Curious if anyone has tried using Prodibio yet,specifically BIO-DIGEST and REEF-BOOSTER. If so, what were your results?
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Prodibio, anyone?
- Thread starter hayabusa2003
- Start date
If you know anything about the Zeo system it is very similar only a whole lot cheaper to implement.
I personally am not a fan of either system as I think normal good husbandry can get you the same low nutrient system without the problems. That's purely personal opinion keep in mind. Many people are getting great results with Zeo. Prodibio is much newer in the states with up until recently only 1 or 2 places importing it from France.
There are some good threads on RC about it and I'd really recommend giving a few of the longer threads a read. You'll see a lot of trial and tribulations along the way with some of the people having crashes. When reading it keep in mind the crashes could have been caused by poor husbandry just as well as anything else.
One common issue I see a lot with "systems" is that people are having a problem keeping nutrients in check. When they see pics of nicely ran systems using a Zeo/Pro system they jump on the bandwagon hoping it will fix their problems and they'll have a low nutrient system. The problem is many of the good tanks could have been done without the "system" because there was very good husbandry to start with. The owner of the tank was just looking for a little more or better thing for his tank. The new person who didn't have husbandry in check to begin with then subjects his tank to yet more changes and boom, problems.
Now granted that's surely not everyone but it's a common theme I see a lot with low nutrient systems.
You'll see many people have moved away from Prodibio. Some to Zero and some back to "standard" husbandry practices. What I myself don't like about either system is the colors of the corals. They end up being pastel instead of the deep colors. Many people like the look of these tanks in pics but then when their own corals start to change colors they don't like the look. Sometimes the pictures are deceiving on tones and shades.
I'm not bashing either product but just pointing out a few things I see in my readings. As previously mentioned do some more reading and judge the merits on your own.
They will both cost you a lot more then normal for sure, but Prodibio is much cheaper and simpler to use.
Carlo
PS The big premise behind both systems is that you reintroduce bacteria to the tank every two weeks and dose supplements for the bacteria and amino acids, etc for the tank. They both claim to use different strains of bacteria then we usually have in our tanks but say the population dies off so it needs to be reestablished.
I don't buy this at all. Sure you can add different bacteria but why? We have perfectly good working bacteria in our tanks already. I feel if you need to add extra/new types of bacteria to keep nutrients low then something is wrong with your husbandry.
That's my view but please research and come to your own conclusions and don't forget to figure the ongoing cost of these systems.
I personally am not a fan of either system as I think normal good husbandry can get you the same low nutrient system without the problems. That's purely personal opinion keep in mind. Many people are getting great results with Zeo. Prodibio is much newer in the states with up until recently only 1 or 2 places importing it from France.
There are some good threads on RC about it and I'd really recommend giving a few of the longer threads a read. You'll see a lot of trial and tribulations along the way with some of the people having crashes. When reading it keep in mind the crashes could have been caused by poor husbandry just as well as anything else.
One common issue I see a lot with "systems" is that people are having a problem keeping nutrients in check. When they see pics of nicely ran systems using a Zeo/Pro system they jump on the bandwagon hoping it will fix their problems and they'll have a low nutrient system. The problem is many of the good tanks could have been done without the "system" because there was very good husbandry to start with. The owner of the tank was just looking for a little more or better thing for his tank. The new person who didn't have husbandry in check to begin with then subjects his tank to yet more changes and boom, problems.
Now granted that's surely not everyone but it's a common theme I see a lot with low nutrient systems.
You'll see many people have moved away from Prodibio. Some to Zero and some back to "standard" husbandry practices. What I myself don't like about either system is the colors of the corals. They end up being pastel instead of the deep colors. Many people like the look of these tanks in pics but then when their own corals start to change colors they don't like the look. Sometimes the pictures are deceiving on tones and shades.
I'm not bashing either product but just pointing out a few things I see in my readings. As previously mentioned do some more reading and judge the merits on your own.
They will both cost you a lot more then normal for sure, but Prodibio is much cheaper and simpler to use.
Carlo
PS The big premise behind both systems is that you reintroduce bacteria to the tank every two weeks and dose supplements for the bacteria and amino acids, etc for the tank. They both claim to use different strains of bacteria then we usually have in our tanks but say the population dies off so it needs to be reestablished.
I don't buy this at all. Sure you can add different bacteria but why? We have perfectly good working bacteria in our tanks already. I feel if you need to add extra/new types of bacteria to keep nutrients low then something is wrong with your husbandry.
