Biopellets: What you need to know
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Biopellets are great for nitrate reduction if you can be patient. I've been using them since 2011, and will provide you with a number of key points for successful results. Here are a bunch of links with more information:
Purchase them here: melevsreef.com/...
Overview article with best tips to consider: melevsreef.com/...
Nextreef Reactor review: www.reefaddicts...)
AquaMaxx Reactor review: www.reefaddicts...
Another biopellet review: www.reefaddicts...
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one of the best videos i have seen on bio pellets
Dr. Loaf's Salty Box how??? I don't know why everyone loves this dude...u don't need constant bacteria dosing to successfully reactor
I could not agree more with what you are saying here. I ran Bio pelets for a year and had zero nitrates. I over feed my fish who are fat and very healthy. I have now changed to an algae filter on my display tank as I wanted to see what kind of results I would get with that, and moved the pellets to my frag tank. Both tanks sit a zero nitrates and have for a long time. So yep, you have hit it right on the nail with this video, in my opinion. I love your videos, even when I may not agree with them they give food for thought. Keep making them, please!
I totally agree with the well fed fish comments. Well fed, fat fish are healthy fish. I have run bio-pearls for a long time with zero nitrates, heavy feeding and an over stocked tank. :-( I switched them a couple of months ago for an algae scrubber which also gives me zero nitrates. I'm not sure which I prefer, though the algae scrubber costs a bit less to run I think.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
I used Bio-pelets on my main tank for around a year with zero nitrates and water changes done every 3 months or so. I changed it for an algae skimmer and moved the pellets to my frag system and both systems have zero nitrates. I never dosed with bacteria, and I honestly can't see the need for it as they breed without help. Seems like a waste of money to me, but if it works for you, great! Love your videos, keep it up!
Thanks for sharing most valuable tips that originate from your preventive and corrective actions.
Thank you, man ,for this video. I was hesitate to buy biopellets reactor and you helped me to get decision. Also my English is improved, I heard a dozen times your video to understand it. I am from Poland. One more time thank you for your time.
Good luck with your aquarium. Thanks for watching all the way from Poland! :)
Actually I am watching from California, here is my home now :)
great video I have also had my bacteria die off of the pellet reactor. I shut down the reactor for 2 days. bio pellets started turning red. I am so glad you shared that adding bacteria your tank is necessary. I'll be in San Diego in 3 weeks can't wait to hear you speak.
Awesome, see you there. :)
Outstanding Mark, looking forward to more videos. I have followed you for years and really enjoy your insight.
Best video about bio pellets ever is on lafishguys channel from reef dynamics. After watching that I feel it's a must to have a recirculating reactor and feed the effluent into the skimmer. I've yet to try it but I definitely plan to in the near future.
Marc, I always learn so much from the vids. Keep it up buddy. I really appreciate the effort you put into what you do for the hobby to educate and suggest based on real world experience. From a fellow Dallas reefer, might be able to say hi at Macna...once I win these tickets!!!
That's the spirit! And thanks.
Great info, I've been running pellets for years only issue has been keeping the pellets moving and not clumping. By the way I totally agree with your philosophy on fat fish. I've caused more issues trying to get sick fish out to a quarantine tank than just reducing their stress and keeping them well feed with a variety of foods. food,
I used to vodka dose, then moved to biopellets. I'm using an aquamaxx reactor and I love it. I started out with a small amount of pellets and worked my way up so I consistently have 2-5 ppm nitrates
Great video, thank you.. I'm a heavy feeder. I've been in this hobby now approaching a year next month.. Made a lot of mistakes, but finally slowed my role and forced myself to become very patient. I've had ich twice in less then a year both times missing most of my fish... When I added fish back to my system, I did it slow, and maxed myself out at 11 fish. My system is a 65gallon system with a 15 gallon sump. I feed larry's and prime flakes at least 4-5 times a day collectively. Fatty, meaty fish to me, are healthier fish, and will fight off diseases better. Fingers crossed so far so good, I've had fish back in my system now for 2months. My phosphates are high which I'm combat with Rx phosphate drops.. And instead of doing a round of drops I'm doing it daily. I started with 10 drops and increase everyday by adding one drop. My nitrate are also high but I'm doing 15gallon water changes weekly.. This maintenance schedule that I am referring to I started two weeks ago..
11 fish in a 65g tank, and you're changing 60g a month. Nitrates should be coming down. You probably know this, but even though you are putting in food 4x or 5x a day, you can put in smallish portions. Think of snacks versus dinner. At night I put in quite a bit of food, but during the daytime it's less fare.
Phosphates: Be sure to test your tank and find out the value. If the tank measures .5ppm, use 39 drops that night after lights out. The next day test again and it should read near zero. Phosphate Rx isn't designed as a daily regimen the way you described, adding another drop each day (10 today, 11 tomorrow, 12 the next, 13 after that...) If you can determine that perfect amount needed, I'd suggest you drip it in once a week. I *only* use it when my tank needs it, it's not a regular maintenance item in my daily/weekly routine. I dose about 5x a year, or every 10 weeks. When the test kit indicates I need to dose, that's when I dose. When it has removed PO4, I don't need to dose.
