N/P reducing pellets (solid vodka dosing)

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tntneon that is very cool. Did you have a pocillopora in your tank elsewhere that spawned?

I have one too, and I look for little babies every day. None yet. :(
 
Hi thebanker :) ,

-Since last year , i have two baby pocci's popping out of nothing , just out of the LR that had been there since the start up of my nano 2.5 years ago.
They both grow pretty fast , from the one i've posted a picture i can't give a growth sequence but the other baby pocci is standing on a better place to take a picture of.
The first picture is from september 2010 the second from yesterday .

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picture.php


greetingzz tntneon :)
 
they were NP biopellets.


@liver-Ive stopped using them so I wont be shaking them to feed the corals.

Im happy they worked for you TNT and IME they have their place but just not in my tank. Im very happy that the NPs cleared up the algea problem in the 90g because I was on my last breathe with that investation. I would have done anything to get rid of it.
 
I really think that bacteria supplementation is critical to kick start the pellets. I used Special Blend and MicroBacter7 once a day for about 2 weeks and that really got things going in my reactor. I suggest putting in 1/2 of the recommended dose of each of these into the sump with the return pump and skimmer off for about 30 minutes. This will allow the bacteria to cycle through the reactor. Do this once a day. For those having issues, try this before giving up on pellets.
 
I've been using the NP Pellets for a year now with great results, though it took about a month before it started working. I've gone through one 500-mL bag of pellets in a years time for a 29-gallon system. Just tested nitrates and phosphates again today, NO3 = 0.07 and PO4 was undetected (my limit of detection is 0.01). I also feed fairly heavily, 1/4 cube mysis shrimp mixed with cyclopese every night and pellets in the morning. This is for 2 fish and assorted inverts and corals. Moderately stocked I would say.

I set this up in a Phosban Reactor 150. I have 3 of them in tandom GFO>Carbon>NP Pellets. I also use a lot more than what the package says, I have a 4" bed in the reactor and I have the flow regulated very low so the bed isn't agitated. I take it off line about every 2 or 3 months to clean it out and add more pellets. I actually remove what everyone calls the "mulm" so the bed isn't compacted. Obviously there are enough bacteria left after this cleaning to re-seed the reactor as I have to keep doing it.

Mine also doesn't discharge anywhere near the skimmer, I see no point in it. All the reaction takes place in the reactor bed and I don't have it running fast enough to push the bacteria out. I never got cloudy water from a bacterial bloom but I was using vodka dosing (with only slight successs) right before this for 3 months so I was just replacing the carbon source.
 
I have a 120g DT and a 50g sump. Ive been using BP since last October so around 4 months now and my corals are looking great. Unfortunately, Ive been getting little bits of bryopsis creeping up on my sand. I suck out the infected sand using a large hose but it just pops up again by next week. Reading a few pages back, i read that since N is used more than P and that you need more N to eliminate more P, i was thinking maybe i should get rid of my DSB in the sump?

Am i right in saying that the DSB removes nitrates mostly? If so then removing it would leave more nitrates for the BP to consume thus allowing the BP to use more P as well?
 
I've only heard of guys adding products like Seachem Flourish Nitrogen or Pfertz N as a way to boost Nitrate levels. I don't like that solution as much as adding a Phosban reactor, which is what I just did BTW, after having the pellets on since October 1.
 
Hmm... That could work. I do have a spare reactor and rowaphos available but it might end up removing too much phosphates that N starts to shoot up again as i read up a few pages back. Do you guys keep a DSB with your pellets?

What do you guys think?
 
ryanuuy said:
...
Am i right in saying that the DSB removes nitrates mostly? If so then removing it would leave more nitrates for the BP to consume thus allowing the BP to use more P as well? ...
Click to expand...

-Interesting point you make there , i'm always wondered if the DSB in my refugium had an effect (+ or -) on the pellets and vise versa.. ?

Maybe other fellow reefers with more micro biological understanding could give us an answer ;)

greetingzz tntneon :)
 
I am in the process of adding biopellets to my 125 gallon reef aquarium. As part of a photo contest I got a TLF 550 reactor that will use for this project. I will start with 250ml and will add the rest in the bag until I have the 500ml. I will post the progress of this. I am not going to remove the GFO for the moment. I am planning to use a MaxiJet 1200 I have to see how the pellets move in the reactor.

Here are some photos of the mesh mod to the 550.

2011-01-12_9s.jpg


2011-01-12_20s.jpg


2011-01-12_23s.jpg


2011-01-12_24s.jpg


2011-01-12_26s.jpg


2011-01-12_36s.jpg
 
Luisgo, is that mod to add the smaller mesh needed because of the small size of the pellets you are using? I'm using Katalyst, and the stock TLF reactor screens appear to contain them.

Also, does anyone mix GAC and pellets in the same reactor? What about GAC, GFO and pellets in the same reactor? Is there any reason this would be a problem? I'd rather not have to purchase multiple reactors to run GAC, GFO and pellets.

Thanks! This is a great thread, but it is getting crazy long IMHO. RC should have a search function to limit keyword searches to just a single thread. (Or does it?)
 
The bio pellets should be in their own reactor since they don't need to be replaced for maybe as many as 6 months. You will want to replace your GFO and/or carbon more often.
 
Did some more searching and I think I answered my own question about mixing these media:

Snarkys said:
Under no circumstances do we recommend running any other medias with bio pellets. We want the biopellets to run very stable for long periods of time with as few changes as possible.

Can't be run with carbon or gfo because media or foam pads will clog over time and slow down the flow rates which will prevent the biopellets from tumbling. We also don't want carbon or gfo before the pellets because they could remove things like phosphate which the bacteria need. If you run them after the bio pellets I can see the carbon turning in to a mess of bio-film from the bacterial explosion.

That said, you are always welcome to try anything. biopellets are new to the hobby and experimenting is part of what makes it a hobby for some reefers.
Click to expand...

Also, this thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1947564

Go figure, the makers of this media want us to buy more equipment to use it...facepalm
 
bertoni said:
A DSB can export nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic carbon, if it's working at all.
Click to expand...

Quick derail: A DSB can convert NO3 into N2 and O2, but does a DSB actually export phosphorus? Or does it just store it, in a sense, to be potentially released in some future event?
 
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