That's my view but please research and come to your own conclusions and don't forget to figure the ongoing cost of these systems.
That's interesting that you saw your corals pastel with use of the Zeo/pro. I saw Nick (NJB...)'s tank and was awestruck by the colors of his tank. Really deep/bright colors. I'd be thrilled with the look if I thought that's all it took.
I do think there's an amazing level of husbandry that goes into maintaining his tank though (as Carlo suggested, with or without the additives).
I do think there's an amazing level of husbandry that goes into maintaining his tank though (as Carlo suggested, with or without the additives).
I can't speak to REEFBOOSTER, but...(the 411 on b-digest):
"BIO DIGEST is composed with nitrifying and dénitrifying bacterial strains selected for their capacity to transform the ammonia into nitrites, the nitrites into nitrates and nitrates into nitrogen. They are guaranteed free from genetic mutations."
Everything mentioned above I already accomplish via a quality amount of liverock, macroalgae, skimmming and water changes. No comment on the genetic mutations... ;D
I've also read about a couple experienced reefers (Melev is one) over on RC that have tried it but had mixed results. (He saw fantastic growth on some of his corals, but others also died rapidly, and ended up not using it anymore). What's a little mystifying is the claim that you cannot OD on the bac, yet Melev was convinced his corals died because of an OD. Now I think he used bio-reef and biotopin so your results may not be similar.
Then again, every tank has different lights, water volume, etc etc., it's really almost impossible to truly replicate someone else's results. Not everyone can dose exactly at the prescribed times - so it's easy to see (as Carlo noted) that "crashes" could be coming from any number of factors (prodibio or just bad husbandry).
I think the jury is still out whether prodibio is the magic panacea that all SPS keepers want to control their nitrates. So do the research, draw your own conclusions, and as always may the buyer beware!
"BIO DIGEST is composed with nitrifying and dénitrifying bacterial strains selected for their capacity to transform the ammonia into nitrites, the nitrites into nitrates and nitrates into nitrogen. They are guaranteed free from genetic mutations."
Everything mentioned above I already accomplish via a quality amount of liverock, macroalgae, skimmming and water changes. No comment on the genetic mutations... ;D
I've also read about a couple experienced reefers (Melev is one) over on RC that have tried it but had mixed results. (He saw fantastic growth on some of his corals, but others also died rapidly, and ended up not using it anymore). What's a little mystifying is the claim that you cannot OD on the bac, yet Melev was convinced his corals died because of an OD. Now I think he used bio-reef and biotopin so your results may not be similar.
Then again, every tank has different lights, water volume, etc etc., it's really almost impossible to truly replicate someone else's results. Not everyone can dose exactly at the prescribed times - so it's easy to see (as Carlo noted) that "crashes" could be coming from any number of factors (prodibio or just bad husbandry).
I think the jury is still out whether prodibio is the magic panacea that all SPS keepers want to control their nitrates. So do the research, draw your own conclusions, and as always may the buyer beware!
What are you trying to accomplish in your tank by using the Prodibio products?
I know that we all have opinions, therefore I am going to give mine. Whenever I have decided to do something with my tank and asked for opinions, I have always gone to people that use the item I am looking to research, so my question is, how many current Zeo/Prodibio or Ex Zeo/Prodibio users are on here? Those are the people you need to get your info from, its first hand.
As for anyone looking to go into either the Prodibio or the Zeovit systems, do not listen to anyone about proceeding with caution, because you know what, these systems FORCE you to run a well maintained, well kept system, and is that not the way it should be whether you run a "normal" system or not? There are a million ways to skin a cat, pick one. Give it a go! How many people research Marc Weiss products before they use them in the tank, going to have to say 0. In the way of "caution" and "research" in this hobby there is practically NONE. Just step into a LFS and listen to what people buy for a tank that is never going to make it, or not going to do anything for the tank The so called "experts" do it as well as the newbies.
All right, I have heard time and time again that good husbandry and proper equipment will give you the coral colors of your dreams, but I have to tell you that I have seen many a tank that has been well taken care of that truely does nothing for me. Brown is not a color people!
Tell me, what is good husbandry, and what is the best equipment? There are threads and threads on here and RC of people asking "Best Par bulb?" "Best skimmer?" Best salt mixture". As for husbandry, what is good husbandry? Water changes, near saltwater parameters? Alot of people keep their tanks that way and corals never show through, and they need some more help.
I have recently started Zeo. I looked into Prodibo, but the problem I had with it was that there was truely no one to back up the product. There is no website, there is no support anywhere, you are out there on your own.
