Torn between Biopellets and Vodka

[DragonFish]

I'm about to start doing either Biopellets or Vodka and I really can't decide which. My main motivation for doing it is nutrient control, my nitrates and phosphates have always been a bit high. I like the hands off approach of biopellets but I've read really mixed results with them. Vodka seems much more proven but then I have to do it every night. What happens if I miss a night or 3? What do you guys think?

BTW... Aqua Cave now has the 200ml bag of NPX Bioplastic for $10.

 

[wojo]

hey, i am assuming you have exhausted all of the "normal" ways of removing nitrates from your tank? good fuge, decent amount of LR + good flow and good skimmer? just asking

 

[1boatnut]

biopellets tend to leave you with less of a hangover:lol2:

 

[DragonFish]

Everything but the fuge. My tank is all hang on and I just don't have room for one of the hang on fuges. I used to have one on my 40 breeder and just loved it.

 

[bluemike81]

I had been running vodka for a while now, and just switched over to the pellets.

I loved the results that I was getting with the vodka. Aside from one incident of overdosing, I never had any problems with it. I would occasionally miss a dose or two and no harm was done.

I havent seen any real difference yet from the change, but it is nice not having to dose everyday.

I am currently running a mix of seaslug phosballs, and brighwell katalyst in a TLF reactor.

 

[DragonFish]

How long ago did you switch to the pellets?

 

[bluemike81]

Only a week or two. Completely weaned off of the vodka, and no detectable nitrates or phosphates but my cheato did grow a bit. It barely grew at all the entire time I was on the vodka. I also did not experience any change in ph at all, but the output of the reactor is plumbed straight to the skimmer.

Not enough time to really rate the pellets, but I am happy about the fact that I no longer have to dose the vodka everyday.

 

[sonict72]

There is Instant Ocean Nitrate Reducer. I have been using it for three weeks and I must say, it doesn't do anything. My nitrate is always between 10 - 20ppm. I am going to continue using it for another month just to see...

 

[bluemike81]

That instant ocean stuff, if I read correctly is actually the same polymer used in biopellets. They just crush it super fine and put it into suspension.

Just give it more time, and maybe supplement it with something like mb7. I've never added any extra bacterial supplements, but it might help.

 

[phillyfishguy]

fuge

fuge

can you run a fuge with biopellets also?

 

[suliaman007]

I like the results I'm getting with vodka. I miss a day here and there but there is no issue. After a while you get used to the dosing and becomes second nature.

 

[Jeff]

I have tried a bunch of different kinds of carbon dosing and they all worked. Each kind has it's advantages. I ended up with a massive bacterial bloom which led to cyano and diatoms. The problem I had with a pellet reactor is what I suspect others had, too much product. Since the pellets take up to a month to work we may have gotten impatient. I cut the manufacturer's recommendations in half and still overloaded my system. My problem was also due to the fact that I was dosing a small amount of two other types of carbon at the same time (Bio-Actif salt and vitamin c). Since there is no real way to even estimate, let alone test for anything really related to carbon dosing, I over-did it. This is partly due to impatience and also due to the relitivly newness of this product.
I think the same can be said for people that setup those reactors and see little or no difference in their systems. They may have either not used enough of the product or expected results sooner then they should have.
The reactors do work, many have reported great results and the science is there. Them working with no user input is their strong suit after they are dialed in (one day). Finding a happy middle ground may be the problem.