Understanding biopellets

[Volpone]

I would like to start new topic to understand how the biopellets working ,
I've been running my ecobak plus biopellets for almost 2 months and i dont see in change in my parameter till now , my nitrate reading 25 ppm and i have fighting this issue for long time .
What i want to know from biopellets users is the tumbling and how it should be beneficial cause they recommend to be gentle tumbling .
So how supose to be running,i have video and will post it to show hiw it was before and after reducing tumbling .
For more info i will drop it in comments.
Here is was its tumbling now
Ecobak plus biopellets:

[video=youtube;1c6Vn0zfMk0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c6Vn0zfMk0&feature=youtu.be[/video]

And how the flow was before
Echobak biopellets:

[video=youtube;_KVFhcBNf9c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KVFhcBNf9c&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[Volpone]

Testing by salifert and almost for one year keep doing water change 15 % weekly

 

[Ole Man]

If you will YouTube Reef Dynamics bio-pellet reactors it will really help you ,don't know how long you have been running your reactor but it took mine right at 5 weeks for the bacteria to build up to start working,plus you MUST have your return from the reactor going into the protein skimmer or you get major problems !Been running mine now for about a year great results.

 

[Volpone]

Yes i do that reactor return to skimmer intake chamber , i dony have any issue as bacreria bloom or foggy water , even im dosing Dr tim waste away to help bacteria to colonise

 

[Volpone]

deatails about my tank briefly , i have 100 G tank with live rock 100lb+ reef octopus skimmer nw 150 rated up to 200 g
My stock 2 tangs yellow purple and scopas + other small fishes like clown cardinal +chromis+dotty back and antias .
My no3 wont to drop down than 25 pp im doing weekly water change 60 liters .i start to siphone my old sand bed cause i saw alot of nutrients in it .i divide the tank for 8 parts and every week i siphon part and replace it with dry sand aragonite carib sea .
I try most of methods to drop no3
Vodka dose , biopellets, refugium with cheato, turf scrubber doesnt work and algea does not grow in screen , red sea no3 po4x, and now i back to biopellets and im using ecobak plus .
My feeding is so limited like 1 time and if i feed frozen one cube only, or less as bellets or flakes.
Before 1 year i replace all the rock and sand bed also and till now i dont succeed to drop my nitrate till acceptable range.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

,plus you MUST have your return from the reactor going into the protein skimmer or you get major problems !

What major problems do you think will arise?

While I know that skimming is the usual recommended way if the goal is to remove as much of the bacteria as possible, I'm not sure it is the only way. Some people organic carbon dose (liquids or pellets) in order to increase bacteria as food for filter feeders, not necessarily to export nutrients. In that case, some have no skimmer at all.

 

[Volpone]

Randy happy to see u here in this topic , do u believe i write all this toopic to send u as msg
But u block this option .
Plz i want ur advice for this problem in my system, i was fighting nitrate for 2 year now , starting with change all rock and sand and change the skimmer to double capacity during this 2 years and before 2 months ago i siphone my sand bed and because i saw alot of detritus in it and it was big gravel up to 6 mm now i have new sand special grade aragonite .
So far nitrate dont leave any affect as algea on my system and i have zero phosphate

 

[wangspeed]

Are you running GFO or some other phosphate adsorber? Bacterial processing of nitrates requires phosphates to work. If you have zero phosphates, carbon dosing won't work correctly.

 

[Volpone]

I have nothing else except biopellets .recently i add cheato in sump before 2 weeks ago and phosphate every time undetectable in my system that why some time i add phosphate flourish from seacheme to have it in my system but not always .

 

[Volpone]

Here is apic for my tank and sump

 

[Ole Man]

Thanks for the input Randy,you are correct I was mearly making sure that he did in fact have his export water directed into his skimmer running a bio-pellet reactor as you know if it's not your extracted nitrates and phosphates wind up going back into you tank in a much more concentrated form.

 

[Volpone]

I cant figure out what cause nitrate in my system , one time i did huge water change 70% and it keep reading in water ,
During last 2 months while im siphoning the old sand bed i almost replaced all the water cause each part i sipohne from sand it takes 70 liters of water to replace .
This nitrate drives me crazy and bothering me because i feel its a challenge and they are the winer with all methods i tried .

 

[Volpone]

so plz any hints or tips for my video reactor if its gentle tumbling ? Or that what BP needs as flow ?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I cant figure out what cause nitrate in my system , one time i did huge water change 70% and it keep reading in water ,
During last 2 months while im siphoning the old sand bed i almost replaced all the water cause each part i sipohne from sand it takes 70 liters of water to replace .
This nitrate drives me crazy and bothering me because i feel its a challenge and they are the winer with all methods i tried .

What is the nitrate level now?

 

[Volpone]

This two test for the nitrate , one before i start siphone the sand bed and second one yesterday after all sand replacement and total water volume changed .
I believe it was more than 25 ppm and the recent pic telling its 25 ppm

 

[Volpone]

Randy doesnt back to me i think he give up to find the reason same of me
As all my reefer friends call me now Dr nitrate and my tank is special case for nitrate

 

[Volpone]

Here is the last video i take it now and the lowest flow i can adjust
Ecobak plus gentle flow reactor: http://youtu.be/455Ee5G-sU8

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If the biopellets are now beginning to take the nitrate down, I wouldn't go crazy with other things till its gets more of a chance to bring them down.

 

[Volpone]

Im not sure if they are kicking nitrate or not , as u said i will give them chance ,
In case there is nothing change , any risk to convert to vaniger dose and stop the biopellets ?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Im not sure if they are kicking nitrate or not , as u said i will give them chance ,
In case there is nothing change , any risk to convert to vaniger dose and stop the biopellets ?

No, that should be fine. I use vinegar.