do biopellets control phonsphate

[dowtish]

I run mine at the full amount if not more. I will say that the recirculating design is useless for bio-pellets IMO. If you restrict the output all you are doing is locking in dead bacteria which will eventually build up on the pellets themselves.

I would look into the reef octopus reactors. Best design out there for a good steady tumble, and they have the most various sizes as well.

 

[Chicago]

you referring to the bio churn? or the older units

 

[dowtish]

I am referring to reef dynamics current design.

 

[dread240]

I run mine at the full amount if not more. I will say that the recirculating design is useless for bio-pellets IMO. If you restrict the output all you are doing is locking in dead bacteria which will eventually build up on the pellets themselves.

I would look into the reef octopus reactors. Best design out there for a good steady tumble, and they have the most various sizes as well.

I run way more then recommended and prefer the recirculating reactor because of that... If there is no food source (nitrate/phosphate) then the carbon does nothing to feed a bacteria population... recirculating keeps them tumbling nicely while allowing you to dial in the actual amount of water processed.. There isn't a bunch of dead bacteria in there if the nutrients weren't available for them... and once dead they're rotating in the water column to eventually be purged out (directly into the skimmer once they do leave)

What I don't like about the bio churn setup is the raking through them.. and that in some of the videos I've seen you still get clumping at the top... they're just spinning on top of a cylinder (pellets are still stuck together). Further there's no way to control the amount of water running through it... so you have to dial in the exact amount of pellets or run the possibility of stripping the water clean and not having nutrients at all for corals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJHO-Rf8tww

Those pellets ARE NOT tumbling at all at the top of that reactor, it is a column of pellets rotating around and that is all

http://s770.photobucket.com/user/Dread240/media/VIDEO0012_zps84e439d3.mp4.html?sort=3&o=0

That's a home made recirculating reactor I run on my tank (and my sump is an ungodly mess, redoing it, deal with it lol) with it plumbed into one of my psk-1000's. I can actually get way more tumbling if I want, but I like the slower tumbling personally (effluent is valved down to about 30% and recirculating valved to like 50%-55%).. and that's holding roughly 800ml of pellets in a phosban 550

 

[Chicago]

I run mine at the full amount if not more. I will say that the recirculating design is useless for bio-pellets IMO. If you restrict the output all you are doing is locking in dead bacteria which will eventually build up on the pellets themselves.

I would look into the reef octopus reactors. Best design out there for a good steady tumble, and they have the most various sizes as well.

little confused.. why do you say "recirculating design is useless for bio-pellets" looks like in your lat er post you approve and like the reef dymnamics because of the ability to dial the amount of recirculaing water in the chamber.. am I brain dead? just open the door on that one didnt I?

thanks

 

[dowtish]

little confused.. why do you say "recirculating design is useless for bio-pellets" looks like in your lat er post you approve and like the reef dymnamics because of the ability to dial the amount of recirculaing water in the chamber.. am I brain dead? just open the door on that one didnt I?

thanks

When the reef dynamics reactor first came out I was all about it. A friend of mine got one before they were officially released, and it seemed to make perfect sense. People were all complaining about cyano and other algae type issues with bio-pellets and this seemed to be a great idea in controlling the output of the so called "bio-mass" that releases into the water column. This is where an over sized skimmer is needed, and what it doesnt skim out the corals can feed off of it. But if you skimmer is underrated or doesnt perform correctly, you will have an overload of this "bio-mass" in your tank, and that is where the issues arise with cyano and the like.

Then I spoke with Jon Warner of Warner Marine who makes ecoBak pellets, and he was the one that told me about the fact that what is releasing off the pellets is essentially dead and full/bloated bacteria that is breaking away from the colony and is then just recirculating in the chamber until eventually it gets released. I'm not saying it doesnt work, I just dont think it necessary or a better design than a regular reactor. The proper skimmer is essentially what is truly needed.

 

[SoLiD]

I see your point but I do believe they work. Bacteria will only grow in balance with their food source. More food; more bacteria. Less food; less bacteria.

I really love the new Deltec Nitrate Reactors. The Deltec Nitrate Filters incorporate this recirculation type of design, but use either Vodka or Vinegar as the Carbon source. If it worked for David Saxby, then that's good enough for me.

http://www.theaquariumsolution.us/deltec-nfp512-nitrate-filter

 

[Pny]

@dowtish: I've not tried the reef dynamics reactor but have a similar DIY recirculating reactor. The main benefit of a recirculating reactor over a regular reactor is that the lower throughput of the recirculating reactor limits the maximum rate of nutrient removal from the tank. I believe one of the main problems with biopellets is the irregular nutrient removal rate caused by the time delay required for bacteria build-up (or die of) when nutrient levels change. If properly installed, the recirculating reactor design effectively address that.