They're a food source for bacteria, similar to vodka/vinegar. Depending on the polymers used in the specific brand of pellets, they can encourage multiple types of bacteria to grow. As the bacteria consumes the pellets (And nutrients) in the system, a film is shed from the pellets which is then pulled out by the skimmer. (Good skimmer is a must, and it's best for the reactor output to be near it.) Pellets need to slowly churn/tumble in a pellet reactor or one that has been tweaked to accommodate the flow for pellets. Without this, they clump and become a gooey mess (Inadequate flow) or if they are blown around too much, they become less effective.
Personally I'd just dose vodka/vinegar or a combo of both... Its just easier than biopellets and works just as well if not better..
Just need a dosing pump or manually syringe some into the tank as needed..
Yeah, but then after awhile that adds a yellowish tint to your water and you need to start adding ozone to get rid of it, etc...
So would that lower high TDS?
corey
I'd like to piggy back off this thread post. Does anyone have a bio pellet reactor in a small nano aquarium that does not run a protein skimmer? Would running carbon / GFO help remove the excess bacteria?
Huh? They have nothing to do with each other.
No. Don't use BP's or carbon dose without a skimmer.