As for Zeo, there are alot of people on the zeovit forum that are truely a wealth of information.
I have seen first hand Zeo tanks and I can say that I have seen more "Pastel" colors in a non Zeo tank than in a Zeo tank. These tanks I have seen have some of the deepest colors I have ever seen.
The whole "pastel" color thing is BS in my opinion. Every tank that runs Zeo does not have a pastel problem. You can have two people in this club running a tank with everything the same and the colors will truely be different. Are those that say the colors are "pastel" looking at their own tanks, or have seen numerous other tanks? Its their "opinion" that the color is what it is.
As for the amount of work involved, for the first two weeks you need to dose a few additives every day, but after that it turns into every other day for some and then 2-3X a week. Total time for me to add the additives and shake the Zeoliths is about 1 - 2 minutes a day. When I add, it gives me time to make sure the filter socks are clean, skimmer doing its thing, topoff water ok? Trust me, I have seen the systems in action, have spoken to the people that run them, and am doing it first hand.
In regards to crashes, people love to point a finger at the crashes by people running these "other" systems but trust me, I have seen and read many a none "other" system crash. In the course of a day, hundreds of "normal" tanks in the world crash and how often do you hear about them.
Those running Zeo are not people that are looking to setup a tank and let it run. These systems are for people that have done their homework and know the hobby. They know where the parameters should be and what is required of them.
As to adding things to your tank, how much stuff gets added into non Zeo/Prodibio tanks? TONS! If its not Purple-up, its some Weiss product, or a TON of Phosban to lower nitrates, which by the way Zeo systems DO NOT use, Chemipure, Polypads... The water is subjected to massive attack.
I am not saying that Zeo is the do all - end all to reefing, but its a system that if you are willing to give another way to skin a cat a try. Everyone has opinions on T5 vs MH, different types of salt, powerheads, pumps, DSB vs BB, remote DSB and the list goes on and these "other" systems just get added to the list.
There are a lot of people out there using the Zeovit products and not using the complete system. So if you are wondering about going full steam, try some of the items and see first hand for yourself and draw your own opinions.
Oh and if you have ever bought, looked or planned on buying corals from some online places, be sure to see if they are Zeo systems, because more are going the Zeo route, why, because it makes the colors, cough..cough..Fragfarmer..cough..cough, and a 20K radium helps too, because colors sell corals people.
Anyone care to share some FTS?
Elvis has left the building!
I know that we all have opinions, therefore I am going to give mine. Whenever I have decided to do something with my tank and asked for opinions, I have always gone to people that use the item I am looking to research, so my question is, how many current Zeo/Prodibio or Ex Zeo/Prodibio users are on here? Those are the people you need to get your info from, its first hand.
As for anyone looking to go into either the Prodibio or the Zeovit systems, do not listen to anyone about proceeding with caution, because you know what, these systems FORCE you to run a well maintained, well kept system, and is that not the way it should be whether you run a "normal" system or not? There are a million ways to skin a cat, pick one. Give it a go! How many people research Marc Weiss products before they use them in the tank, going to have to say 0. In the way of "caution" and "research" in this hobby there is practically NONE. Just step into a LFS and listen to what people buy for a tank that is never going to make it, or not going to do anything for the tank The so called "experts" do it as well as the newbies.
All right, I have heard time and time again that good husbandry and proper equipment will give you the coral colors of your dreams, but I have to tell you that I have seen many a tank that has been well taken care of that truely does nothing for me. Brown is not a color people!
Tell me, what is good husbandry, and what is the best equipment? There are threads and threads on here and RC of people asking "Best Par bulb?" "Best skimmer?" Best salt mixture". As for husbandry, what is good husbandry? Water changes, near saltwater parameters? Alot of people keep their tanks that way and corals never show through, and they need some more help.
I have recently started Zeo. I looked into Prodibo, but the problem I had with it was that there was truely no one to back up the product. There is no website, there is no support anywhere, you are out there on your own.
As for Zeo, there are alot of people on the zeovit forum that are truely a wealth of information.
I have seen first hand Zeo tanks and I can say that I have seen more "Pastel" colors in a non Zeo tank than in a Zeo tank. These tanks I have seen have some of the deepest colors I have ever seen.
The whole "pastel" color thing is BS in my opinion. Every tank that runs Zeo does not have a pastel problem. You can have two people in this club running a tank with everything the same and the colors will truely be different. Are those that say the colors are "pastel" looking at their own tanks, or have seen numerous other tanks? Its their "opinion" that the color is what it is.
