about to quit pellets , agree/disagree

[larryfl1]

hey all,

i have been messing with the whole low nutrient bio pellet for 8 months...

what have i seen...

well my lps just do horrible or die...one after another...i keep buying and they keep dieing...

i test nitrates and they are always around the 2-3 ppm area...and phosphates are up and down but in the lower range...

is it time to just call it quits on bio pellets???

are my lps, leathers and other stuff just strugling with the low nutrients???

i am frustrated as every lps either doesnt grow or slowly withers away to a skeleton...

thoughts...???

Larry

 

[undertai]

I left pellets for the same reason. Went back to carbon and my reef is doing alot better.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[larryfl1]

carbon dosing?? or totally abandoned carbon dosing?

 

[ibefishy]

I have been running a TLF reactor with pellets for almost a year and my softies and lps are doing fine.

 

[trinidiver]

My tank is running a year now and the NPX bio-pellets 9-10 mths now and its doing great. Where everyone is running the output before the skimmer, from day one i'm running mine one chamber before the pump. I have Zoas, leathers, frogspawns, acans, scolly's, lobo's, tracky's, some SPS, gorgonians and mushrooms and all of them are multiplying like crazy with the exception of the candycane......................its real slow. 2 wks after starting using it, My ammonia is 0 and my nitrates and nitrites are undetectable. I change about 40-50 gal water every 2-3 wks. I dont even target feed my corals. I only use Kent marine chromaMax every couple days. My frogspawn has gone from 3 heads to 21 heads in 8mths and they are still going. My spaghetti leather has gone from baseball size to 12" in the 7 mths i've had it. I feed my fish allot and i have good lighting. I have no regrets about bio-pellets right now

 

[undertai]

Carbon media in the reactor instead of Bio pellets.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[larryfl1]

My tank is running a year now and the NPX bio-pellets 9-10 mths now and its doing great. Where everyone is running the output before the skimmer, from day one i'm running mine one chamber before the pump. I have Zoas, leathers, frogspawns, acans, scolly's, lobo's, tracky's, some SPS, gorgonians and mushrooms and all of them are multiplying like crazy with the exception of the candycane......................its real slow. 2 wks after starting using it, My ammonia is 0 and my nitrates and nitrites are undetectable. I change about 40-50 gal water every 2-3 wks. I dont even target feed my corals. I only use Kent marine chromaMax every couple days. My frogspawn has gone from 3 heads to 21 heads in 8mths and they are still going. My spaghetti leather has gone from baseball size to 12" in the 7 mths i've had it. I feed my fish allot and i have good lighting. I have no regrets about bio-pellets right now

wow ..so you are allowing the pellet outflow to go to the pump that returns to the tank?

i am using a octopus 5000 external skimmer...maybe its too efficient....???

 

[larryfl1]

i just tested the water and found some interesting results...

phosphates are .10 on the hanna test....

nitrates were showing around 3 or so on red sea low range nitrate test but retested using lamotte and it shows around 35 for nitrates....

i am thinking the nitrates were always higher and the red sea low range only shows up to 4...so i am always reading that kind of 3 number though its hgher... i am going to try the red sea using the high range...

so im not low nutrient at all and pumping phols and aminos in thinking we were low...


update... tested using red sea pro high range shows 8 for nitrates...lamotte shows around 35..

big difference between them but still no way too low....

 

[trinidiver]

wow ..so you are allowing the pellet outflow to go to the pump that returns to the tank?

i am using a octopus 5000 external skimmer...maybe its too efficient....???

Yes, this is how i have it, I have 2 tanks 30"L X 18"W X 18"H each thats joined by 2 - 2"PVC pipes. My water enters the first chamber (bare), water goes into the 2nd chamber where my ASM-G3 skimmer is situated, water then travels through the 2 PVC pipes into the 2nd tank (3rd chamber) where i have my 2 reactors and pumps (1st with RowaPhos & 2nd with Bio-pellets) which pulls and dumps in the same location. Water goes over the final baffle into my Mag18 pump towards my chiller then back to my tank. Never had any problems with my corals to date. I actually have 22 different types of coral in my tank. To as much as i can remember, i only had a bacterial bloom for about 2 days when i first started to run it and was gone.
check my album to see some of my corals

 

[milesofreefs]

Yes, this is how i have it, I have 2 tanks 30"L X 18"W X 18"H each thats joined by 2 - 2"PVC pipes. My water enters the first chamber (bare), water goes into the 2nd chamber where my ASM-G3 skimmer is situated, water then travels through the 2 PVC pipes into the 2nd tank (3rd chamber) where i have my 2 reactors and pumps (1st with RowaPhos & 2nd with Bio-pellets) which pulls and dumps in the same location. Water goes over the final baffle into my Mag18 pump towards my chiller then back to my tank. Never had any problems with my corals to date. I actually have 22 different types of coral in my tank. To as much as i can remember, i only had a bacterial bloom for about 2 days when i first started to run it and was gone.
check my album to see some of my corals

+1 when i started running biopellets witch has been 8-10 months i set it up on my last chamber with my return pump. i truly believe the bacteria produced by bio pellets can be utilized by corals as a food source.