Sounds good.. I'm going to be doing my second 15g water change in two week.. I'm not at 60 yet, but will be in two more weeks.. And thank you for the advice on the Rx, I didn't think I was meant to be used be way I was utilizing it. I'm switching from ai sol's to hydra 52's not the hd's and I'm nervous lol, not to mention it's not to user friendly on the apex fusion app.
Question, I'm not sure if you know about green spotted mandarins, but here's my question.. I've had one know in my tank for two months.. I've seen him everyday since I've added him to the tank. It's going on two days know that I haven't seen him.. Is it normal for for the green spotted mandarin to hide for periods of time? Or should I been concern and assumed he died and start looking for him? And help would be appreciated, thanks again.. Glad you got your small flood taken care of.
While they can be shy, the only way to say for sure would be based on how it looked in recent weeks. If it looked thinner, it could have been starving. If it was fat, maybe it's just reclusive. Or it jumped. Or it was eaten. It's all guesswork at the moment. They do need lots of live rock (not dry rock that has begun to become live) to forage upon. Adding pods to your tank after lights out would be helpful. Here's my article: www.melevsreef.com/node/719
Thank you so much... I do have established live rock in the tank, and he did look skinner in the last few weeks. I don't think he jump, I have a canopy on my tank, but I guess anythings possible..
Awesome Info I have pellets and love using them
OMG...thank you so much for this particular video. I agree with you on all counts. I have been running biopellets for years and love them. I had some growth issues a few years back and everyone told me to remove the BP because there was "no way" it was caused by too much light. long story short...removing the BP was horrible and adding them back fixed so many issues...oh, and turns out I had too much light...lol. Also...i recently had my DAS EX1 skimmer die on me. my skimmer is external and the recirculating pump was too rare to find a replacement for. it was a step up for me years ago when I installed it...but I just replaced it with a new (brand new in the box) reef octopus and it's like I a whole new world for me. I thought I was skimming good before...i never knew that the tank could look so good. the biopellets are being skimmed properly and the water is better than ever, clearer, the fish are happier, the glass stays clean longer, the sand is turning white again...and the corals and frag tank are growing and look incredible. you are right about everything in this video...as usual. thanks again.
Thanks for sharing your experience as well. Sounds like things are going really well.
Excellent video! Good info. Firing up a Reef Dynamics reactor this week.
as always very informative video, Marc... and love your presentation..
Very informational, great video and great channel!
After all the equip maintenance, consumables u have to buy, NO POX dosing 1 x a day sounds waaaaay simpler.
I'm going to be trying that one next month. :)
Small update everyone: Yesterday I was cleaning off the top plate in the reactor and then thought to myself "what if I didn't install this top plate after all? The reactor is very tall, and the biopellets are at the bottom with plenty of water above them. They aren't going to float up and out, that's for sure." So for the time being, I'm going to run it without the plate. That should avoid the blockage that occurs over time.
I had the same thought.
I advice against that
in my case anyway, my reactor wasn't that big, and for some reason or the other when the level of water in my sump went down while I was away for 3 days, the pellets just got shoot out into the sump!!
I blame my reactor for that: :D
but hope it works with you, and if it did, I'll try a taller reactor, even my stand is very short! :/
ps: I like your channel, and the way you give information with ease and via experience with your own tank! :thmbsup: mate
So it siphoned them out? Crazy. I just checked on them last night, tumbling fine and probably 15" of water above them. My tubing goes into the bubble tower, so in theory it can't siphon down far enough because my tubing isn't underwater. I'll have to test that and see what happens, to check if you are right in my configuration. Thanks!
How has the reactor, without the top plate, worked thus far?
I just checked it last night, since it just runs on autopilot. I tested the nitrate level of the 400g + 60g since they both share the same sump and biopellet reactor. Nitrate measured 1 ppm with an Elos test kit, which I tested twice. When I looked in the reactor, it was essentially empty. Time to refill it with more media. :)
A shop!? You have a shop?! Omg! Def gonna check it out.
Great video and great information. Keep these excellent videos coming.
Love your videos! You talk about the real things that really happen in a reef! You make me know how easy is to mantain a good tank without dying in the attempt! Thnks!
It's not all shiny corals all the time. Real things happen that cause issues, and it's how you deal with them that determines the outcome. I try to never overreact, even when my brain is screaming OMG at me. :)
I'm using a large refugium with roller mat filter and still having big nitrate problems tired of the struggle and ready to give bio pellets a try... also bought a oversized skimmer that works great but still having trouble
your videos are the best, easily the best on the net banking long way
Thank you!
+melevsreef That's ok.
Check out my vids is you have time and give me some feedback please
I'll do that later today. :)
I agree.. TH-cam needs to give him an Award....