As for the amount of work involved, for the first two weeks you need to dose a few additives every day, but after that it turns into every other day for some and then 2-3X a week. Total time for me to add the additives and shake the Zeoliths is about 1 - 2 minutes a day. When I add, it gives me time to make sure the filter socks are clean, skimmer doing its thing, topoff water ok? Trust me, I have seen the systems in action, have spoken to the people that run them, and am doing it first hand.
In regards to crashes, people love to point a finger at the crashes by people running these "other" systems but trust me, I have seen and read many a none "other" system crash. In the course of a day, hundreds of "normal" tanks in the world crash and how often do you hear about them.
Those running Zeo are not people that are looking to setup a tank and let it run. These systems are for people that have done their homework and know the hobby. They know where the parameters should be and what is required of them.
As to adding things to your tank, how much stuff gets added into non Zeo/Prodibio tanks? TONS! If its not Purple-up, its some Weiss product, or a TON of Phosban to lower nitrates, which by the way Zeo systems DO NOT use, Chemipure, Polypads... The water is subjected to massive attack.
I am not saying that Zeo is the do all - end all to reefing, but its a system that if you are willing to give another way to skin a cat a try. Everyone has opinions on T5 vs MH, different types of salt, powerheads, pumps, DSB vs BB, remote DSB and the list goes on and these "other" systems just get added to the list.
There are a lot of people out there using the Zeovit products and not using the complete system. So if you are wondering about going full steam, try some of the items and see first hand for yourself and draw your own opinions.
Oh and if you have ever bought, looked or planned on buying corals from some online places, be sure to see if they are Zeo systems, because more are going the Zeo route, why, because it makes the colors, cough..cough..Fragfarmer..cough..cough, and a 20K radium helps too, because colors sell corals people.
Anyone care to share some FTS?
Elvis has left the building!
I'm going to preemtively say TREAD LIGHTLY. Please respect each other and do not start with personal attacks. All that much better if you can stick to personal experience rather than generalizations.
I've seen some ugly conversations and people being banned left and right from conversations gone ugly on other forums. Let's keep it up above board on this one, please!
I've seen some ugly conversations and people being banned left and right from conversations gone ugly on other forums. Let's keep it up above board on this one, please!
phil519 said:
i talked to mark(melev) a lot at MACNA, and he said he feels like his overdosing was the reason for the dying.. He is actually going to start the prodibio again. I used it before I broke down my 210g, with no results.. good or bad... I have it here to try again.. But its really expensive to dose a 850g system, thats my downside..
thx for everyone's feedback.
My main reason for looking into Prodibio was to be able to increase my biological filtration so as to not have to depend on over-skimming (ie having a skimmer rated at 2-3x your tank volume). To me that's unnatural, and you're basically skimming out alot of your trace elements as well.
I setup a DSB (4in in the display, 6+ inches in refugium), but always in the back of my mind lurks the fear of a H2S related crash in 5 years...(I've got 4 left..) If Prodibo really works, I could slowly do away with the DSB.
My main reason for looking into Prodibio was to be able to increase my biological filtration so as to not have to depend on over-skimming (ie having a skimmer rated at 2-3x your tank volume). To me that's unnatural, and you're basically skimming out alot of your trace elements as well.
I setup a DSB (4in in the display, 6+ inches in refugium), but always in the back of my mind lurks the fear of a H2S related crash in 5 years...(I've got 4 left..) If Prodibo really works, I could slowly do away with the DSB.
actually after talking to prodibio for a while at MACNA.. they recommend having a sandband if your are using their product. they say you can keep a refugium, but it might die off from the low nutrient water level you are creating with the prodibio product.. i ran prodibio with a sand band, but i might try it again without one, since i am barebottom again 
Carlo,
I read 0ppms for Nitrate....which is all the work of my Liverock and DSB because my skimmer doesn't pull out anything (Amiracle brand, rated for 125g. can't complain, it was free). I'm not that really stocked anyway (4in blue hippo, 4in yellow tang, ocellaris, randall's shrimp goby, and algae blenny in a 75g with 20gal sump/refugium).
I know I want to add more livestock, so either I bite the bullet and get a real skimmer, or try out Prodibio..it all depends on which one I win at the frag swap raffle
I read 0ppms for Nitrate....which is all the work of my Liverock and DSB because my skimmer doesn't pull out anything (Amiracle brand, rated for 125g. can't complain, it was free). I'm not that really stocked anyway (4in blue hippo, 4in yellow tang, ocellaris, randall's shrimp goby, and algae blenny in a 75g with 20gal sump/refugium).
