N/P reducing pellets (solid vodka dosing)

[tmz]

Hello everyopne. Just got back from vacation and was checking everything over. I realized that I left my BioPellets reactor off over my trip(9 days). I didn't just put them back online, because I am afraid they're might be bacteria die-off in the canister that I probably wouldn't want in my tank. Shouold I get new ones or just rinse/re-use these?


The water in there is probably stagnant /hypoxic and you may have hydrogen sulfide.
You should be able to smell it if it's there. I would rinse them thoroughly with tank water and aerate them for at least several hours before using them.

 

[tmz]

Should I continue to have a bag of active carbon in my filtering system while using pellets?

I would. Granulated activated carbon(gac) takes out some organic materials. You are adding organics with the pellets. So paying attention to export via gac and skimming is prudent to prevent organic carbon buildup.

 

[tozzi]

I got the large next reef reactor and im going to run 1.5-2 liters of npx-beads in it. Can anyone recommend a flow rate? Its 5/8 plumbing in and out. They suggest 300gph but im curious to what others are actually running and having luck with

Anyone?

 

[frank40]

After 6 months on the BP biopellets, i have removed them from my system. the first 2 months they worked as advertised but after that i noticed a decline in coral health as sps began to look washed out and my trates began to climb........i never had trates before and testing is done with a Salifert kit.

 

[Rwpdunne]

After 6 months on the BP biopellets, i have removed them from my system. the first 2 months they worked as advertised but after that i noticed a decline in coral health as sps began to look washed out and my trates began to climb........i never had trates before and testing is done with a Salifert kit.

This is what happend to me thats why i removed them i lost several sps corals tusse loss and all sorts of problems
Iam going back to zeo a proven ulns

 

[kernnell]

Biopellets are rubbish!

for me, they did not work at all.

started one month ago whit my natrates at 50 and today they are exactly the same, even with frequent water changes.

i am also beginning to suspect that nitrates are rising faster with biopellets the system.
been doing 30% (or more) water changes every 3 days. removed one fish, and i´m feeding a lot less

I am about an inch away from removing them.

 

[dg3147]

Biopellets are rubbish!

for me, they did not work at all.

started one month ago whit my natrates at 50 and today they are exactly the same, even with frequent water changes.

i am also beginning to suspect that nitrates are rising faster with biopellets the system.
been doing 30% (or more) water changes every 3 days. removed one fish, and i´m feeding a lot less

I am about an inch away from removing them.

That stinks it didn't work for you. Curious, how many mL of pellets did you use? How many gph are you pushing through them? What type of reactor? Are you augmenting with MB7, etc? Did you ever carbon dose before?

So far, my experience has been good. But, time will tell...

 

[philbo32]

Monocultures. Certain carbon sources favor certain bacterial strains and may give them a dominant role but not to the point of monoculture ,in my opinion. I do not think bacterial supplements are necessary and have not heard a plausible argument as to how they would encourage more than a short term boost in bacterial activity .If they could compete more effectively than the bacteria in the tank for available nutrients then continuous dosing of the bacteria as most do wouldn't be necessary.If bacterial diversity is a goal and I'm not sure it should or shouldn't be then varying/mixing the carbon source ( polymers, vodka, vinegar, etc) to encourage growth by bacteria in the aquarium seems a more effective strategy than using bacterial concoctions.

Addition of bacterial cultures IMO isn't just a short term boost in bacterial activity. The main long term benefits I can see involve horizontal gene transfer and bacterial conjugation, in other words the transfer of useful genes from the new bacteria to the existing bacteria in the system. This is probably the main reason zeovit involves the addition of bacterial strains. The new bacteria are unlikely to proliferate in the new established environment, but could add new genes that may help the existing bacteria. This will only happen if the new bacteria have a different gene to the current bacteria, IMO constant dosing of the same bacteria is probably not neccessary.

 

[philbo32]

That stinks it didn't work for you. Curious, how many mL of pellets did you use? How many gph are you pushing through them? What type of reactor? Are you augmenting with MB7, etc? Did you ever carbon dose before?

So far, my experience has been good. But, time will tell...

Hi, how long have you been using the pellets?

