Bio pellets and GFO with inline reactors.

[Dave VG]

I'm thinking about running these inline with each other using two TLF reactors on one Maxi jet 1200 pump. Here is my plan. I will put the Bio pellets first and the GFO in the second being that the pellets need a higher tumbling rate. I will run the pellets alone starting with half the recommended amount and ramping it up for about a month until I get to the suggested amount. My thoughts for doing it this way are based on what I have read saying that you should not start out with the max amount as the Nitrates will lower two fast and shock the corals and also that the pellets will need a much higher tumbling rate at startup so they do not clump together and I think that maybe to much flow for the GFO until it gets backed down to normal tumbling. I would add the second one with the GFO after I see the Nitrates start going down. Anyone have experience with these. From what I have been reading and I have read till my eyes bled that the pellets alone will NOT keep both Nitrates and Phosphates in check. So being that my Phosphates are inline and my Nitrates are high figured this would be a good plan. Thoughts?

 

[Tonynlo]

I've run bio pellets for 2 years and swear by them. I took my GFO reactor offline the minute I turned on my bio pellet reactor. Phosphates and Nitrates are always undetected. I would not run the bio pellet output into anything besides your skimmer intake.

 

[Dave VG]

Good to know Tony thanks. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to try the pellets alone and see what happens. It took a lot of GFO to get it down to where it is now so it makes me a little leery to try it.

 

[naprestsleep]

BP need a lot more flow than GFO to keep them from sticking. I have been playing with them for a year. I still have issue with them clumping or the reactor clogging up. I run a dedicated BRS reactor connected to my reeflo dart for BP, and a second one for GFO and Carbon.

 

[Dave VG]

Yea I have read that a lot of people are having issues with them clumping or clogging up there reactor but they say it goes away after about a month or so. But you are still having problems a year later?

 

[naprestsleep]

I think my issue is more the inlet/outlet screening/slits on the canisters in my reactor get clogged. Ideally I need to remove them monthly and dump the BP out and then cleaning the slits in the canister. I tried DIY canisters and BRS BP canisters with the same issue. I am debating trying a reactor designed for BP or modifying my canisters to increase the space in the screening to slow the clogging.

 

[tmz]

I would run them independently. Flow issues plus bacteria going into the gfo and clogging it seem to make the notion of running them in line a problem. Teeing off the supply line from the maxi jet and controlling each output with a ball valve would work allowing each to draw sump water and each to be independently controlled.
While carbon dosing lowers phosphate as the bacteria use it, it lowers nitrate more than usual nitrate to phosphate ratios due to the fact that the bacteria not only consume it but also engage in anaerobic resipration and turn some of it to nitrogen gas. This can leave some phosphate behind. Gfo is often used with it to get it down further,.
It's no so much lower nitrates shocking corals although some will react to a quick drop in PO4. It's more about bacterial blooms when nitrates are high and organic carbon is raised precipitously causing potentially just too much bacterial activity and by products.

 

[Tonynlo]

I use a modified avast marine reactor to do the tumbling. I used to clump up a bit and would need to tap the side of the reactor to loosen the stuff up, now everything tumbles perfectly. Basically the modification is to cut the intake tube about 1" from the bottom and completely remove the plate that the pellets would sit on. Essentially, you will be dropping the pellets into the reactor and they will sit on the bare bottom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azODPwmghqI&feature=youtu.be

 

[Dave VG]

Thanks guys very good info. Nap I was looking at BP dedicated reactors but allot of people are having good luck with the TLF's. Tom good point guess I'll run them separate and I'll be adding a pump to the order. Cool video Tony thats more tumbling than I've seen in other videos and allot more than I was thinking.

 

[Tonynlo]

Hey Dave,
I don't have mine tumbling quite that much, mine is a lot smoother. I agree with you that it is a bit much. That is the video that Avast sent to me when I asked them a question about my pellets sticking together. From what I read the TLF an and Octopus brands are the better of the bio pellet specific brands, although I have no complaints about Avast Marine since I modified my reactor.

 

[Dave VG]

Good to know Tony. How long before you noticed the nitrates going down? And how much more BP's have you had to add in the last year?

 

[Tonynlo]

Well for starters, you will see your skimmer working and pulling out some really nasty nasty stuff that just smells awful. Thats about the point that your nitrates are dropping. I'd say about 2 weeks into the pellets. Phosphates on the other hand seemed to take forever to start to drop, I cannot remember how long those took.

Well, I started my reactor with 500ml on a 90 gallon tank and ran it for about a year before I decided to upgrade to a 125. When I upgraded to the new tank, I just added more pellets to get to the recommended amount. I have only added what I needed to from the upgrade and have not actually added or replaced anything since I have started.