Bio-Pellet Experiences? -Poll-

Bio-Pellet Experiences? -Poll-

  • Have used them and like them?

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Have used them and did not like them?

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Have never used them and never will?

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Have never used them but want to?

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Don't know enough about them?

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
01M5PWR

01M5PWR

Blenny
#1
#1
So I'm finally getting my 60 cube set-up. I have the plumbing almost complete. I have a manifold off my return pump for running reactors. I had originally planned to run Phosguard and Carbon as I run that in my 120 and have good success. I've been reading a bit about Bio-Pellet reactors and it seems they are somewhat new technology. There are so many mixed opinions/reviews about them. I was wondering if anyone in MASC has used bio pellets and what their experience was.

Thanks,

Zeke
 
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01M5PWR

01M5PWR

Blenny
#3
#3
sethsolomon;351143 said:
Curious why you want to use biopellets?
Click to expand...
I was looking into it as an alternative to GFO/AO for phosphate removal.
 
BrianH

BrianH

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#4
#4
I use biopellets and gfo on my 120 gal. sps dominant tank and like it for this tank. The right combination of the two keeps nitrates less than 0.5 ppm (red sea nitrate pro test kit) and phosphorous at 10 ppb (hanna checker phosphorous ULR). I tried a small cpr biopellet reactor on my 34 gal zoa/paly and lps tank and didnt like it. The zoas and palys were closed up half the time. I took the biopellets offline and the the corals are much happier.
 
01M5PWR

01M5PWR

Blenny
#6
#6
sethsolomon;351146 said:
Why not try and find the cause for the phosphates instead of patching it?
Click to expand...
I'm not patching anything. Its a new setup. I'm looking to pro-actively remove phosphate, and efficiently handle plumbing on the front end. I don't want add reactors later. I've also read that bio-pellets are better to use on a new setup rather than an established tank.
 
charleshardy5

charleshardy5

Anthias
#7
#7
01M5PWR;351147 said:
I'm not patching anything. Its a new setup. I'm looking to pro-actively remove phosphate, and efficiently handle plumbing on the front end. I don't want add reactors later. I've also read that bio-pellets are better to use on a new setup rather than an established tank.
Click to expand...
That's interesting because I've always read that they are more efficient on an established system. I'm curious if you do it, cause I'm about to set up my 180... and I've been considering bio pellets for the setup
 
BrianH

BrianH

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#8
#8
It works best to have your tank up and going before you start the biopellets. The bacteria need to have phosphates and nitrates in the water (plus the biopellet carbon source) to live. If you put a biopellet reactor in a new tank, you wont have phosphates and nitrates for the bacteria to consume and the bacteria colony will take a really long time to establish itself.
 
01M5PWR

01M5PWR

Blenny
#9
#9
BrianH;351209 said:
It works best to have your tank up and going before you start the biopellets. The bacteria need to have phosphates and nitrates in the water (plus the biopellet carbon source) to live. If you put a biopellet reactor in a new tank, you wont have phosphates and nitrates for the bacteria to consume and the bacteria colony will take a really long time to establish itself.
Click to expand...
The information I read about starting the reactor before stocking the tank was due to someone talking on another forum about the reactor crashing the tank. With all of this stuff there are always different experiences and opinions. My thought was to get the reactor installed and plumbed so I could bring it online after the tank is cycled.
 
BrianH

BrianH

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#10
#10
01M5PWR;351227 said:
The information I read about starting the reactor before stocking the tank was due to someone talking on another forum about the reactor crashing the tank. With all of this stuff there are always different experiences and opinions. My thought was to get the reactor installed and plumbed so I could bring it online after the tank is cycled.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a great plan to have it plumbed and ready. I suspect that the person who crashed their tank added the full "recommended amount" of biopellets when they started their reactor on an established tank with high PO4 and NO3 which caused a fast increase in bacterial colony size and a fast decrease in PO4 and NO3. When I started being cognizant of PO4 in my tank a few years ago, I added a bunch of PO4 binding/removal agent (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+8057+23495&pcatid=23495) and it slammed my PO4 level to 0 and killed/irritated some of my corals. When adding a boipellet reactor to my 3 year established tank, I started with 1/4 the recommended amount of biopellets and every two weeks added 1/4 more until I reached the "recommended amount". This worked well for my tank with no ill effect.

FYI, Here is another guy doing a things to consider discussion on biopellets, first 10-15 minutes...
https://vimeo.com/86408686
 
01M5PWR

01M5PWR

Blenny
#11
#11
Good video. I like his stuff, very informative. Thanks
 
Tangs

Tangs

Turbo Snail
#12
#12
Yes bio pellets are a good thing I have used them for years u just need to read up on how to add them . New tanks add full amount, established tanks start very slow , also u want the outlet of the hose togo straight to ur skimmer
 
Tangs

Tangs

Turbo Snail
#13
#13
Also ur skimmer will go crazy so u need to lower ur water line inside the skimmer
 
01M5PWR

01M5PWR

Blenny
#14
#14
Tangs;352203 said:
Yes bio pellets are a good thing I have used them for years u just need to read up on how to add them . New tanks add full amount, established tanks start very slow , also u want the outlet of the hose togo straight to ur skimmer
Click to expand...
Do you actually hard plum the two together? Or just point them at each other?
 
Tangs

Tangs

Turbo Snail
#15
#15
Yes srry I should have given more info . You want the outlet hose Tobe as close to the pump on skimmer as possible.
 
Tangs

Tangs

Turbo Snail
#16
#16
And u will see ur skimmer it will really pull all the junk out that bio pellets kill if your going to use bio pellets my experience with them is u want toget a bigger skimmer than what is used for your tank . So if you have a 100 gallon tank get a skimmer for 200 gallons . That way the skimmer can still pull waist out of your tank and the waist from the bio pellets
 
Tangs

Tangs

Turbo Snail
#17
#17
People that have had problems with bio pellets either added to much at once or didn't have a big enough skimmer to pull all the junk out . Also you never want the outlet hose from your reactor togo anywhere but straight to ur skimmer pump . Done wrong pellets can hurt ur tank , done correctly and you will see a huge difference in 30 days
 
Tangs

Tangs

Turbo Snail
#18
#18
If you have a new tank no live stock yet . Meaning no fish no corals then add full amount , if you have a tank already set up , say 100 gallons then add enough for 10 gallons every week till you reach 100 gallons
 
zinovate

zinovate

Anthias
M.A.S.C Club Member
#20
#20
https://youtu.be/9UtgjkEg8EY pretty good video about them. I ended up adding a UV to my tank to keep things in check after a huge bacteria bloom in the tank. Best thing you can do is go slow
 
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