 

[philbo32]

I am concerned about the byproducts from bacteria when solid carbon is used. Bacteria and fungi produce acids and enzymes when trying to breakdown a solid carbon source. Too much enzyme IMO might have a negative effect on aquatic life. As with vodka dosing and zeovit, as soon as you start to see a reduction in NO3 and PO4 I would start to reduce the amount of biopellets to reduce the amount of bacteria and there byproducts. I wouldn't have thought you would need many biopellets in a system with near zero NO3 and PO4. If cyano is a problem, I would try doing lights out for 48 hours and dosing a bacterial product to try to improve your existing bacteria and outcompete the cyano in your system.

If you are using pellets and then see a rise in NO3 I would assume that there is either an imbalance of bacteria in your system or it may have become PO4 limited. If you have a PO4 reading, it is likely that there isn't enough beneficial denitrators in there. I would try dosing a bacterial product to improve your existing bacteria.

These are just some of my idea and opinions, hope it might help someone out.

 

[rutz81]

I must say, I think the BIoPellets were doing something for me. The true test was that when I went away for 9 days, mistakenly I turned off my reactor. When I returned, I have algae over my Vortechs and my glass was COVERED in algae, which took a long time to happen before. Although my nitrates were still low, maybe 15, my corals defintely darkened and algae was growing in places I never had algae before. I cleaned and put the pellets back online and will update when/if I see a change.

 

[tozzi]

Wow so much controversy with these things im actually debating on using them or not now! Is there anyone on here who has been using them for a while and has had good-great results? Whats the ratio of people that they worked for and didnt work for?

 

[pecan2phat]

Are you guys doing maintenance water changes during the break in period?

 

[kernnell]

That stinks it didn't work for you. Curious, how many mL of pellets did you use? How many gph are you pushing through them? What type of reactor? Are you augmenting with MB7, etc? Did you ever carbon dose before?

So far, my experience has been good. But, time will tell...

Hi,

- I´m using 500ml of BP

- never dosed carbon before BP

- tried dosing bio digest, but without any results.

- tried all kinds of flow, right now it's mildly tumbling, because i read in this thread that's the manufacturer indications.

My reactor is just a glass jar with a pvc tube inside (as you can see in the video

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can brown algae grow without fosfates? (Diaton - like the one in the picture)

 

[sirreal63]

I got the large next reef reactor and im going to run 1.5-2 liters of npx-beads in it. Can anyone recommend a flow rate? Its 5/8 plumbing in and out. They suggest 300gph but im curious to what others are actually running and having luck with

I am running a MaxiJet 1200 in mine, 1/2" inlet and 1-1/4" outlet. Try the 300 gph, I did not want mine to completely fluidize, but provide adequate flow for keeping oxygen up and enough flow to not blow the bacteria off constantly. My reactor is not a commercial one, it is recycled Black Diamond Carbon Bucket, and the media moves gently in it, but not rapidly.

I had no measurable nitrates or phosphates to start and with heavy feedings and about 5 weeks later, they are still immeasurable. I replaced VSV dosing with these.

 

[tozzi]

Why the small inlet and such a big outlet? So there is more velocity?

 

[sirreal63]

Yes, with the small outlet you restrict the output.

 

[daveonbass]

my new pellets should be here tomorrow (monday). I'm excited to see if they work. Also even with all the extra feeding I've been doing...my PO4 is still immeasureable. I'll keep everyone updated.

 

[daveonbass]

hmm...interesting side note. Some of the BP that blew off in my QT sump are covered in...





wait for it.....




algae.

very unexpected. I didn't think these would get covered in algae. Must be evidence that they still never grew a bacteria population and are instead just tiny plastic rocks.

 

[jlinzmaier]

hmm...interesting side note. Some of the BP that blew off in my QT sump are covered in...





wait for it.....




algae.

very unexpected. I didn't think these would get covered in algae. Must be evidence that they still never grew a bacteria population and are instead just tiny plastic rocks.

Wow, very interesting observation!! If there is algae growth, there is enough N and P for bacterial proliferation (regardless of your undetectable P readings from your kit) so it's very interesting that you get algea growth right on the pellets. Nitrifying bacteria can outcompete algea for N, P, and C so the fact that there is algae growing on your pellets is a pretty clear indication they aren't providing enough C to induce bacterial growth. What brand of BP's were those Dave??

Jeremy