Seeding a Biopellet reactor

[longranger]

Would seeding a BP reactor with some pellets from a buddies reactor give it a quick jumpstart? I have been told to expect it to take a month or more to start really working with standard startup.

 

[MONSTERUP]

Good question. Ive been running mine for about a month and havent seen any change. Thinking of going back to gfo

 

[longranger]

I am using water changes to deal with a nitrate buildup related to some bad macroalgae in my sump. Removed all the material from the sump. Cleaned the tank, what little crud is on the rocks etc. Thankfully no ammonia or nitrite buildup. Started a BP reactor yesterday. Sure hope it kicks in faster than one month .

Am starting slowly in terms of volume of pellets and flow rate after reading about some of the less happy experiences with BP on this forum. Also added more cleanup crew with an emphasis on snails,copepods and Amphipods. Still kicking myself for the nitrogen buildup. The macroalgae was from a source new to me and it just did not look right. Should have just tossed it. Anyway I like to feed heavy anyway so took it as an excuse to start the reactor. Also on the positive side all I lost was one emerald crab.

Hope your system kicks in soon if you stick with it.

 

[bertoni]

Seeding the reactor might help a bit. That's hard to say, but I'd probably just be patient, unless I was sure the source tank had absolutely no problems.