Vertex Pro Bio Pellets

[thebanker]

jpatrician - where does one get a bacon bar like that?

 

[tony varrell]

Can someone tell me how to correct this. I just put 1000ml on line with 300 gallons of water. I soaked the pellets overnight and for some reason I am getting some clumping on the very top of the pellets in the reactor. What to do??

 

[sfexplicit]

This happens to me when I add new pellets. Usually breaks apart and goes away overnight. Dunno why but it does. Give it a day and if it doesn't try increasing flow.

 

[jpatrician]

jpatrician - where does one get a bacon bar like that?

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/category/exotic_candy_bars

They have more than 1!

 

[richierich2000]

I guess Bacon is more important

 

[Typlus5]

I'll ask again since nobody chimed in on a recent question...Anybody seeing noticable coral differences i.e. polyp ext or better coloration? Majority of thread posters are only talking about algae reduction...I want to know if your corals are improving?

 

[sfexplicit]

I have noticed better polyp extension but can't for sure say it's due to the pellets. Some of the colors on my sps have also improved.

 

[goochesfish]

They had chocolate covered bacon at the LA County Fair

 

[thebanker]

I've noticed good polyp extension and water clarity. I haven't observed any haze in my water, but I haven't noticed much of a slimy buildup on the pellets either. I'm keeping the flow through the pellets extremely slow. Since adding the pellets I've been dosing Brightwell MB7 again, with an initial 5ml dose followed by daily doses of 5 drops each. Eventually, I don't think dosing bacteria will be necessary as it should propagate itself throughout the mass of pellets.

Also, I've noticed very little growth on the glass since I started pellets. My algal barometers are threefold: small amounts of film on the glass, hair algae within the tank (not much but it's there), and the chaeto and caulerpa in my fuge. Chaeto is still growing, GHA is stable, and the film algae hasn't appeared much on my glass.

richierich2000 - as far as I know, you will eventually add more biopellets as the ones you have break down and become smaller.

 

[thebanker]

Re: Mb7

Re: Mb7

After dosing the water clarity is unreal.

I notice this as well. Isn't MB7 a great product? I might keep dosing solely for the visual appeal!

 

[jpatrician]

Just a little tip for those experiencing clumping. I added a small Mag-Float cleaner in the reactor and whenever I get clumping I'll just drag it around and break it up. It beats having to take the reactor apart to stir them up.

 

[sfexplicit]

That's a good idea. I've been just picking up whole thing and shaking it.

 

[thebanker]

That's a cool idea!

 

[thebanker]

5 days into pellets, and this morning my skimmer was producing more skimmate, and the pellets are now at a nice slow, uniform boil, with almost no dead spots.

Haven't needed to scrape the glass in the past 3 days, and that's a tangible effect. I keep a couple blue-tip acros like the one in my current avatar. They were not "browned out" in my opinion, but had healthy tan bases. The tan color is starting to lighten up a little. My SPS has always been a tad pastel and never had really robust coloration. I'm curious to see how it goes as the Vertex pellets ramp-up.

 

[jason2459]

thanks for the updates Mike. Looking forward to seeing how the vertex pellets work for you.

 

[Typlus5]

Mike, Appreciate the informative updates you've provided along the way. I'll be soaking my pellets tonight for introduction into the reactor later this week.

Thanks again.

 

[thebanker]

By the way, I soaked my pellets for only 15 minutes in hot RODI water, stirred vigorously, strained, then introduced them to the reactor. Not sure why one would need an overnight soak... Seems a bit excessive and also I was anxious to get the reactor running.

Today the tank looked good. A little cyanobacteria appeared on some of the live rock, so that's new. It's only in small patches, high on rocks in low flow areas.

The pellets are still tumbling slowly and in fairly irregular flow patterns. Still no sign of biopellet haze. :thumbsup:

 

[thebanker]

One week into the Vertex Pro Bio pellets. The flow through the reactor looks like it is not enough. No haze yet. Pellets are clumping together, and I'm getting a little bit of channeling. If I jiggle the reactor, the aggregate of pellets will fully fluidize and turn over, then settle down and form channels.

Rio 800 isn't brand new, but it's freshly cleaned and rated at 200 gph. I'm close to giving in and buying a new MJ1200.

 

[jason2459]

I'm surprised that's not moving 250ml of pellets better.

 

[sfexplicit]

Help please. I've got clear stringy stuff coming off the rocks. Algae bloom? Too many pellets?