Biopellets - anyone running them?

So I have removed the sponges in my reactor. The top plate actually has some fairly small holes in it to begin with. The sponge was pretty fouled up. I haven't noticed any sulfur smell in either the reactor itself or the skimmate.

Forgot to mention, I ordered another 500ml for a total of 1500ml. Since I've been using them my glass stays very clean and the bit of hair algae I have seems to be either slowly subsiding or no longer spreading anyway. Hard to tell on that since I still had GFO running when I started the pellets.
 
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I started running Eco-bak almost 2 weeks ago, took my TLF reactor made some mods to the sponge, took it out and added screen. Started with half the dose and will add the other half in about 2 weeks. You need a good pump to make them tumble in the reactor. So far so good, no cyano outbreaks, which was some bad reactions from research, and the small amount of hair algee I had seems to be getting smaller, the water also seems a little more clear. I do also run carbon, which I also did before. Will keep posted on results.

-55gal, 20gal sump mixed reef
 
I'm starting to battle some red cyano. This sucks. I did some searching and it is believed by some that the pellets may be feeding it. Alot of vodka dosers have this problem and switch or add vinegar to their carbon dosing scheme.
 
For some reason my pellets have been clumping in some spots in the reactor this week also. I've tried shaking the reactor which breaks up clumps but later when I check on it it's the same as it was before. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the cyano. I've been in the tank with a turkey baster making sure it's not suffocating any corals. I hooked up a bigger pump on the reactor hoping that the increased flow will resolve this problem. Its making my pellets really tumble in some spots so I put my top mesh screen back in place. Some of the pellets are looking kind of puffy. Weird. I've been on the pellets for at least 6 months without this problem. I'm trying to think of what has changed in the last couple of weeks that may have contributed or caused this. Will keep you guys updated.
 
Here's a TROUBLE SHOOTING FAQ from Vertex regarding their pellets that I think has some good info about running any brand of pellets. A must read if you're thinking about using these.
http://www.vertexaquaristik.com/Portals/0/Pro-Bio Pellets FAQ.pdf
According to the manufacturer the cyano is out competing my good bacteria and my options are reduce amount of pellets in reactor or pull them off line and possibly add other form of bac to out compete the cyano. Not sure what I'm gona do yet. Going to continue looking for other causes. I might try some Zeobak or MB7.
 
I've only read that there may be some clumping, and others have reported slime like buggers when starting them. I did read somewhere that one person's reactor pellets was all clumped up, low to no flow, took it out and rinsed it before the egg smell had started. Forgot which pellets he is using tho.
Also have read that if PO4 is a lot higher then NO3's then run GFO til it can balance itself off. I understand everyone system is different which some set ups works better then others for their tanks.
After many of hours of reading. I went with WM's EcoBak, running with TLF, Rio 1100. BTW if anyone needs plastic needle point for mods. I have 3 sets left.
 
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It makes sense that the cyanobacteria can use the carbon just like the good bacteria can. But the cyano has to get established in the tank, which means it has to get past grazing herbivores and aggressive invertebrates and algae that already inhabit the rocks and sand. This could be a key to the issues you are having after many months of running the pellets, Old Tank Syndrome.

Not that it completely applies to your tank as its not truly old, but a lot of the issues with OTS are key to understanding the aging of a system.

The other thing is that the carbon has to get out of the reactor and reach the cyano. I think that this is being aided by your pellets clumping.
 
My skimmer is emo so I don't mess with it much. I don't see much reason to run your skimmer any different and it comes down to what you prefer.
 
Here's a pic of my reactor. This is a Deltec FR509 with 1500ml of pellets fluidized. Not running any sponges. The top plate of the reactor has holes which are just about the right size, only a few very small pieces make it through here and there. The top plate is just about at the top of the "Deltec" sticker, you can just barely make it out in the photo. The pellets tumble about 1 inch below the plate, so I guess I'm maxed out. That's a 5g water jug next to the reactor for comparison (my skimmer waste collector).

<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5202/5369954279_8bfab40874_b.jpg" style="border:4px solid #000;">

I haven't experienced any rotten egg smell or excess mucus on anything - except for the sponge which I was running previously on the top side of the reactor, I removed that a couple of weeks ago and don't plan to replace it.

The Vertex article that Johnny linked to above is really a good read no matter which pellets you're running.

The main thing I took away from it was this: Biopellets are a good way to maintain a tank that is currently being well maintained. The pellets won't fix problems and in some cases will just make them worse (like cyano).
 
Im really thinking about going with BP, I was wondering about my fuge, will I need my cheato once the pellets start working?
 
Chaeto is photosynthetic and with the lack of grazers in the refugium it generally has it easy but regardless the point of a refugium is more about the refuge than it is nutrient export. Many beneficial invertebrates become established in the refugium and provide a nice supply of plankton for your fish and corals.
 
I'm not sure about the refugium with bio pellets but many of those that have dosed vodka(myself included) have had their macroalgae eventually die off or stop growing due to lack of nutrients.
I think Jake brings up a good point about the pellets not being a cure. Good tank husbandry is still very important.
 
Oh and just to update my battle with cyano. It's died back quite a bit since I last posted about it. The biggest difference I made was placing the output of my reactor right next to the input of my skimmer where before it was a few inches away.
 
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