Absolute best bio pellets on the market

[Martini5788]

I need to know the best brand of bio pellets. Cost doesn't matter as much as quality and how well it works. Please.

 

[Bergvid]

I don't think you will find there is any one 'best' product people use all different brands and have good results.

 

[Martini5788]

I don't think you will find there is any one 'best' product people use all different brands and have good results.

I know. I'm looking for opinions.

 

[Sk8r]

I've always tended to go with Two Little Fishies NPX.

 

[Martini5788]

I've always tended to go with Two Little Fishies NPX.

My nitrates are 50, and climbing. On a brand new tank. Very long story, threads in other sections of rc, but would these be able to handle a level that high after established?

 

[Bergvid]

I will second the TLF NPX but you should introduce them slowly.

 

[Martini5788]

I will second the TLF NPX but you should introduce them slowly.

How slowly exactly? The tank only has a pair of clowns in it. Introduced yesterday. Doesn't even have a cuc( because of nitrate levels). How much should I start with?

 

[DrPheel]

How slowly exactly? The tank only has a pair of clowns in it. Introduced yesterday. Doesn't even have a cuc( because of nitrate levels). How much should I start with?

the point of the pellets is to dose carbon to get the following effect of bacterial consumption or redfield ratio. People install this on a tank with very high bio-load , heavy feeding and high Nitrate/phosphates.

C:N = 106:16:1 (160 parts of carbon will eat up 16 Nitrate will eat up 1 Phosphate)

OK , what does that mean ?? well from my personal experience, Once all the nitrates are gone all the bacteria die off and you start getting blooms (algea,cyano,slimy mucus) if you cant skim the bacteria die off quickly enough. After 8 months of running my tank I took the pellets offline and all my tank is much more happy (zoo's and SPS were suffering the most for some odd reasons). I started with 1/4 the recommended dose and I taught It would add filtration like my live rock to keep nutrients down..... WRONGG... Ended up with a bad GHA algea and cyano bloom that I was able to get under control and when ever I would remove some of the pellets I notice improvement in the tank. Until i finally took them offline a few weeks back and I can't even see any Nitrates. With what you are describing you are not in a situation needing biopellets. You have no bio load, The pellets will deplete your nitrates quickly don't get me wrong... but you wont be able to keep the Redfield ratio going once you have no more nitrates.

I think IMO you just need a few good 30-40 % water change spaced a few days apart. I went the pellet route when starting out the tank and now I understand what they do and when they are needed. My tank is nicely stocked now after 8 months with 6 fish and many corals and even after taking the pellets off i'm not able to see any traces of Nitrates and I can control the phosphate with GFO.

 

[Martini5788]

the point of the pellets is to dose carbon to get the following effect of bacterial consumption or redfield ratio. People install this on a tank with very high bio-load , heavy feeding and high Nitrate/phosphates.

C:N = 106:16:1 (160 parts of carbon will eat up 16 Nitrate will eat up 1 Phosphate)

OK , what does that mean ?? well from my personal experience, Once all the nitrates are gone all the bacteria die off and you start getting blooms (algea,cyano,slimy mucus) if you cant skim the bacteria die off quickly enough. After 8 months of running my tank I took the pellets offline and all my tank is much more happy (zoo's and SPS were suffering the most for some odd reasons). I started with 1/4 the recommended dose and I taught It would add filtration like my live rock to keep nutrients down..... WRONGG... Ended up with a bad GHA algea and cyano bloom that I was able to get under control and when ever I would remove some of the pellets I notice improvement in the tank. Until i finally took them offline a few weeks back and I can't even see any Nitrates. With what you are describing you are not in a situation needing biopellets. You have no bio load, The pellets will deplete your nitrates quickly don't get me wrong... but you wont be able to keep the Redfield ratio going once you have no more nitrates.

I think IMO you just need a few good 30-40 % water change spaced a few days apart. I went the pellet route when starting out the tank and now I understand what they do and when they are needed. My tank is nicely stocked now after 8 months with 6 fish and many corals and even after taking the pellets off i'm not able to see any traces of Nitrates and I can control the phosphate with GFO.

I appreciate the info on bio pellets, but my situation is so abnormal that after going into it so many times I don't even have it in me to explain it in another post. Normally, I would say the exact same thing to someone that just started their tank and was having nitrate issues but this is entirely different. This is a constant issue is every single tank I have. Maintenance and water changes don't even put a dent in it and my maintenance routine is intense and frequent. And has no effect on this. I am having to shut down all my other tanks except for this main
One until we move to a new house, this problem is that bad. And it's not of my own making.

 

[Martini5788]

In addition, this tank will be heavily stocked if it can be depending on nitrate levels after the bio pellets get kicked in

 

[DrPheel]

Sorry to hear that :S the pellets usually take a few months to kick in so here is what I can tell you if this is the only route. Start with 1/4 of recommended dose for your tank , id would almost say 1/8 but you can be the judge of that. Its also a good thing to dose some kind of bacteria to get them going. Make sure you get all the effluent from your reactor directly in your skimmer intake, Some people even drill holes in the body to put the return hose from the reactor in the skimmer body so 100% of the die off is skimmed quickly. Try to get a separate pump so they have constant circulation, you don't want to leave them still for too long so if you are running them off a manifold from your return it sometimes makes it difficult to do long maintenance. at the top of my head this is what I can tell you and if you see any sing of algae - cyano - mucus type slime in plumbing or sump I would cut down the dose / discontinue the use of them.

Best of luck to you ! Happy Reefing :beachbum:

 

[Martini5788]

Sorry to hear that :S the pellets usually take a few months to kick in so here is what I can tell you if this is the only route. Start with 1/4 of recommended dose for your tank , id would almost say 1/8 but you can be the judge of that. Its also a good thing to dose some kind of bacteria to get them going. Make sure you get all the effluent from your reactor directly in your skimmer intake, Some people even drill holes in the body to put the return hose from the reactor in the skimmer body so 100% of the die off is skimmed quickly. Try to get a separate pump so they have constant circulation, you don't want to leave them still for too long so if you are running them off a manifold from your return it sometimes makes it difficult to do long maintenance. at the top of my head this is what I can tell you and if you see any sing of algae - cyano - mucus type slime in plumbing or sump I would cut down the dose / discontinue the use of them.

Best of luck to you ! Happy Reefing :beachbum:

Thanks so much for the info, I will keep all of that in mind!