gnasher
New member
My motivation:
I have a multi-tank system with a total volume of 70 gallons. One of these tanks has predatory snails with voracious appetites. I feed them often to keep them disinterested in each other, and they are by far my biggest source of waste. With ~15% water changes weekly, my nitrates are usually between 40 and 80 ppm. As keeping invertebrates is my primary interest, I would like to do all I can to keep them healthy, which means reducing those nitrates. I'm already growing chaeto in my sump, and don't currently have a setup that can support a deep sand bed, so it seems carbon dosing would be my best bet. Because I can be out of town for a week or so at a time, manual dosing isn't really an option. It is for this reason that I'm looking into using a biopellet reactor.
The biggest problem:
I am looking to use a Reef Dynamics reactor. I know that it's important to have the effluent from the reactor to be directed towards the skimmer intake. The problem is that I have a hang-on-back skimmer, and it's 4ft off the ground, where the sump (and where I'd like the reactor to be) is. Guys at the LFS say that it wouldn't be able to pump that high, so I'm wondering how reasonable it would be to just send the effluent into the sump. I suppose it would be possible to mount the reactor next to the display tank, but it would be awkward and (if it's even feasible) would require some creative in-tank tubing that I'd like to avoid. Even in this situation, the effluent would not be directly fed into the skimmer, just directed towards its intake.
My understanding of how the reactor works:
My understanding is that the pellets promote the growth of a particular type of aerobic bacteria that use it as food. This bacteria metabolizes both nitrates and phosphates. This metabolism alone does not remove anything from the tank, it just converts it for the most part into bacterial mass. For this reason, skimming is necessary, and what is being skimmed from the tank is the bacteria itself. My understanding of why it is a good idea to skim the effluent is two fold: (1) that the bacteria live primarily on the pellets, so when they die/dislodge they can be efficiently removed, and (2) they consume a lot of oxygen, and the skimming ensures that the effluent will be properly oxygenated before being introduced to the display.
So my questions are:
Is my understanding of the reactor's function correct? Please add/correct anything you feel I've left out. Guys at the LFS say that bacterial waste is also being skimmed, not just bacteria. If that's true, how it's different from any other dissolved organic?
How different will things be if I don't feed the reactor effluent directly into the skimmer? Will it work less effectively? I don't mind that so much, especially since they seem to be so powerful, but I want to avoid at all costs making any sort of change that might negatively effect the health of my animals.
Additional info:
-Livestock consists of one damsel, a few soft corals, many snails both large and small, and a small mantis shrimp.
-Skimmer has venturi air intake, but I also use an air stone for additional bubbles.
Anny additional advice or insight is always appreciated, thanks in advance (^^)(__)
I have a multi-tank system with a total volume of 70 gallons. One of these tanks has predatory snails with voracious appetites. I feed them often to keep them disinterested in each other, and they are by far my biggest source of waste. With ~15% water changes weekly, my nitrates are usually between 40 and 80 ppm. As keeping invertebrates is my primary interest, I would like to do all I can to keep them healthy, which means reducing those nitrates. I'm already growing chaeto in my sump, and don't currently have a setup that can support a deep sand bed, so it seems carbon dosing would be my best bet. Because I can be out of town for a week or so at a time, manual dosing isn't really an option. It is for this reason that I'm looking into using a biopellet reactor.
The biggest problem:
I am looking to use a Reef Dynamics reactor. I know that it's important to have the effluent from the reactor to be directed towards the skimmer intake. The problem is that I have a hang-on-back skimmer, and it's 4ft off the ground, where the sump (and where I'd like the reactor to be) is. Guys at the LFS say that it wouldn't be able to pump that high, so I'm wondering how reasonable it would be to just send the effluent into the sump. I suppose it would be possible to mount the reactor next to the display tank, but it would be awkward and (if it's even feasible) would require some creative in-tank tubing that I'd like to avoid. Even in this situation, the effluent would not be directly fed into the skimmer, just directed towards its intake.
My understanding of how the reactor works:
My understanding is that the pellets promote the growth of a particular type of aerobic bacteria that use it as food. This bacteria metabolizes both nitrates and phosphates. This metabolism alone does not remove anything from the tank, it just converts it for the most part into bacterial mass. For this reason, skimming is necessary, and what is being skimmed from the tank is the bacteria itself. My understanding of why it is a good idea to skim the effluent is two fold: (1) that the bacteria live primarily on the pellets, so when they die/dislodge they can be efficiently removed, and (2) they consume a lot of oxygen, and the skimming ensures that the effluent will be properly oxygenated before being introduced to the display.
So my questions are:
Is my understanding of the reactor's function correct? Please add/correct anything you feel I've left out. Guys at the LFS say that bacterial waste is also being skimmed, not just bacteria. If that's true, how it's different from any other dissolved organic?
How different will things be if I don't feed the reactor effluent directly into the skimmer? Will it work less effectively? I don't mind that so much, especially since they seem to be so powerful, but I want to avoid at all costs making any sort of change that might negatively effect the health of my animals.
Additional info:
-Livestock consists of one damsel, a few soft corals, many snails both large and small, and a small mantis shrimp.
-Skimmer has venturi air intake, but I also use an air stone for additional bubbles.
Anny additional advice or insight is always appreciated, thanks in advance (^^)(__)
