Biopellet reactors

45ZoaGarden · Nov 26, 2019

Do they really make a difference In nitrates? I was thinking about getting one but are they really worth it?

45ZoaGarden · Nov 26, 2019

Roush427R · Nov 26, 2019

Following...

45ZoaGarden · Nov 27, 2019

nealio992000 · Nov 28, 2019

I've just ordered one myself to try as main source of nitrate reduction, I'm abit in the dark about which pellets are best if any

mtraylor · Nov 28, 2019

Yes they really work. If you cant get rid of source of nitrates you can use one. In most todays reefs people usually use a brick. Much safer and easy to control. No big concern of crashing your system due to miss use of media etc.

Also keep the in mind if you have corals. Zero nitrates are not a good thing. I have around 5ppm in my reef

nealio992000 · Nov 28, 2019

I've cycled my tank with colony due to a tank swap and nitrates are high, my reasoning with a reactor is I could use it for other media to run in it if my nitrates get down to an acceptable level and I dont need to run pellets anymore, as I understand it they can be too good running all the time

45ZoaGarden · Nov 28, 2019

mtraylor said:
Yes they really work. If you cant get rid of source of nitrates you can use one. In most todays reefs people usually use a brick. Much safer and easy to control. No big concern of crashing your system due to miss use of media etc.

Also keep the in mind if you have corals. Zero nitrates are not a good thing. I have around 5ppm in my reef

Yeah, I want around 5-10 ppm too. Thanks for your input

SyracuseMatt · Nov 28, 2019

45ZoaGarden said:
Do they really make a difference In nitrates? I was thinking about getting one but are they really worth it?

Why not dose vinegar and/or vodka? At least to me, it seems simpler and easier to control.

Matt

jerl77 · Nov 28, 2019

Been using dr Tim’s pellets and a avast marine reactor will never look back .....

45ZoaGarden · Nov 28, 2019

SyracuseMatt said:
Why not dose vinegar and/or vodka? At least to me, it seems simpler and easier to control.

Matt

Because vodka or carbon dosing tends to kill all nitrates. Tanks become “addicted” to no nutrients. When the dosing stops or slows down, the tank begins showing withdraw systems and crashes. Kinda like us LOL

mtraylor · Nov 28, 2019

I ran the biopellets when i had angels in the reef. I use the biochurn reactor.

Now i use that reactor for gfo. Its the best for gfo!

Mr Fishface · Nov 28, 2019

I run a diy biopellet reactor. Its been great, my nitrates are never higher than 10 ppm. I started one because i didnt want to dose daily.

SyracuseMatt · Nov 28, 2019

45ZoaGarden said:
Because vodka or carbon dosing tends to kill all nitrates. Tanks become “addicted” to no nutrients. When the dosing stops or slows down, the tank begins showing withdraw systems and crashes. Kinda like us LOL

How is this any different than biopellets (both methods encourage the consumption of nitrates by bacteria which are now less carbon limited)? Biopellets are carbon dosing. Vodka/vinegar is just cheaper and easier to control via dosing a dosing pump. How much carbon is your biopellet reactor dosing? Not saying there’s anything wrong with biopellets, just not sure I see any advantage over simpler carbon dosing.

Matt

45ZoaGarden · Nov 29, 2019

SyracuseMatt said:
How is this any different than biopellets (both methods encourage the consumption of nitrates by bacteria which are now less carbon limited)? Biopellets are carbon dosing. Vodka/vinegar is just cheaper and easier to control via dosing a dosing pump. How much carbon is your biopellet reactor dosing? Not saying there’s anything wrong with biopellets, just not sure I see any advantage over simpler carbon dosing.

Matt

Vodka dosing is extremely potent, stripping a lot out of the water column. I see biopellet a as a slower, more steady alternative. Biopellets take out a fraction of the amount some carbon or vodka would take out.

SyracuseMatt · Nov 29, 2019

45ZoaGarden said:
Vodka dosing is extremely potent, stripping a lot out of the water column. I see biopellet a as a slower, more steady alternative. Biopellets take out a fraction of the amount some carbon or vodka would take out.

Ok. I use a BRS dosing pump to dose a vodka/vinegar mix so I have good control over the amount dosed. I’ve not used biopellets but I suppose they could be less prone to carbon ‘overdosing’. For me, the added control of dosing via dosing pump is better and it seems cheaper and easier. It is certainly possible to get nutrients (nitrate and phosphate) too low with carbon dosing but, like most things, I think it is a matter of observing, testing and adjusting (usually slowly).

Matt

45ZoaGarden · Nov 29, 2019

Ye

SyracuseMatt said:
Ok. I use a BRS dosing pump to dose a vodka/vinegar mix so I have good control over the amount dosed. I’ve not used biopellets but I suppose they could be less prone to carbon ‘overdosing’. For me, the added control of dosing via dosing pump is better and it seems cheaper and easier. It is certainly possible to get nutrients (nitrate and phosphate) too low with carbon dosing but, like most things, I think it is a matter of observing, testing and adjusting (usually slowly).

Matt

Yes, I’m very aware of dosing and controllability. I have tow Neptune Dos connected to my apex and linked to my trident for automated dosing. I’m asking about biopellets because it would be hard to overdose. With carbon, .5 ml extra could easily crash a tank. I’m sticking with biopellets because it’s much safer.

Travis Alderman · Nov 29, 2019

45ZoaGarden said:
Ye

Yes, I’m very aware of dosing and controllability. I have tow Neptune Dos connected to my apex and linked to my trident for automated dosing. I’m asking about biopellets because it would be hard to overdose. With carbon, .5 ml extra could easily crash a tank. I’m sticking with biopellets because it’s much safer.

If you combine biopellets with all the prodibio products like biodigest, bioptim, reef booster, and coral vits, the tank will run itself in terms of eliminating nitrates and to an extent phosphates.

Just make sure you dose reef booster and coral vits night when the lights go out because the tank will be cloudy for a couple hours. I also use ecobak plus biopellets cause they have different polymers that different beneficial strands of bacteria will like.

45ZoaGarden · Nov 29, 2019

Travis Alderman said:
If you combine biopellets with all the prodibio products like biodigest, bioptim, reef booster, and coral vits, the tank will run itself in terms of eliminating nitrates and to an extent phosphates.

Just make sure you dose reef booster and coral vits night when the lights go out because the tank will be cloudy for a couple hours. I also use ecobak plus biopellets cause they have different polymers that different beneficial strands of bacteria will like.

I don’t want to “eliminate” nitrates. I just want to drop them by 10ppm. Phosphates are already under control with gfo.