bio-pellet usuage

[Shananagans]

Sorry to hear that Jaa, I think that was the coral I was gonna stop by to get a frag of...

So are you gonna keep using the pellets?

I have been wanting to start up using npx, just waiting for some $ for a reactor. I think I wanna go with the 150 like you. What pump you using? I do have a via aqua 20/20 poly reactor, but don't know if that would be good enough...

Has anyone noticed clearer water or better color in corals? If so when did you start to see results?

 

[jaa1456]

Yea that was the coral I do have a few frags hidden away though. As for the 150 im running a maxi jet 1200

 

[CHEMCHEF]

Well.... I'm Out. Unplugged the reactor this morning. Everything that is not dieing seems to be losing color and none of my zoos have opened since day 3. Mushrooms are almost white and I seem to be getting a weird white film on the inside of my glass.
And no. They are not tumbling too hard.
P.S. this is just my experience please do not chime in saying that I am wrong because I very well may be. To me this media is not worth the risk. Going back to gfo today.

 

[NYreefNoob]

sorry it didnt work outm the whitish slime is more then likely from getting to much carbon dosage,

guess i have been one of the really lucky one's with this product, cause out of all the tanks ive had and all the methods of carbon dosing ive tried this one has worked the best for me

 

[jaa1456]

Well, I guess I will update, Since I started the pellets I lost a few of my SPS, one of my clams and nothing else I have noticed. Some of my rics did shrivel up but they are now bouncing back. My scroll coral was starting to fade and did lose minimal flesh but it is looking better. I did however do a 15 gallon water change the day after the pellets after losing the first coral, Then a 20 gallon change 2 days later followed by a 15 gallon change yesterday. So I did a 50 gallon change within a week. So either one of 2 things has happened, I got all of the bad crap out of the water from the pellets and the corals will be ok, Or I just removed the bad crap temporarily with a 50 gallon change in a 65 gallon tank. I will have to wait and see. The pellets are still running as of now. Other than that there is no noticable change in anything except the skimmer pulling more crap than usual. The pellet return goes right into the skimmer intake, so that would explain the extra pull and no algae bloom. As for people saying the glass needs cleaned lessed I haven't noticed any change yet. But it has only been a week. And I need to go buy more salt now as well.

 

[Shananagans]

Man, everytime I am so close to starting these I hear stories like "chef". I know everyone has diffrent results with these, but I can not afford a crash. If that happens I would not have the $ to restart and probly have to leave the hobby.

I think I have a good grasp of how to set them up and use them. So I have high hopes that it will be ok.

I did test my tank 2 nights ago and saw my water was better thatn I thought. (used to always have nitrate problems), I run carbon and gfo now. Nitrates were 0, phos .5 ph 9, what was crazy was my kh was 15! So, I wanna bring them down before I start the pellets. But my nitrates and phos were lower then I thought, so the tank should not go into a crazy shock. I have had sum diatom on my main main tank sand and a hair algae bloom in my fuge due to some recently installed leds. I am hoping that the pellets will lower the nutrient levels in the tank to get rid of the algae, and increase coral health and growth. Also just so I dont keep having to change carbon and gfo every few weeks.

 

[kakado]

Ok, very interesting read, if I may ask:

1 how long do I pre soak the pellets, is it done in RO or sea water
2 should I do mini water changes each day for the first couple of days after starting them
3 I acknowledge your suggestion that I do not use a 2LF phos reactor, but i bought it for this purpose, so will use it, but how much media for a 140 gallon system in a 2LF 150 phos reactor
4 do I stop phosban and gfo?

Thanks

 

[NYreefNoob]

make sure to take the sponges out of the reactor and get a knitting material, will allow the flow and will keep pellets in the reactor, every system is different, i personally took gfo and phosban off line when i started using the pellets from day 1 and i never pre-soaked the pellets either, maybe start with 250 ml and make sure the output is next to the input of the skimmer, once again i do not suggest using the pellets, this thread has been in reguards to MY success with them and how i used them, while i have used these i must also say i do use monster skimmers

 

[kres1024]

make sure to take the sponges out of the reactor and get a knitting material, will allow the flow and will keep pellets in the reactor, every system is different, i personally took gfo and phosban off line when i started using the pellets from day 1 and i never pre-soaked the pellets either, maybe start with 250 ml and make sure the output is next to the input of the skimmer, once again i do not suggest using the pellets, this thread has been in reguards to MY success with them and how i used them, while i have used these i must also say i do use monster skimmers

Got the biopellets and the octo reactor from brs what would u recommend I start off with on a 150 gallon?also it's an aggressive fowler if that makes any difference,don't want to kill any fish either...
Thanks

 

[NYreefNoob]

there hasnt been any thing i have seen with it effecting fish, if your levels arent that high now id start with 250 then in a few weeks add another 250, monitor levels once a week though, usually takes a few weeks for them to start working, the pellets need to get covered with the bacteria, interesting article if i can find it showing how the pellets have been consumed faster at a slower tuble rate, guess it would be because the bacteria that eats them arent getting knocked off as fast. ive down a slower and faster tumble in mine and cant say either way worked better, but i always have had all the pellets tumbling in the reactor

 

[kres1024]

there hasnt been any thing i have seen with it effecting fish, if your levels arent that high now id start with 250 then in a few weeks add another 250, monitor levels once a week though, usually takes a few weeks for them to start working, the pellets need to get covered with the bacteria, interesting article if i can find it showing how the pellets have been consumed faster at a slower tuble rate, guess it would be because the bacteria that eats them arent getting knocked off as fast. ive down a slower and faster tumble in mine and cant say either way worked better, but i always have had all the pellets tumbling in the reactor

My levels are pretty high ,considering I feed jumbo shrimp ,squid to my eels
So should I stick with the half dose at first?

 

[NYreefNoob]

yeah i would and let the bacteria start to accumulate first, this will aid in adding the additional pellets to help them start fastr

 

[kakado]

Hi Rick

Added mine yesterday, how long before it starts to become active or starts to work?

 

[NYreefNoob]

it takes up to a month for the bacteria to really set in and start working, make sure to shake and get those pellets that are on top down into the mix and really i suggest for people to check nitrates and phos weekly to see if the levels hadstarted to drop yet

 

[kakado]

Thank you Rick, got those pellets down, will have to invest in a n & p test kit to test levels.

 

[reefs4life]

Quick question...once the pellets melt away do you just add new pellets like as if you were to replace carbon and GFO?

 

[NYreefNoob]

Quick question...once the pellets melt away do you just add new pellets like as if you were to replace carbon and GFO?

yep, i need to partially re-fill mine now in around 10 months about half have been used up of the 500 ml i started with

 

[Mattl22]

I'm gonna try pellets what's the best reactor to use and pellet brand?


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[reefs4life]

yep, i need to partially re-fill mine now in around 10 months about half have been used up of the 500 ml i started with

I started with 1000mL about 4-5 months ago and it looks like it's down to less than 250mL already so I think I need to add some soon. Does that mean I have aggressive bacteria growth in the reactor lol I mean I didnt get any bacteria outbreaks in the tanks or is just supposed to break down that quickly?

 

[NYreefNoob]

naw it shouldnt deplete that quickly, higher flow doesnt allow pellets to be consumed as fast but would guess the higher flow causes more friction within the pellets causing them to grind down faster also, reefers lmk if your ever gonna be up my way