I know I want to add more livestock, so either I bite the bullet and get a real skimmer, or try out Prodibio..it all depends on which one I win at the frag swap raffle
not to replace a skimmer, just to remove the dependancy on getting a huge expensive one, plus I'm not a fan of the "over-skimming" concept. I want my main filtration to be biological, which is why I went with the deep-sand-bed. But since DSBs are rumored to cause system crashed over time (due to H2S), my hope was to use prodibio to increase my biological filtration and slowly remove my DSB (leaving some sand, but mostly for aesthetics).
Reefcentral has a person who is currently starting this, and is documenting his results.
Reefcentral has a person who is currently starting this, and is documenting his results.
hayabusa2003 said:..it all depends on which one I win at the frag swap raffle
Dream on buddy. I like the way you think.
I don't see the reason to use the product in your case with zero trates. It's hard to get better then that!
I wouldn't bother with a new skimmer either since what you have seems to be doing it's job. If I'm getting your situation correctly (correct me if I'm wrong), you want to do away with the DSB in one or both of your tanks and think this product could be of help as "insurance".
Well it certainly could be as well as other choices. As Billy pointed out it could be expensive. Have you thought of doing some rearranging? For example you could cheaply create a 5 Gallon (or 32/44 bucket for that matter) remote DSB. Basically a 5 gallon bucket or larger with a couple bulkheads piped into the system filled with sand.
You could use new sand or migrate your current sand bed SLOWLY over to it. Some of the advantages to the RDSB is that the water is moving faster through it which keep debris from settling plus it's external to the tank/sump so you can take it off line if needed. No worries about long term DSB crashes. Ideally given proper space you use 2 of them (split total size between two containers). Then you could take one off line every year or two and discard the sand and refill. If you alternate you always have at least 1/2 the biological sand filtration in place.
I just recently gutted my 125g refugium. My nutrients are at zero and the macro is slowly dieing off. I also had a DSB in it and have been slowly removing the sand from it doing exactly this. I've been finding the refugium to be more of a "swamp" and detritus trap then anything else since I don't really need it IN MY SYSTEM. (Not a generality here but my system. No pH problems or anything like that.) But to me the cleaning and maint isn't worth having it on my system. Now all the sand in the bucket on the other hand is different. Since it's a fast flow compared to the slow flow of most fuges the detritus doesn't get a chance to settle and the sand stays cleaner.
Just another option maybe worth exploring that's cheap. It's space dependent however so not everyone who would want to do it can.
But getting back to the question. Is the focus of this to remove the DSB from the one or two tanks?
Carlo
Carlo,
I did consider the 5gallon buckets idea originally when I was setting up my system, but it's not very aesthetic since I have no place to hide the stuff. Now if only my girlfriend would let me break thru the wall behind the display tank into my garage...
to clear things up, I have 1 tank (75gal) with a 4-5in sandbed. I have a 20gal DIY sump/fuge where I have my skimmer, 6-7in of oolite sand (different size than I have in the display tank), and chaeto. My goal is to remove most of the sand from the display tank. I could add the sand to my fuge, but any more than 8in in one area is overkill. With that said, if I remove sand from my display, unless I add another fuge to put the sand in (or make a 40gal fuge), I'm actually reducing my bio-filtration.
As for my 0ppm readings, I think that's misleading. My chaeto has been growing pretty quickly...wouldn't that suggest that my filtration isn't removing the nutrients fast enough, hence the macro-algae is consuming it and growing? Prodibio users actually report that their macro-algae stopped growing and/or start dying..a sign of a truly nutrient-poor system.
Lastly..perhaps this should be a separate thread..I could upgrade my skimmer (looking at a EuroReef RS-135 or RS-180)...reducing the demand on my biological filtration. But..what are you thoughts on overskimming? Don't you think it's wasteful..the fact that we spend all this money adding trace elements/etc to our system, only to have an over-sized skimmer suck most of it out anyway...kinda like running the A/C with the windows open
I did consider the 5gallon buckets idea originally when I was setting up my system, but it's not very aesthetic since I have no place to hide the stuff. Now if only my girlfriend would let me break thru the wall behind the display tank into my garage...
to clear things up, I have 1 tank (75gal) with a 4-5in sandbed. I have a 20gal DIY sump/fuge where I have my skimmer, 6-7in of oolite sand (different size than I have in the display tank), and chaeto. My goal is to remove most of the sand from the display tank. I could add the sand to my fuge, but any more than 8in in one area is overkill. With that said, if I remove sand from my display, unless I add another fuge to put the sand in (or make a 40gal fuge), I'm actually reducing my bio-filtration.
