Yogre
Cheesehead Reefer
Daniel, your link doesn't work. Looks like the censor-bot ***'d out the website's name.
N/P reducing pellets (solid vodka dosing)
- Thread starter tntneon
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Daniel, your link doesn't work. Looks like the censor-bot ***'d out the website's name.
Daniel Reef
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The main website name is [link removed]
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mikebpeters
New member
This is an interestng progression for me. I have a 125 mixed reef with an extremely high bio load and an embarrassing level of nitrates. (I'm in the process of upgrading to a 290). I have 1,000ml of NP biopellets in a Vertex U15 being driven by an AC802 and they are tumbling very gently.
This has all been running for about 3 weeks now. I've seen cloudy water for a week and a cyano outbreak but I haven't seen any significant benefits yet . . . nitrates are still sky high and coral look about the same.
Anybody have any suggestions - I'm happy to keep waiting and watching in the mean time.
This has all been running for about 3 weeks now. I've seen cloudy water for a week and a cyano outbreak but I haven't seen any significant benefits yet . . . nitrates are still sky high and coral look about the same.
Anybody have any suggestions - I'm happy to keep waiting and watching in the mean time.
tntneon
SPSahollic
What kind of skimmer you are using ?
If you can try to dial your skimmer , to wet skimming (0.5 l of skimmate a day / 25 g of display).
this would normaly help the cloudiness , the bacteria are one thing but skimming them off is the most important !
if the cloudiness would stay , i would reduce any carbon dosing or pellets in the system.
although i never had any cloudiness in my tank , i did suffer some cyano a couple of month`s ago , now my tank is cyano / gha /nitrate and phosphate free.
In the weekend i dial my skimmer to wet skimming , by pouring in some fresh SW and increassing the level in the sump and in my skimmer , when i have to work in the week i`m to lazzy to add the 1l fresh SW and my skimmer goes very gently into dry skimming over that week , i still keep adding evaporated water with fresh osmosis water.
greetingzz tntneon
Bzar
New member
Just a note on reactors. For the life of me I can't keep 700ish ml of biopellets tumbling in a BRS reactor. Depending on the flow setting it's either the top 2" middle 2" or bottom 2". Seems the reactor chamber is too small for this many pellets. I've tried everything to get the entire bed to tumble in the last month....bigger pumps, put it on it's side, etc, etc. Nothing can keep the bed moving for long. I suggest if you're going to use more than 500ml get a reactor with a bigger chamber.
I'm not sure if anyone has noticed a real reduction in NO3 if the pellets continue tumbling. Sorry, I'm rapidly becoming a skeptic.
DJ
PSam
Active member
Indeed.... I'm going to finish this bag, but have not seen any results that would make me want to buy more.
Rwpdunne
spsaholic
Iam into my 6th week using the pellets and my nitrates have come down slowly they where 15ppm starting now there at 1.5ppm mesured on hanna meter
Now this is the type of stuff that I was looking for when I inquired as to results a couple of pages back. We need more folks to step forward, so we can learn conclusively whether or not these things actually work. People have been using the pellets now for 6 months +. My bet is that, for the majority, they don't live up to the hype. I want to be proven wrong.
DJ
DJ
I'm into this 4 weeks. I was on a sulfur denitrator which reduced nitrates, but caused a whole other set of issues. What I am seeing is greater water clarity, fish color better, subjectively overall tank looks better. Testing wise I have had zero phosphates, and Nitrates around 2.5 to 5 ppm. Anytime I turned off the Sulfur Denitrator nitrates used to rapidly rise.. With 2L of pellets on a 230 gallon FOWLR I am seeing the nitrates hold / slowly decline. I will be adding another liter shortly. Personally I'm happy. The change is subtle in some ways but I see a marked improvement overall.
I will admit I am not using the tumbling pellet approach. I loaded the pellets into what was my sulfur denitrator, which recycles about 150 gal / hour. I turned up the output from it to ensure it is not anerobic, but that output is likely around 15 gallons / Hr. into a large skimmer. So I'm not on the usual model here. The pellets are not clogged by bacterial mulm, so I am not seeing an issue with flow in the pellets so far. It is obvious however that there is a white bacterial growth in the reactor. It was very obvious when I opened the reactor to go from 1L to 2L of pellets.
I will admit I am not using the tumbling pellet approach. I loaded the pellets into what was my sulfur denitrator, which recycles about 150 gal / hour. I turned up the output from it to ensure it is not anerobic, but that output is likely around 15 gallons / Hr. into a large skimmer. So I'm not on the usual model here. The pellets are not clogged by bacterial mulm, so I am not seeing an issue with flow in the pellets so far. It is obvious however that there is a white bacterial growth in the reactor. It was very obvious when I opened the reactor to go from 1L to 2L of pellets.
ChuckG
New member
They work in my tank.. I can not keep nitrates in it at all. They also keep a low level dinoflagellate bloom (still dealign with it) from exploding.
Problem is I've got the low level dinos in the display, occasional clear bacterea blobs on the rock, and yellow rod bacteria all over the sump blooming. They are all getting carbon from somewhere and I am not convinced the source is not finding its way out of the reactor. I am not sure yet, but if that is the case manual dosing might be easier to adjust.
Moser
Active member
ChuckG
New member
Yep the output rests perpendicular and right on the skimmer inlet.. it is getting the majority if not all of the reactor outflow. The skimmer is an ATB 8.5 running super wet and is more than capable.
It may be too soon to say if carbon is escaping the reactor..
The dinos might be getting their carbon from CO2 as the room stays fairly saturated with it at times. The rod bacteria in the sump could be feeding on the compounds released by the dinos as they seem to be dying back the last couple of days. Hard to say..
The pellets do work though and quite well.. otherwise the dinos would have overcome my tank given as much it is fed.
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