bio pellets

[oblio]

Was curious what the consensus was on this technology? After visiting chaadrays tank and his glowing recommendation of the pellets I've been reading and reading. It seems at best it's 50/50 on the results.
Anyone using them? Suggestions? Media type?
I have a red algae that pops up on the sand bed every day about mid lighting period. And pretty much is gone about the time the lights are going out. And this persistent annoying bubble algae that is slowly but surely spreading.
I've not been able to measure nitrates for over a year with 2 different kits and a lfs test.
phosphates have been zero on an AP test kit for about a year and the other day I bought Chadds hanna phophate tester. It has read zero very time I've used it. I'm stumped. I can only assume that since I have algae I have higher than ideal phosphates and nitrates but have never been able to see that on any test.
Been thinking about moving from GFO to the bio pellets and was wondering what the group had to say.

 

[Reefpilot11]

I was running bio pellets when I was getting green Cyanobacteria spreading like weeds daily. The thing that solved it was getting 25 micron socks, changing them every 24 hours. Also agitating the sand bed twice a day.

 

[oblio]

Using 25micron socks for the last 2 months. No change that I can see. But I haven't been changing them that frequently. You say you used to run the pellets. I take it you don't now?

 

[rone_kevin66]

I'm running tlf pellets in a 150 reactor. Only been using for about a month and it has helped with my hair algae. I just want to try something different from gfo and so far I like the stuff.

 

[DingDong128]

I run pellets and like them, but they aren't a cure all by any means. They come with their own set of issues. I would say that thinking of running bio pellets instead of gfo is probably not realistic. Most of the folks I know of running pellets will run gfo as well, at least part of the time. In general I would say that pellets control nitrates, but help with phosphate. You need gfo to completely control phosphate.

Also, many people experience difficulty with red/green slime algea while running pellets, so it's rare to hear of adding pellets to control slime algea.

Again, I like pellets, but just as one piece of the nutrient control for my tank

Last I'll say is just beware to keep alkalinity below 7.5 or 8 dkh if u do start with pellets. Corals start rtn if u go over those readings. E.G I keep my alk at 6.5dkh

Kevin

 

[Reefpilot11]

Using 25micron socks for the last 2 months. No change that I can see. But I haven't been changing them that frequently. You say you used to run the pellets. I take it you don't now?

I do not have a need to run them no phosphate readings or signs in the tank.

 

[ichthyman]

I have a red algae that pops up on the sand bed every day about mid lighting period. And pretty much is gone about the time the lights are going out. And this persistent annoying bubble algae that is slowly but surely spreading.

I've not been able to measure nitrates for over a year with 2 different kits and a lfs test. phosphates have been zero on an AP test kit for about a year and the other day I bought Chadds hanna phophate tester. It has read zero very time I've used it. I'm stumped. I can only assume that since I have algae I have higher than ideal phosphates and nitrates but have never been able to see that on any test.

Hobbyists are obsessed with abstract numbers that most of the time don't mean a whole lot. Algae like every other living thing needs to exploit some form of energy, aka nutrients/food, in order to add mass and grow. It doesn't matter one darn bit what any test kit says, if you have a nuisance algae problem then you MUST also have a nutrient issue. Nitrogen and Phosphorus comes in many different forms not just the typical hobby mantra of "what is you PO4 and NO3?".

Using 25micron socks for the last 2 months. No change that I can see. But I haven't been changing them that frequently. You say you used to run the pellets. I take it you don't now?

The use of 25-micron socks alone isn't enough. You need to export what the sock collects more frequently. Organic debris sequestered within any mechanical filter can still decompose and return organic compounds, ie N an P, to the water column. A mechanical filter, even a good one, is useless without an exchange interval that keeps up nutrient inputs.

I was running bio pellets when I was getting green Cyanobacteria spreading like weeds daily. The thing that solved it was getting 25 micron socks, changing them every 24 hours. Also agitating the sand bed twice a day.

IMO, that is some darn good advice. Amazing stuff happens when you "work" a little. The hobby gets slightly less expensive too! ;D

 

[Safir]

Hobbyists are obsessed with abstract numbers that most of the time don't mean a whole lot. Algae like every other living thing needs to exploit some form of energy, aka nutrients/food, in order to add mass and grow. It doesn't matter one darn bit what any test kit says, if you have a nuisance algae problem then you MUST also have a nutrient issue. Nitrogen and Phosphorus comes in many different forms not just the typical hobby mantra of "what is you PO4 and NO3?".

Many years ago I had an GHA issue - parameters always tested well. I asked someone why I had an algae issue if i never tested any nutrients and they very wisely advised that nutrients tested at "0" because the GHA was taking up the excess.

I don't know why that had never occurred to me before that point, but it is important to remember that just because you can't detect something in the water does not mean that there is not an excess of it available

 

[ClownMan727]

I am running Bio Pellets with success. My nitrates are undectable with the ATI test. Don't test phosphate. Only get a little algae growing on the back glass. Good for my Foxface and snails to munch on. I think they work great. But I did not have Cyano before or after the pellets were used. So, maybe you have something else going on here.

 

[ChadRaay86]

Biopellets will reduce Nitrates and Phosphates in relation to each other. Nitrates will come out more quickly than phosphates, as nitrates will be needed to reduce your phosphates. If you strip out nitrates too fast or maintain them at a level that is too low, you will end up having your phosphates rise over time. This is why you hear about people "dosing" nitrates.

Before I ran a big reactor (the one you saw), I still relied on running GFO (Rowa) to reduce phosphates. I ran socks as well, but because I was feeding heavy, exporting everything was difficult. I found success running a recirculating biopellet reactor where I would a. not strip my tanks nitrates entirely, and b. run a large variety of pellets, including the ecobak plus, which is supposed to be better at removing phosphates.

I still ran socks in the end, but I had the biolpellet reactor tuned so that I would never zero out on nitrates (causing an excess buildup of phosphates).

Biopellets get a bad rap because people don't know how to use them, either going at it too fast, or by using them strictly for phosphate removal in a tank that has no nitrates.

Bottom line for me is that biopellets represented a more stable carbon source than other options out there, and with my system being fed heavy I could feed the pellets enough nitrate to have it reduce phosphates quite well.

 

[zachfishman]

For those observing success, what kind of biopellets are you running? I tried TLF pellets on a few systems and only ended up with slightly bleached coral and no noticeable help with N+P...

 

[ClownMan727]

Dr. Tims.