To BP or not to BP

[ISR Jimmy]

Fellow Reefers,
I recently purchased a sweet CAD Lights nano reactor and some NPX Bioplastics (BP) from Two Little Fishes. Just before adding this to my Cardiff nano, I did a few hours of reading. It seems there is a myriad of posts on both successes and failures with the use of BP in the marine aquaria. Some failures were attributed to improper use (flow, dose...), however several users followed the proper regime and still experienced negative results with red slime algae. Still yet others swear by its use for reef tanks.
Having a 29 gallon nano, my concern is slight changes can have large impacts to the tanks chemistry. I planned to keep the reactor going with some BP as assurance there would be no issues with nitrates. I am active duty military (Special Forces) and travel often. My wife helps with the aquarium, but she has her limits.
So my question stands - should I use the BP or just substitute with Granular Ferric Oxide (GFO) as an alternative for water quality control measures? Also considering just changing to a larger, less sensitive reef system like my 125g (it's sitting empty ATM).

Thanks in advance for the support!

Jimmy


Sent from my iPad using REEF2REEF

 

[ISR Jimmy]

Any recommendations on using either BP or GFO in a media reactor for a nano?

Thanks
James

 

[gojk]

I ran BPs for a while. They were overly effective in stripping the nutrients. In big tanks that people feed heavy I am sure they are awesome, but if you can keep your feeding down and you have a small system, I don't think they are that great. I have a 40 breeder and while they were in use it seemed like my corals were overly sensitive to minor variations in parameters.

 

[ISR Jimmy]

Thanks gojk. Any experience with GFO in a nano reactor?

James

 

[gojk]

Yup. I ran GFO and it worked pretty well at keeping the phosphates in check. It goes a lot further than you would think, so start with a really small amount and slowly ramp up over a couple months.

 

[ISR Jimmy]

Gojk,
Truly appreciate the support.

Thanks
James

 

[reelsilly]

I ran BP on a 93 cube and on a 80 shallow. Personally, I found that carbon and GFO did GREAT at helping me keep stuff in order.

I will never knock BPs because I was not very patient with them. They can be a bit of a pain at times and I got frustrated quickly.

Of course there are a ton if horror stories with them, but on the flip side, there are some success stories as well.

I don't think it ever hurts to try something, but like anything in this hobby, it may work great for you or it may not work for you as well as others.

If you do use them, follow the directions on the amount to use and be patient.

 

[reelsilly]

Oh, and my negative story was red slime. A little flow and some work cleaning the tank cleaned that up. I only got red slime once in the 10+ years I've been in the hobby, and it was when I used BPs. I had it on both tanks I used them on.

It may have been something I did (I'm sure that's the case), but none the less, it was a pain to deal with.

 

[ISR Jimmy]

Reelsilly,
Appreciate the support. I plan to move forward using a high quality GFO in my nano reactor for now. I will just save the BP for a FOWLR tank if I set one up.

Again, thanks much for your time.

James