Biopellet Reactor: Tuning

[gdemos]

Teaser thanks for stopping by I hope you've gained a lot of insight on biopellets here! So far as the necessity of directing the effluent to the skimmer intake I'd say it's a safe bet that provided the effluent is with range of your skimmer intake and that your skimmer is capable of the added flow and biological then you're ok I personally have my effluent plumbed to the skimmer intake.
You say your effluent line was clogged? How severely clogged? Hopefully not as bad as mine has shown to get! So far as what to do when your effluent line is clogged it could be due to your tumble/fluidization rate being too aggressive and therefore you are getting excessive media degradation and the blockage is comprised of undisolved media, or it could be excess biomass due to several things (a) a lot of nutrient load 'feeding the pellets' (high nutrients: high biomass) (b) too much dwell time in the reactor (biomass compounding growth as it dwells in the system and ultimately clogs) this therefore may suggest INCREASING effluent rate. Just bare in mind that as you increase effluent rate you're also 'potentially' moving more nutrient depleted water into your system and 'may' need to increase feeding. Depending on your livestock I'd suggest make the adjustments you feel you need to make to your reactor and observe. Watch your corals for signs of nutrient depletion or excess and testing nutrient parameters as your second eye on things. Keep posting your progress.


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[reefteaser]

The line was partially clogged with a few whole pellets and some "goo", very little was getting through. I returned back from a week away and immediately saw a difference with very little algae on the glass, then found the clog. My pellets were not tumbling much at all. I've had some difficultly in the past with setting the proper tumble and noticing not all of the pellets were moving in a uniform way. I had to adjust it every week or so.
My nitrates are low, so I'm thinking it was time to dial back the effluent. The output tumbling the pellets is a pvc 45 degree elbow with a short extension close to the bottom of the reactor. I cleaned the reactor and modified the tumbling output, raising it slightly and drilling 4 evenly spaced small holes to move some of the water horizontally. The result is a very even gentle tumble. Time will tell if it makes a difference, but I'm thinking I'll be adjusting much less frequently.

 

[cwschoon]

Please forgive the revival of this thread. I will go through it tonight but I have a basic question: I am looking at the JNS Alpha 1 for my medium stocked 125 mixed reef and it comes with 250ml of pellets. Can someone please guide me on the appropriate volume of pellets? Any other basic advice is appreciated and my apologies for not having the time to read this long thread beforehand, if my question has already been answered.