best brand of bio pellets?
- Thread starter ryanrid
- Start date
dvanacker
DID I SOUNDS SMRT??
I have real good luck with the PHA type. They are sold under many different brands....vertex, NP, BRS, SWC, etc. They are the cylinder type.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyhydroxyalkanoates
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyhydroxyalkanoates
tqpolo
New member
People have mixed have them in the Reef Chemistry forum.
I removed the pellets from my tank just over a week ago (after having them in for about 6-8 months) and in the last week my tank is looking gorgeous (see my thread on retiring BP under the chemistry forum). I'm not suggesting everyone should do without BP, but in my specific tank case, it made a difference including other steps I took. My SPS are doing really well...:fun4:
glennr1978
New member
I think I'm using TLF, I honestly don't remember...
In the middle of a tank crash that I cannot come up with an alternate reason to pellets - seven year old SPS tank that was an SPS jewel coming down around me... I'm seeing lots of threads in the SPS forum with STN from the base which is what I am fighting attributed to pellets. I am done with pellets. Cannot be sure 100% that this is the pellets but see many threads that suggest. I am miserable about this...
Darryl, I am the first one to agree that in our reef tanks things don't happen overnight ( if not for the worse). However, What I reported was factual observations of my tank changes since I removed the pellets and dosed carbon ( vinegar ) manually. Though time will tell how my 125 g will do, the fact remains that in the past week my tank has exhibited quite remarkable improvements, with tips growth, improved colors, and generally speaking good state. By no means however I was suggesting to draw any conclusions yet, I was just reporting what happened so far.
iriejp1
New member
Mine was actually doing very badly towards the end of my first pellet use. But looking back I believe this was because I did everything wrong (Too much too fast, the output went into my display not to my skimmer, bad flow through reactor, etc etc). My nitrates were nice and low...but I was getting STN and bleaching on a lot of my corals. So I pulled the plug on the pellets. Right after that...once my tank stabilized, holy cow, my SPS never looked better!
However, after a while...my levels started creaping back up and my SPS began looking like hell.
Now I'm back on the pellets....corrected all of my mistakes from the first go round...and now my SPS is looking great again.
Point is...there was a small window right after I stopped for me too...just watch it closely because mine didnt last long...:thumbsup: And the other moral of the story is...pellets are not fool proof! You CAN screw it up if you dont do what is recommended.
iriejp1
New member
Nitrates mainly for me...although P04 was close behind. I think I got down my Nitrates to about 0-5 on the pellets and it crept back up to around 20+ after I had stopped for a while. A while being a several month period.
Keep in mind I dosed nothing once I stopped the pellets. My SPS were looking rough so I stopped just about anything other than the basics to try and stop the STN. As I stated above...it worked...even looked fantastic for a while...just slowly began browning out as things got high again.
This makes me think there must be a "sweet spot" that I blew by on the way down and then revisited briefly on the way back up.
Orrr...there was some other variable that I'm missing that may have had an effect. Its tough to say in this hobby. "Well...I changed my GFO out a month ago...is that why they look good now?? Hmm...I just did a water change last week...is THAT why they look better now?? Hmm...the weather is colder now...is THAT why they are looking better now?? I just touched my arm, rubbed my face, and spun around two times...is THAT why they look better now??"
LOL.
Keep in mind I dosed nothing once I stopped the pellets. My SPS were looking rough so I stopped just about anything other than the basics to try and stop the STN. As I stated above...it worked...even looked fantastic for a while...just slowly began browning out as things got high again.
This makes me think there must be a "sweet spot" that I blew by on the way down and then revisited briefly on the way back up.
Orrr...there was some other variable that I'm missing that may have had an effect. Its tough to say in this hobby. "Well...I changed my GFO out a month ago...is that why they look good now?? Hmm...I just did a water change last week...is THAT why they look better now?? Hmm...the weather is colder now...is THAT why they are looking better now?? I just touched my arm, rubbed my face, and spun around two times...is THAT why they look better now??"
LOL.
Last edited:
wizardx322
New member
I use TLF bio pellets they are cheap and havent had any issues
make sure you over feed
make sure you over feed
...you should have spun two and a half time while looking at the moon..hihi
I think you are right in that there are so many variables.
I removed the pellets AND replaced that with vinegar dosing. The advantage of that is it is easier to control and to adjust dose accordingly. At present I dose 15ml day down from higher values last week because 15 with my current bio-load and feeding patterns seem to be my "sweet spot". That said I cannot let the guard done, and need to monitor closely developments over time :bounce3:
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