BIO-Pellet Reactor +or-?

fishman1234

fishman1234

New member
I went to the LEAR frag fest and it was the best one I have ever been to. I was talking to a guy from one of there fish stores.(the largest one in ohio just forgot the name) He was there selling GFO and Bio-pellet reactors. I was gonna buy some GFO and instead he talked me into a reactor. NOW FOR THE QUESTION OF THE DAY!!!!! Are Bio-Pellet Reactors good or bad? I am seeing Mixed reveiws everywhere! Let me know THANKS GUYS!

When I do run it I think Im only going to run it for a couple HRS a day seeing that people say they work too good. Thaughts?
 
Nothing is either good or bad, only thinking makes its so. :)

Since he talked you into one, you must currently have one so start slow minimal pellets until you have an idea how it will affect your tank.
 
Friend had one on his tank. Automated form of vodka dosing. Not bad imo. Wouldn't rush right out and drop coin myself. Vodka dosing seems safer,and easier when you factor reactor maintenance. Looks cool.
 
Ok well Ive heard its does the same as gfo but the cost of the media (bio-pellets) is so much cheaper. The guy said he went from using 2000 dollars a year in gfo to just 300-500(depending how they ran it) in bio-pellets. Im probly gonna start off with less than 25% of the full dose. I am also going to put it on a timer for like 10 hrs a day, maybe more maybe less.
 
DO NOT RUN IT ON A TIMER!

Biopellets must be kept moving otherwise the bacteria that colonizes on them will slowly die off. You want to keep them constantly churning, start with 1/2 or 1/4 of the recommended doseage and slowly build on that.

Again do not turn off the flow to the reactor as the bacteria will die and when it restarts you risk nuking your whole tank.
 
fishman1234 said:
Ok well Ive heard its does the same as gfo but the cost of the media (bio-pellets) is so much cheaper. The guy said he went from using 2000 dollars a year in gfo to just 300-500(depending how they ran it) in bio-pellets. Im probly gonna start off with less than 25% of the full dose. I am also going to put it on a timer for like 10 hrs a day, maybe more maybe less.
Click to expand...

It isn't the same as GFO, carbon dosing can in theory bring down phosphates, but so far I have not seen that happen. GFO is to reduce phosphates, carbon dosing is better geared toward nitrate. I can't imagine the size of tank that would require $2000/year for GFO. 1 gallon of high capacity GFO has so far lasted me 6 months on a 300 gallon system and I still have half left and that is running about $179. I will probably run the normal GFO next go round. I do however test to find out when to change rather than on a set schedule like Rox.
Starting of with 25% carbon dosing is a good idea. Once its gets going, keep an eye on your alkalinity.
 
fishman1234 said:
It is the pet store in ohio. So I assume and ONLY assume there running WAY more than a 300gal system.
Click to expand...

Yeah, now an entire LFS, sounds more like $2000 a year. :)

This part is second hand from other users I have talked to. If you shut it off, the beads can be kept, but you wouldn't want to just keep them in the reactor while shut off. The bacteria on them will eventually consume all the oxygen in the container making it an anoxic mess. Better to just remove enough beads until you get down to what you need to stay at the level you are targeting for nitrate.
 
Bio media basically churns. You need to fart with the flow rate. Too much, to little isn't ideal. Little bit of voodoo \ luck doesn't hurt. You can buy a hell of a lot of vodka for cheaps. Dosing with a syringe is cake and accurate. I felt confident dosing a nano. Lrger tank obviously affords more wiggle room. I'd suggest reading up on carbon dosing. A cheap bottle is an easy way to test the waters. You can invest in equipment, if all go's well.
 
You can't shut it off ;the heterotrophic bacteria cultured in it will die. The stagnant water will become anoxic area( ie no oxygn and no nitrate) allowing sulfate reducing bactria to take over usinglthe degradable polymer pellets for organic carbon ;they produce toxic hydrogen sulfide gas as a byproduct of their activity.
I'm not a pellet fan:too much trouble in keeping a steady prdictable dose ; too much equipment and too many monomers from the polymer degradation vs soluble organics such as vodka and vinegar whichdon't have those issues.

It does reduce PO4 and NO3. The bacteria assimilate both as food.You need a good skimmer to provide aeration and to skim out the extra organics and bacteria.
 
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