Bio Pellet -- Vinegar or Vodka Dosing

[rich19020]

I was running vodka for a year and my nitrates were running 0. I switched to a biopellet reactor about three months ago and my nitrates now run between 2.5-10.

Is this a common problem with biopellets?

I was considering turning off the reactor and going back to dosing vinegar or vodka. Is there a preference to either one?

If I do this can I just turn off the reactor and start dosing or do I have to do both for awhile.

I went with the biopellets thinking that they will have less problems. My LFS told me if you vodka dose you can only do it for so long before you have problems.

 

[Aqualund]

Several factors can limit bio pellets efficiency:

1. Inferior pellets (BRS brand have limited effectiveness, ecobak is good)
2. Too high of a tumble in chamber
3. Too much flow through reactor
4. Too many water changes
5. Not enough live rock

 

[downbeach]

Make sure you have enough for your system, it's recommended that you use about 250mL per 50gal. of system water. A slow flow through the reactor to produce a gentle tumble, I think I remember that using 100 gph per liter of pellets was about right. The effluent of the reactor should be near or plumbed into the intake of your skimmer, so an appropriately sized skimmer is important here. For best results, I'd keep the reactor in the dark.
Are you still using a refugium?

 

[Sakura251]

Why it should be near or plug into the instake of the skimmer?

 

[Yogre]

Why it should be near or plug into the instake of the skimmer?

The idea behind any carbon dosing scheme, be it solid (biopellets) or liquid (vodka, vinegar) is to stimulate the growth of bacteria. The bacteria take up N and P as part of their cellular structure, out competing nuisance algae.

To export the bacteria, it works well to have the biopellet effluent near the skimmer intake, so that the skimmer will skim out the bacteria.

 

[rich19020]

I am using BRS supply pellets. Yes still use refuge. Output is next to my skimmer intake.

So do recommend trying to get the pellets to work and not start vinegar dosing?

 

[Aqualund]

Yes, bio pellets are great. I use them on my 110 sps reef, my 2,000 gallon coral farm and all of my install customers. It is definitely worth it. Just get some ecobak or two little fishes brand pellets. I have never been able to get the BRS pellets to allow nitrates below 4ppm, and I build these reactors!

 

[toky916]

Yes, bio pellets are great. I use them on my 110 sps reef, my 2,000 gallon coral farm and all of my install customers. It is definitely worth it. Just get some ecobak or two little fishes brand pellets. I have never been able to get the BRS pellets to allow nitrates below 4ppm, and I build these reactors!

U build them ? How much for a size for a 65 gal ?

 

[anitayxec]

The effluent of the reactor should be near or plumbed into the intake of your skimmer

 

[downbeach]

I am using BRS supply pellets. Yes still use refuge. Output is next to my skimmer intake.

So do recommend trying to get the pellets to work and not start vinegar dosing?

I have been running the BRS pellets for over two years now withouth a problem. I wasn't able to keep both the fuge and BP's running at the same time since there wasn't enough N's and P's to go around. I think it may be counter productive, to use both simultaneously, my Chaeto started dying off after two weeks of BP use, so I took the fuge off line. Are you using a UV sterilizer, or ozone? How about GFO?

 

[clugo]

I'm using a reef dynamics bp reactor and chaeto and still have some green algae on my rocks. I'm cooking about 25 lbs right now because nothing was helping. My PO and NO read nothing on salifert test kits. Vinegar dosing seems to be working now so Im considering removing my bp reactor and going all vinegar dosing.

Any thoughts or suggestions?