Bio pellets?

jerl77 · Dec 4, 2011

Ok who is using the bio pellets with success I ran them about 1 year ago and my sps started to rtn so I stop. So who is running them still? I hear you need to keep your alk low for them too work?

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Me z · Dec 4, 2011

I run bio pellets and have never had an issue. I have been running them for about a year and a half. I really dont know why someone would tell you to keep your alk low to run the biopellets, I mean would you keep your alk low to feed nori?? Flake food?? Thats all bio pellets really are, a solid carbon food source for specific strains of bacteria. Too much flow through pellets can cause rtn, cyano, and other issues. This has been corroborated by many other's on RC and other sites it's not just my conclusion but many hobbyists. I found that I never could reduce the flow enough in my reactor so I just took it off line and put them in a filter bag in the sump. My nitrates and phophates still stay zero but I dont have any other issues that can arise with too much flow through the pellets. Some speculate that too much flow sloughs off the carbon and causes rtn, which has also been proven to happen when you tumble activated carbon in a reactor. If you have other questions just pm me.

CALIKING · Dec 7, 2011

I run BioPellets from BRS. So far so good. I know they work because when my tank was running low on pellets i had an algae bloom. 2 days after I added more pellets the algae began to die off.

FaviaFreak · Dec 7, 2011

refresh my memory... does one need to run a skimmer in order for the pellets to work in a media bag?

subielover · Dec 7, 2011

FaviaFreak said:
refresh my memory... does one need to run a skimmer in order for the pellets to work in a media bag?

Yes, a skimmer is a must when using biopellets.

FaviaFreak · Dec 7, 2011

subielover said:
Yes, a skimmer is a must when using biopellets.

Thanks Subie I figured that was the case

Gamble · Dec 7, 2011

FaviaFreak said:
refresh my memory... does one need to run a skimmer in order for the pellets to work in a media bag?

I didn't know that you could run bio pellets in a media bag? I am thinking about starting to use them, but the results are either really good or really bad it seams... so I am kinda scared to give it a go so far.

FaviaFreak · Dec 7, 2011

Me z said:
I run bio pellets and have never had an issue. I have been running them for about a year and a half. I really dont know why someone would tell you to keep your alk low to run the biopellets, I mean would you keep your alk low to feed nori?? Flake food?? Thats all bio pellets really are, a solid carbon food source for specific strains of bacteria. Too much flow through pellets can cause rtn, cyano, and other issues. This has been corroborated by many other's on RC and other sites it's not just my conclusion but many hobbyists. I found that I never could reduce the flow enough in my reactor so I just took it off line and put them in a filter bag in the sump. My nitrates and phophates still stay zero but I dont have any other issues that can arise with too much flow through the pellets. Some speculate that too much flow sloughs off the carbon and causes rtn, which has also been proven to happen when you tumble activated carbon in a reactor. If you have other questions just pm me.

Gamble said:
I didn't know that you could run bio pellets in a media bag? I am thinking about starting to use them, but the results are either really good or really bad it seams... so I am kinda scared to give it a go so far.

I didn't either until I read the above post and what he says makes sense

Me z · Dec 7, 2011

Companies that make media reactors would like you to buy one for every type of media out there. I mean think about it we know lignite carbon and softer carbons create tons of dust when you rinse them and rub the grains together you can get black water all night long if you keep rubbing it. We also know that carbon dusk can lead to problems with fish and corals, yet people keep tumbling carbon in a reactor and wonder why they have problems. Bio pellets are the same thing get on rc they have a really in depth thread where they experimented with flow through pellets. Almost every time higher flow led to problems like cyano and rtn. Lower flow didnt result in near as many problems. All companies that make biopellets and sell carbon also sell and make media reactors, just another way for them to make a buck off you. GFO needs flow and needs to tumble because it is binding to the phosphate molecules in the water column so the more surface area you expose the more phosphate it can pull out. Bio pellets are simply a food source for bacteria as long as water is passing over them in any amount they will actively consume the pellets and in the process pull out no3 and po4. I mean think about it you dont need to tumble your live rock to get it to convert amonia into no2 or get it to turn no2 into no3, why would you need to tumble the pellets to get them to turn n03 into nitrogen?

Gamble · Dec 8, 2011

I thought the point of having the flow was to prevent build up of bacterial mass surrounding the carbon source.

CALIKING · Dec 8, 2011

When there Is low flow BioPellets will clump up and creat a moss like white cacoon Looking thing. Trust me you need flow in BioPellets. The reason peoPle get cyano is in part do because of an unbalance of bacteria (bad and good).

kuyatwo · Dec 8, 2011

Alk need to be around 8-9 dkh any higher and sps will start to have burnt tips

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Larsen · Dec 8, 2011

Bulk reef supply says you want to tumble your bio pellets

Dowtish · Dec 8, 2011

I have been running pellets on my tank since it first cycled about a year ago. For most of the past year I had them in a canister filter along with some carbon in a media bag. The tumble was not "ideal" according to what you see in a fluidized reactor. But I have had crystal clear water and no algae, and zero nitrates and very minimal phosphates the entire time, and I was feeding heavy. I have recently put them in a reactor with a very slow tumble. And even though it is slow, I am getting a much more nastier skimmate, and some of the funkiest colored stuff on my filter socks I have ever seen. I have also seen a slight bloom of cyano. I turned my skimmer off for 24 hours as a test, and the cyano doubled in that time.

I am beginning to understand that the bacteria that is feeding off the pellets is essentially putting off a nutrient rich film/bacteria that is entering the water column. Hence the cyano and weird brown stuff in my filter socks. BUT, my corals have never looked better. Fat,fluffy, puffed up and amzing PE on my SPS. So I think that the corals are loving the nutrient rich spunk that is coming off the pellets, it's just finding a balance in how much to skim out and not cause a huge cyano bloom. I think the answer is in the amount of flow going through the pellets, and of course having a decent skimmer. So I have cut my flow way back through the reactor, and so far havent had issues with clumping. And I continue to dose Microbe-Lift 'special blend' to balance out the bacterial imbalance. I think there is a common misunderstanding that these pellets need to be tumbling quickly, and as I have seen that is just not the case in my application. I might be running 80 gph through the reactor, if that.

Me z · Dec 8, 2011

Ya brs im sure says you want to tumble your pellets, why would they want to sell you a 2$ filter bag when they can sell you a 50$+ reactor oh and the pumps arent included so you need to buy one of those too. As for a biomass surrounding the pellets ya maybe if they are in stagnant water that might happen. I will take a pic of pellets that have been just sitting in my sump for almost eight months there is no "biomass" surrounding the pellets. Read people even if you dont want to take my word for it. Low flow is where people have had success either by turning a reactor way down or by running them in a filter bag.