepers assume they have problems in their tank due to high nitrates, ammonia, or nitrites…which are all three vital in the nitrogen cycle. But phosphate is often overlooked. The reason for this is poor quality test kits and the fact that most advanced reef keepers can visually see the effects of high nutrients. Phosphate often registers as being undetectable on most liquid-based test kits. There are a handful of test kits that do the job (ie La Motte, D&D, Elos, and Salifert), but these are still vastly limited. However, there is another way to test for nitrates…and that is by using a digital meter such as the Hanna Instruments Low Range Phosphate Meter. I have used these meters before, and they do a great job. You have to be meticulous in cleaning the test vials, but once you follow the simple steps, you have a very accurate reading of your aquarium’s phosphate content. Other testers may perform similarly, but I wouldn’t use anything else to test my phosphates.

Hanna Instruments Low Range Digital Phosphate Meter

*Photo of a Hanna Instruments Digital Phosphate Meter Courtesy of Marine Depot

This concludes Part 1.
Part 2 will consist of Sources of Phosphate and How to Prevent/Remove It

Permissions and Sources:
Marine Depot

For years, sand has played a major role in saltwater aquariums. Sand is beneficial in so many ways, especially aragonite-based sand. In a nutshell, sand provides calcium, alkalinity, and pH buffering, as well as a home and food source for all sorts of fish and invertebrates. But most importantly of all, sand provided the surface area for a majority of the nitrifying bacteria that processes the waste material given off by our livestock. A last benefit is a purely asthetic one. Many aquarists simply like the look of a sandbed.

But if sand is so important for the saltwater aquarium, why are barebottom (sandless) aquariums becoming a popular trend? To answer this, we must look at who the primary users of a barebottom aquarium are…and this is mostly the hard coral enthusiasts. These hard corals, focusing mainly on SPS corals in the Acropora and Montipora genus, require quite a bit of flow and need a low nutrient environment in order to thrive. As you can imagine, sand poses somewhat of a problem for high flow setups, especially if it is of a finer grain size. The water movement can create sand storms and bury low lying corals, which will kill them eventually. If you have no sand in the aquarium, then you can have pretty much any amount of gallons per hour flowing through your aquarium.

An immediate benefit to higher flow is that it will help keep detritus, or waste, suspsended in the water column for removal via aquarium filters and protein skimmers. Sand is really good at trapping this detritus, thereby causing a constant supply of detrimental nutrients and less than perfect water quality. In a barebottom setup, you can easily see all the detritus so that it can easily be removed via siphoning. Additionally, more flow can deliver more of the required elements (calcium for example) to the corals at a faster rate, while at the same time removing metabolic waste from the coral. This leads to increased growth rates and overall healthier livestock.

Barebottom setups, to some, don’t look as good to some people, and are certainly not as natural looking. But some barebottom users place a “Starboard” material on the bottom of the aquarium, which protects the glass and somewhat looks like a faux sandbed. To further sell the look, some have glued sand grains to the material itself. Or if you want to be creative, you can grow corals directly onto the Starboard. One great example is green star polyps, or zoanthids, which grow in mattes onto virtually any surface.

I personally have mixed feelings about the barebottom setup. I, like most, have used sandbeds for years, but since my setup mostly consists of hard corals, I am very attracted to removing all of my sand. I have started the process of sand removal, but I must warn those who want to make the switch…your rockwork will shift and you should not remove more than a few pounds of sand per week so that you do not alter the bacteria/nutrient equilibrium which may result in algae blooms or even livestock loss.