N/P reducing pellets (solid vodka dosing)

[plankton99]

I think the three 90 degree elbows in your setup would reduce your pump efficiency significantly. Can you eliminate the two elbow fittings and make it a straight line?

I'll try that. You are right, I have 3 elbows. the problem is that the maxijet has such a tiny nozzle and the reactor has the larger one and this was the only way I could get that going.

 

[evoi19]

Hi Everyone,

I started up some ecobak bio-pellets this week and I'm wondering if this is normal. Ever since i started, I don't have any skimate from my skimmer. There's no foam, and if i turn it up, i get clear skimate into the the collection cup. Is that normal at first? I have the output of the reactor near the pump of the skimmer as others have suggested. I don't see any ill effects on the corals so i'm not sure what's going on. Is it because there's not enough oxygen in the water? Should i add an airstone?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not sure why you see less skimmate, but there is no reason to think O2 is too low just because you get little organic export via skimming.

 

[gary faulkner]

My skimmer kept producing and got darker skimate with more solid junk in the collection cup. I would think that something else has your skimmer not producing like maybe having your hands in the tank, feeding or any number of other things. Just give it a little more time. How long have you had the pellets running?

 

[TheFishMan65]

Did you rinse the pellets first? IIRC there can be a mold release (or something) that can cause problems.

 

[evoi19]

It's been up and running since Wednesday afternoon. Currently, i only have 250ml in a 90gal and will ramp up over the next two weeks.

I haven't done anything out of the ordinary other than adding the reactor and BP's. I have been feeding every other day and that has been the norm for the past 6 months with no ill effects.

I'm probably overly concerned and but will keep an eye on it.

 

[Scej12]

Plankton - I agree with Simon and believe that your head pressure is 90% of your problem. A Maxi-jet is not a particular large pump, but I think it would likely work pretty good if you can minimize the difference in height between your (low) water level and reactor height; as well as if you can minimize the friction-loss due to all the hose and elbows. Also, once your pellets get saturated and loose their affinity for air-bubbles they'll move very nicely.

Hey evoi - I've never used that particular brand, but there were early reports, a year ago or so of one particular formula stopping skimmers (the article was on glass box design, and cited too much lipids in one particular batch of the n/p brand). These were recalled, and as far as I know the problem was solved. Yours could be just a matter of allowing time for the pellets to break-in, but I would also check your venturi to ensure it is not blocked with stray pellets or anything - that has happened to me once or twice when a couple of floaters escaped their reactor which was plumbed directly into the skimmer pump.

SJ

 

[evoi19]

Did you rinse the pellets first? IIRC there can be a mold release (or something) that can cause problems.

Yes. I soaked them for 24hrs. and rinsed them after. All in ro/di water.

 

[evoi19]

Here's a picture of my skimmer collection area. It's been like this since Wednesday with nothing being collected. Even the neck looks fairly clean. Is there some sort of break in period with BP's?

 

[evoi19]

Plankton - I agree with Simon and believe that your head pressure is 90% of your problem. A Maxi-jet is not a particular large pump, but I think it would likely work pretty good if you can minimize the difference in height between your (low) water level and reactor height; as well as if you can minimize the friction-loss due to all the hose and elbows. Also, once your pellets get saturated and loose their affinity for air-bubbles they'll move very nicely.

Hey evoi - I've never used that particular brand, but there were early reports, a year ago or so of one particular formula stopping skimmers (the article was on glass box design, and cited too much lipids in one particular batch of the n/p brand). These were recalled, and as far as I know the problem was solved. Yours could be just a matter of allowing time for the pellets to break-in, but I would also check your venturi to ensure it is not blocked with stray pellets or anything - that has happened to me once or twice when a couple of floaters escaped their reactor which was plumbed directly into the skimmer pump.

SJ

Thanks SJ. I'll look into that article on GB. I have my weekly water change coming up tomorrow, so I think I may pull my skimmer out and check it just in case.

 

[gary faulkner]

evoi19 but I would also check your venturi to ensure it is not blocked with stray pellets or anything - that has happened to me once or twice when a couple of floaters escaped their reactor which was plumbed directly into the skimmer pump.

