Is it worth getting a bio pellet reactor ?

Johnic

Premium Member
Wondering if bio pellets are still worth getting and if people are still lovin them. I know they were the biggest thing a bit ago. But is it safe and worth it
 
Hitting it too hard at the beginning that causes a bacterial bloom starving the tank of oxygen.

Way more common with vodka or sugar dosing.
 
How real is the risk of poisoning your tank when the power goes out then turns back on? How long does it need to sit stagnant to become toxic?
 
I have been running bio-pellets for 5 years now, I wouldn't have a tank without them now. Keeps my parameters in check allowing for more fish.
 
For those of you who have been using the pellets for several years, have you found any differences in the pellets you use? What pellets are you using now? Have you gotten to the "recommended" amounts or did you stay at a lower level through watching your tank?
 
Hello all.

I set up a Two Little Fishes phosban 550 reactor to head off a hair algae outbreak. I am using NPX Bioplastics as my media and I'm starting with 300ml, about 3/4 of the dose. The instructions for the reactor say I need 25 to 40 GPH so I started with a maxi jet 600 (160 GPH) but that pump gave me absolutely no tumbling. I swapped it out with a maxi jet 900 (200 GPH) and I still had no tumbling. So just to see, I hooked up a pump rated for 440 GPH but it had a 3/4 in outlet that I had to neck down to 1/2 inch. I now have tumbling but it's only about 60 or 70% of the media. For now I am ok with that. I am a bit perplexed about how to get better flow through the reactor, but I see a lot of people have advice on modifications and in the future I may try to modify it.

I tested today with Red Sea test kits and here are my parameters.

Phosphates .06
Nitrates .25

I have ordered ZeoBak to add new strains of bacteria to the tank and ill dose it like I was starting the Zeovit system.

I have a 90 gallon DT and a 30 gallon sump, half of which is a fuge which grows very well. I skim and dose carbon with the occasional bag of chemi pure. I'd like to eventually get the bags of media out of my sump, they collect detritus.

Fish stock as follows:

Yellow Tang
Naso Tang
Achilles Tang
Sohal Tang
Midas Blenny
Flame Angel
Mandarin
Yellow tail Damsel

Ill give you an update in a week.
 
How real is the risk of poisoning your tank when the power goes out then turns back on? How long does it need to sit stagnant to become toxic?

It's vey real. It happened to me early on. My reactor pump was disabled for several days (exact amount of time unknown) & of course the chamber water & pellets were stagnant. I was beginning a full blown maintenance session and the pump came on suddenly (I stupidly forgot to unplug it first thing) and clouded the water immediately.

Luckily I had only 2 small fish but I killed them. The corals expelled waste & then extended their polyps. Ironically they looked great. No problems with cleaner shrimp or snails.

However there is no risk for your garden variety power outage of a few hours. Days long power outages could be another thing altogether however. If you're skimming well & have good oxygen exchange you should have no problems.
 
You hear a lot of horror stories about bio-pellet reactors but I think if you follow the advice to go slow and get the flow just right you end up with years of a crystal clear algae free reef enjoyment. The only downside I found after a couple years was I just couldn't get anemones to acclimate. Everything else did though, plus I was able to feed the corals heavily with phyto and oysterfeast several times a week-- that kind of balances out the ultra low nutrient-ness of the water.
Aww7979- it could just be that since that reactor has a flat bottom you'll never really get perfect tumbling. The reactors that have a coneshaped bottom make getting the flow right a lot easier.
 
Hello everyone.

After 8 days of running the phosban reactor my readings have definitely changed. My nitrates are 0 or unreadable though my phosphates are still the same .06

I picked up a maxi jet 1200 (295 gph) because the pump design is a little different and it has a 1/2 in out let so it dosent restrict the flow (previous pump was 440 gph). My tumbling is much better, about 95 % tumbling of the media and the other 5% wiggles and shakes from water flowing around it. I think I'll stick with this set up.

Today I am going to start to add ZeoBak, it recommends 1 drop per 25 gallons twice a week. I am going to dose 4 drops today and 4 drops on Thursday.
 
Less technology, more biology. Imo bio pellet reactors are just another piece of unnecessary equipment. I have no experience with them and I never will. I "keep it simple stupid" for sure. Live rock and sand, skimmer for doc's, gfo for phosphates, gac ( might not even add a reactor for gac, passive works) macro algae, and water changes to replace trace elements and reduce organics. K.I.S.S really works. Oh... filter socks also because the benifits far out weigh the cons. Simple
 
I tend to def agree with you and that's what I'm doing. But in the past I hardly feed and when I do it's very little but I then see phosphate creep up and then the algae starts. I'd love to be able to feed without the worry of algae. I can't seem to be able to feed my corals without a problem.
 
I tend to def agree with you and that's what I'm doing. But in the past I hardly feed and when I do it's very little but I then see phosphate creep up and then the algae starts. I'd love to be able to feed without the worry of algae. I can't seem to be able to feed my corals without a problem.

Gfo will handle phosphates 100% of the time ime. Larger water changes and if there is food floating in the tank 2 minutes after feeding you fed too much. I've also found that calurpa works better than chaeto. I've seen too many setups that thrive without zeo, bio pellets, beckett skimmers, carbon dosing, turf scrubbers, etc... K.I.S.S method can be very effective if done right.
 
I experimented with a small bioreactor when I moved everything over from a 50g to a 75g. Only thing different was new BRS dead rock, all other equipment was the same. I was amazed that there was no algae bloom, no red slime, and nitrates below 5ppm,something I never achieved in the smaller tank despite exact same husbandry in both tanks. I just ordered a new bigger reactor, so anxious to see if anything changes.
 
I started NPS Pellets in a reactor 2 weeks ago. Nitrates were at 10-15ppm. I bought a new TLF 150 and cut off the bottom plate/grill leaving the fill tube open at the bottom and removed the mesh. I have it plumbed off my return manifold at probably 250gph. My nitrates are undetectable now after 2 weeks and water is the clearest it's ever been.
 
Less technology, more biology. Imo bio pellet reactors are just another piece of unnecessary equipment. I have no experience with them and I never will. I "keep it simple stupid" for sure. Live rock and sand, skimmer for doc's, gfo for phosphates, gac ( might not even add a reactor for gac, passive works) macro algae, and water changes to replace trace elements and reduce organics. K.I.S.S really works. Oh... filter socks also because the benifits far out weigh the cons. Simple

This is pretty much me,but I consider bio-pellets to be the next step on the arsenal if/when I see algae.
 
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