GFO, Carbon, or Biopellets

Stevent1981

Stevent1981

New member
Just bought a Avast Marine reactor. I have not decided what to run in it yet, GFO, Carbon or Bio pellets. i am trying to battle high nitrates and phosphates.
I have a TLF 150 reactor that I have been running carbon in. I have zero experience with bio pellets although they do intrigue me a lot. Any input would be great.
 
Following, as I run all 3 but still battle the higher nitrates and phosphates and would love to hear what people have to say!
 
You could mix the carbon and GFO together and run them in one reactor while running the biopellets in the other. The one advantage to mixing carbon and GFO together is that you don't have to worry about tumbling the GFO.
 
Personally I'd get rid of the carbon and run gfo. I've got no experience in bio pellets and I'd suggest cutting back on feeding
 
Pife said:
If the reactor isn't recirculating bio pellets won't work well.
Click to expand...

This. Biopellets only run efficiently in a recirculating reactor. I only run carbon to occasionally polish my water. GFO is a decent Po4 reducer if theyre not too high.
 
I just switched over to NP All-In-One Biopellets. We will see how they do. Many people are claiming that they are effective Nitrate and Phosphate control.
 
GFO, Carbon, or Biopellets

hampmp said:
I just switched over to NP All-In-One Biopellets. We will see how they do. Many people are claiming that they are effective Nitrate and Phosphate control.
Click to expand...


They are (bio pellets not just NP All in one). I've used them since they became available to the hobby. As mentioned above a recirculating Rx is needed for any tank with corals. This is because in a single pass Rx, such as the one the OP has, the BPs are TOO effective and can strip the water completely free of all nutrients in a short time. Recirculating Rx allow the effluent rate to be decreased to a trickle and therefore slows the rate of nutrient reduction.
 
Maybe this is a silly question, but if these all in one biopellets are so good at stripping nutrients, why couldn't you just run the single pass reactor when there's an issue like some people do with GAC? Routine testing should give you plenty of indication when you need to ramp up the reactor to colonize the pellets. Let it run until N&P are back to where you want them and then shut it off again.
 
EDJFA said:
Maybe this is a silly question, but if these all in one biopellets are so good at stripping nutrients, why couldn't you just run the single pass reactor when there's an issue like some people do with GAC? Routine testing should give you plenty of indication when you need to ramp up the reactor to colonize the pellets. Let it run until N&P are back to where you want them and then shut it off again.
Click to expand...


Well this would result in instability. An inevitable large variation in available nutrients in the tank. Stability is key and this would not produce good results with sensitive species. This sort of rapid nutrient reduction can have very bad effects particularly on SPS. This is a complex issue and has to do with the balance between nutrients, light intensity and flow.
 
I disagree about a recirculating pellet reactor being a 'necessity'. Yes a recirc reactor allows you to control the discharge of the stripped out water so you dont rapidly deplete your system sending it into a toxic freefall. But that can happen with anything we as reefkeepers dose or add. Need to start off slow. If I was to set up 5 GFO reactors on my system to wipe out a phosphate problem overnite, it would be just as detrimental. Same as dosing vodka, soda ash or anything else for that matter. You need to make minute changes.

For instance, i modded a TLF 550 to use as a bio pellet reactor. My total system volume is around 325g. All in one bio pellets states "500-1000mL of biopellets is recommended per 100 gallon" So by those guidelines I should use 1500-3000mL of pellets. Nope. Start out slow. i added 250mL to start, let it run a few weeks. Added another 250mL. Now after running for 2 months, I just added the 3rd bag of 250mL. After 2 months I am now at 1/2 of the recommended usage for my system size. I am still experiencing high Nitrate (~40ppm) and moderate Phosphate (+-0.06) but everything is healthy, all coral is coloring and growing in a weedlike fashion and I havent lost any inhabitants since I started. I also run a cup or so of GFO through a MR1 reactor and have been dosing vodka for 3-4 months.

My point is all changes must be done in a tank in a slow fashion. If you are looking for a quick fix, you are in the wrong hobby. A expensive and or complicated piece of equipment such as a recirc reactor isnt a neccesity, it just helps to err on the side of safety.

FYI, I have a predominately SPS system and a medium to medium-heavy bioload.
 
GFO, Carbon, or Biopellets

chucklez said:
I disagree about a recirculating pellet reactor being a 'necessity'. Yes a recirc reactor allows you to control the discharge of the stripped out water so you dont rapidly deplete your system sending it into a toxic freefall. But that can happen with anything we as reefkeepers dose or add. Need to start off slow. If I was to set up 5 GFO reactors on my system to wipe out a phosphate problem overnite, it would be just as detrimental. Same as dosing vodka, soda ash or anything else for that matter. You need to make minute changes.



For instance, i modded a TLF 550 to use as a bio pellet reactor. My total system volume is around 325g. All in one bio pellets states "500-1000mL of biopellets is recommended per 100 gallon" So by those guidelines I should use 1500-3000mL of pellets. Nope. Start out slow. i added 250mL to start, let it run a few weeks. Added another 250mL. Now after running for 2 months, I just added the 3rd bag of 250mL. After 2 months I am now at 1/2 of the recommended usage for my system size. I am still experiencing high Nitrate (~40ppm) and moderate Phosphate (+-0.06) but everything is healthy, all coral is coloring and growing in a weedlike fashion and I havent lost any inhabitants since I started. I also run a cup or so of GFO through a MR1 reactor and have been dosing vodka for 3-4 months.



My point is all changes must be done in a tank in a slow fashion. If you are looking for a quick fix, you are in the wrong hobby. A expensive and or complicated piece of equipment such as a recirc reactor isnt a neccesity, it just helps to err on the side of safety.



FYI, I have a predominately SPS system and a medium to medium-heavy bioload.
Click to expand...


Sure not a necessity. Not many things are. However it makes it a lot easier to control. You can as you mention, use a far smaller number of pellets. But having the extra control is extremely helpful. Then you can control the effluent rate as well as the number of pellets. This IMO is more likely to produce consistent positive results.

I also vary my effluent rate depending on nitrate levels. This would be very difficult to do with just controlling the number of pellets.
 
SoloGarth said:
They are (bio pellets not just NP All in one). I've used them since they became available to the hobby. As mentioned above a recirculating Rx is needed for any tank with corals. This is because in a single pass Rx, such as the one the OP has, the BPs are TOO effective and can strip the water completely free of all nutrients in a short time. Recirculating Rx allow the effluent rate to be decreased to a trickle and therefore slows the rate of nutrient reduction.
Click to expand...


IMHO. In a single pass the bio pellets never have a chance to grow any bacteria thus the opposite of what you say is true.
 
Pife said:
IMHO. In a single pass the bio pellets never have a chance to grow any bacteria thus the opposite of what you say is true.
Click to expand...


I ran a single pass Rx for a at least 2 years. It was extremely effective. These are very common Rx types and are known to function well. Bacteria colonize the surface of the pellets. Why would it matter to them if the Rx is single pass or recirculating? This would only have an impact on nutrients available to them.

What is your reasoning for thinking this?
 
SoloGarth said:
I ran a single pass Rx for a at least 2 years. It was extremely effective. These are very common Rx types and are known to function well. Bacteria colonize the surface of the pellets. Why would it matter to them if the Rx is single pass or recirculating? This would only have an impact on nutrients available to them.

What is your reasoning for thinking this?
Click to expand...

Like I said it is just my opinion.
The rate of tumble and production of mulm.
 
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