Bio-Pellets - Does it matter which one?

[skiwez]

Been trying to do as much research as possible regarding bio-pellets and the short story of what I've found is that the process to making making bio-pellets is varied and they have many different uses in the industrial world - from water treatment to bio-degradable plastics etc.

The reseller in the fish hobby don't tell us what they are made of. I'm not sure it would really matter, but we might be able to discern a trend in that XX Brand of Biopellets works better because they are created with this process if it was available.

Randy the question I have is does it really matter what form the bio-pellets take or is the bacteria just looking for the carbon to feed it's metabolic process? Can we essentially just take any bio-pellet off the shelf and expect similar results?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Here's what I know about biopellets. They are made up of two different biodegradable polyesters, which might be just one, or the other, or a combination of both. Now I've actually heard Jon Warner (Warner Marine, maker of Ecobak) talk and he claims that his pellets not only contain the polymer(s), but other carbon sources that makes his the best.


Now there might be a difference between different brands, but I look at this more pragmatically.....ITS FOOD FOR BACTERIA...and last I check they don't have a discerning palate. I've been using BRS pellets (and never tried any others) and have my nitrates at 0 and phosphates at 0.03.


I believe Jon Warner is on R2R and hopefully he might chime in and comment further.

 

[skiwez]

That's kinda what I was thinking, The aquarium market is too small to have any real research done on these polymers/polyesters and in the end it's bacteria we're feeding.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I believe that nearly all pellets sold to aquarists have poly(hydroxybutyrate) as the polymer.

As to other attributes of them (such as size or porosity or fillers), I cannot say what advantages or disadvantages those provide as I have not seen any evidence of it.

 

[Jon Warner]

Been trying to do as much research as possible regarding bio-pellets and the short story of what I've found is that the process to making making bio-pellets is varied and they have many different uses in the industrial world - from water treatment to bio-degradable plastics etc.

The reseller in the fish hobby don't tell us what they are made of. I'm not sure it would really matter, but we might be able to discern a trend in that XX Brand of Biopellets works better because they are created with this process if it was available.

Randy the question I have is does it really matter what form the bio-pellets take or is the bacteria just looking for the carbon to feed it's metabolic process? Can we essentially just take any bio-pellet off the shelf and expect similar results?

I can make a few comments.

We were the first US based company to release a bio-pellet (ECOBAK). We started with original research and didn't "copy or emulate" anyone else's formulation or product.

In fact, our polymer formulation (ECOBAK) is unique and we are the only company using it possibly because of the Patent Pending status. We actually work directly with the biologists and engineers who produce the polymer for us so we understand the product thoroughly.

There is no need to make claims about which bio-pellet works the best. There are many, many threads all over the internet and I believe that ECOBAK is the best performing and best reviewed bio-pellet on the market.

In addition, there are many more factors that make a good bio-pellet. For example, other companies use a "solvent based" process to separate the polymer from the bio-mass during production. EcoBAK uses a water based separation process.