As for my 0ppm readings, I think that's misleading. My chaeto has been growing pretty quickly...wouldn't that suggest that my filtration isn't removing the nutrients fast enough, hence the macro-algae is consuming it and growing? Prodibio users actually report that their macro-algae stopped growing and/or start dying..a sign of a truly nutrient-poor system.
Lastly..perhaps this should be a separate thread..I could upgrade my skimmer (looking at a EuroReef RS-135 or RS-180)...reducing the demand on my biological filtration. But..what are you thoughts on overskimming? Don't you think it's wasteful..the fact that we spend all this money adding trace elements/etc to our system, only to have an over-sized skimmer suck most of it out anyway...kinda like running the A/C with the windows open
Yea, definitely a space issue. I've seen some creative ideas on this one. Same as with top-off buckets. Some people put a large size bucket/trashcan next to the tank with a doyle over it to hide it. While creative it's still a space issue.hayabusa2003 said:
Yep going into the garage could be of help but then you might have temp issues depending...
Yep, true. I wouldn't add any more sand to the fuge as it's deep enough already.
Is adding more live rock an option? How much do you think you presently have in the system? Another similar biological solution below.
That would seem to be the case. I don't think you mentioned how you skim (wet/dry). If you currently dry skim you could try more of a wet skim. This should pull more organics out of the system. Yep it will pull some of the salts out of the water also but you can look at the wet skim replacement water as something like a "continuous water change". You could top-off with slightly salted water to cover both evap and skim loss getting some of the salts back in the water or just occasionally check and adjust your salt level. Depends on how often you do water changes. But the point being a wet skim will remove more stuff before they have a chance to break down.
Depends on how you look at it. You could look at it from the perspective of the "continuous water change" idea above. Done like that it's not really wasteful as you don't need to do the big water changes per say depending on the amount of water you skim out each day/week. But generally speaking I'm not a fan of big time overskimming.Lastly..perhaps this should be a separate thread..I could upgrade my skimmer (looking at a EuroReef RS-135 or RS-180)...reducing the demand on my biological filtration. But..what are you thoughts on overskimming? Don't you think it's wasteful..the fact that we spend all this money adding trace elements/etc to our system, only to have an over-sized skimmer suck most of it out anyway...kinda like running the A/C with the windows open
I wouldn't jump on a new skimmer just yet unless you have money to burn. I'd try and work with what you have first. It's not like your system is hurting at the moment. You are just trying to tweak things. Keep in mind, many people would love to be in your situation right now with zero nitrates!
I myself would try and stay on the biological side of filtration given a choice. This also tends to be a onetime purchase with no ongoing costs unlike a dosing product. So working on this model where we assume you are going to reduce the sand bed (in time) from the 75 gallon tank we can look at a couple of options. My number one recommendation would be to look at a product called Siporax (sintered glass) http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Matrix.html]http://www.sera.de/index.php?id=473&L=1[/url or Seachem's Matrix [url]http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Matrix.html.
You will probably like the "look" and cost of Matrix better.
Matrix is a biological product and not a chemical product. It's a good choice for removal of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. Recommended amounts are 100 mL of Matrix for each 10 gallons of water in the system. What I like about both products is that they are very porous and allow aerobic & anaerobic bacteria to grow in/on them. This is the same thing that live rock does.
I used to recommend Siporax but find I like Matrix better. It's a lot cheaper, does the same thing and has a better shape to it that looks more natural. Just as with your liverock it takes time for the anaerobic bacteria to develop in it so get this going before you start to remove the sand and then remove a bit of sand at a time. You could probably gauge this off the macro algae (slowing growth).
You can find Matrix at many stores or online http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_searchItem.aspx?IdCategory=&SearchText=matrix. $8.99 for one liter and $14.99 for two liters. According to Seachem you would want to use 3/4 of a liter but I'd recommend adding 2 liters if you can for some insurance. This way you could remove 1/4 of it every few months and give it a dip in some salt water to clean up any settle detritus and you wouldn't be disturbing the other 3/4s. Just an opinion and it's cheap so...
With either product you "could" add them in a slow flow canister, reactor or just right into the fuge itself on top of the sand, what ever is most convenient for you to do. Matrix will look more natural and you might even find you would like to put some in the main tank to replace the sand but I'd mainly opt for the fuge area.
I hope some of these ideas might help you out,
Carlo