SJ

Almost forgot. I found a couple of pellets jammed into the needles of the needle-wheel pump. You might want to check this also.

 

[Scej12]

Np. you pic looks like a break-in/water tension adjustment - I'm betting you'll start getting some super foamy skimmate in the next couple of days.. That looks just like my skimmer looked when it was brand new - the acrylic takes some time to break-in before your water tension begins to stabilize. I believe I read an article about this that explained the process, but not sure where... might have been d&d website but can`t say for sure. perhaps your new reactor also has that 'new acrylic syndrome' for lack of a better description.. but to put it simply... just wait it out. If by this time next week you still have a problem then perhaps some more drastic action, but I'm thinking it will correct itself.

Sheldon

 

[evoi19]

Ok sounds good. I'm going to check the skimmer pump and make sure nothing is clogged. If everything looks good, I'll wait it out and see what happens.

 

[Moser]

I had the original NP biopellets and my skimmer stopped skimming for a week or so.... it then went crazy when all had broken in.

I recall that I had to increase the flow into the skimmer for a while to get any foam head, but it settled back down eventually.

Wait it out.....

Mo

 

[Aquarist007]

sorry wrong post

 

[plankton99]

Just started Bio Pellets with PICS

Just started Bio Pellets with PICS

I just started my Reef Octopus BR-70 Bio Pellet ractor today.

Here are some pics.

<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dG5gmZSeLxa4NGvUhuKluQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_NXpuq2m0IHc/TbTwu1-b_MI/AAAAAAAADUo/S-NAmJ0FloY/s800/IMG_5504.JPG" height="800" width="533" /></a>

<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8sK_arzILpaclZwjWBGaVA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_NXpuq2m0IHc/TbTw74q-8UI/AAAAAAAADUw/AgZCA-0M6_8/s800/IMG_5503.JPG" height="800" width="533" /></a>

Overall Tank
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HfKkq8Y51z6w_HO-IDpdaw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_NXpuq2m0IHc/TbTyHYy2FLI/AAAAAAAADVI/tXUh5JZx4Ow/s800/IMG_5497.JPG" height="533" width="800" /></a>

Some grey corals, lets see if the Bio Pellets help these....

Here's a Tyree Bali Tricolor that went brown
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1PfedFqgD7dfof6kyP5OnQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_NXpuq2m0IHc/TbUBPH4NKdI/AAAAAAAADYM/ryHk18sdTu8/s800/IMG_5501.JPG" height="533" width="800" /></a>

Here's a Ice Fire Echinata that has lost its color
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/y4UAna95-61BLCHJYEOTbg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_NXpuq2m0IHc/TbUBQm5mFlI/AAAAAAAADYQ/AQ6AlpIRhXU/s800/IMG_5485.JPG" height="533" width="800" /></a>




Here's my tank video from today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9qVOUBMik



Here's my tank thread if anyone is interested
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1928659




NOTE; my phosphates and nitrates are ZERO. My only problem is browning or no color in my corals. I am hoping the Bio Pellets fix this.

 

[purge43]

Do these beneficial n/p reducing bacteria ONLY live on the pellets themselves? Could a second reactor be placed inline after the BP reactor with some bioballs or one of those high surface area bio-filter medias to increase the population of these beneficial bacteria? The data only seems to reflect that they dont live in the water column.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That could be useful to help take up released organics. GAC might also be a good surface. A lot of bacteria grow there in my system dosed with vinegar.

 

[gregr]

Thanks for the comments about increasing oxygen levels. I added a pump to break up the surface even more in my tank.
For those of you figuring out the best pump for the Reef Octopus reactors-- I highly recommend getting a slightly oversized pump and installing a ball valve in-line. On the 110 reactor I'm using a Rio Hyperflow 10 and it works beautifully- I could get away with the next size smaller most likely. My reactor has been running two months now, nitrates zero and phosphates 0.02 when I tested last week. Corals look great and are growing faster than I've ever seen them grow.
It's only been two months and I can see the pellets are significantly smaller- almost half their original size already!

 

[gary faulkner]

plankton99

Nice tank. I like the way you have a shelf for the frags to grow out on. In the vid. I noticed that the pellets are really moving, might want to slow them down to a slow boil, if you know what I mean.