Why should they give him a award I don't understand that
Hi I might have missed the part that anaerobic bacteria will not collinise in the pellet reactor because of the amount of water flow containing oxygen the whole idea of the pellet is that its a carbon source for bacteria the anaerobic bacteria has to be all ready established in the aquarium in the pourus rocks and filter meadia
Great information!
Great video as always! I agree they work out great. Ive been using them for around 5 months now and they've been keeping my nitrates very low. My alk is around 9.5 though and never had any burn out tips on my acropora so far but will keep an eye on it though. Thanks for the tips and continue the great work!
Alkalinity may not be a factor after all. My water's alkalinity shot up out of control and it took months to bring it back to where I have it now and my corals didn't get burned either. Maybe it was light intensity as the water clarity improved.
Thanks for responding back! I forgot to ask you. Is it true that the biopellet reactor should be placed in a low light area? They say it affects the bacteria when it is exposed to light. I keep mine underneath my tank and I have to keep my door opened since my calcium reactor takes too much space. It makes something grow inside the calcium reactor only on the light side and it exposes my biopellet reactor to light also. I have a small setup (24 gallon display tank and a 20 gallon sump). Should i be concerned of the light issue in the long run?
I've never heard anything about light before, but you can create shade to block light from casting upon the reactor. Here's something I use: melevsreef.com/node/2000
I heard that in one of Bulkreefsupply.com's videos...the 50 weeks of reefing series. True or not? It's debatable I guess. Thanks Ill check out your link!
Another awesome video! Thanks Marc! I will definitely be running BP on my new tank with your info :-)
Not sure you still read all these, but I am thinking about running bio pellets to keep Nitrates and Phosphates in check. I realize bio pellets are more for nitrate, but I understand there is a decrease in phosphate as well. My question is where I put the outflow if I have an external, recirculating MRC skimmer that is fed from one of the two return pumps. If I put the outflow into the return chamber, some of that water will go back into the tank and some will go into the skimmer. Any guidance is appreciated.
*Cool, I'm not the only one winging it. This vid full of justification of anecdotal science is awesome!*
lol!
I don't understand why you had to keep adding nb7 each week. An established tank should have bacteria in it and the pellets will self seed in a week or so. Once the bacteria is on the pellets they will grow on their own and not die. Why keep adding bacteria each week?
I have a 330 gallon + Reef Dynamics 500e reactor. I never added anything to it but pellets.
Also what is the best flow through the reactor?
Reef dynamics can change the outflow and pullet tumbling independently. I bet the output is like 60 gallon/hour and 300gph is used just to recirculate and move the pellets. Other reactors have the flow that moves the pellets best but the outflow may be too fast (300 gph not 60 gph)
I thought I read some place the outflow should be under 100 for the pellets to work best.
Any thoughts?
Great video....I just started using bio pellets I'm on week 3... Ugh... I did notice my water looks pretty darn clear of late lol..since starting the reactor I've had to retune my skimmer..but hope this helps my nitrates..
this was really helpfull!! i am starting to set up my 70g cube tank... i want it to be sps dominated.... thnx for this info
put all that stuff in the bin go with natual sea water from a clean sourse 25 years in to useing it never had any problems with fish or corals no chemicals i do a 10% water change once a week
where i am in the United kingdom comes in at 1.024 at 23c - 24c great video i all so feed my fish a lot and still keep a crystal glass like water.
i really like this format!
very education video . thanks a lot
Question : If my nitrates get too low for my liking, like I want to keep them around 10 and it gets 0 or there about, then what to do, completely take out the reactor ? or take out 70-80% of media and let 20-30% inside ? and the pellets that are taken out, can they be reused if they are dried out after taking out or better use new media ?
Sorry if you mentioned this in your video and I missed it, but how much flow is necessary for biopellets?
Mark, Do you have to cycle biopellets in a separate bucket or can you just cycle it directly on the display tank?
They aren't cycled at all; this isn't the A-N-N thing. Just get them tied into the system, and add bacteria weekly to populate them and in about four weeks they will begin to kick in. I explained the process in the video. :)
What do you think is better Bio Pellets or Sulfur reactor? All your info made me a success at fish keeping!
Excellent video.I started BioPellets 4 months ago.....Although I have only had the "proper" tumble for a month.My effluent from the BP reactor is throwing off a BP"goo".So I plumbed it right into the secondary input of my Life Reef Skimmer.(It is half way up the body and provides a counter-current skimming action.)
Do you see any adverse pump deterioration on your skimmer pump because of the BP goo going into it?
Why did the overabundance of beneficial bacteria make your coral turn from green to brown? And why would stopping the bio pellets make it turn back to green?
It was the overabundance of bacteria for sure. Getting it back to its normal volume allowed the coral to recover.
Wow, really digging the regular updates to the channel.
Out of curiosity is there a reason why your reactors wall are blue? Is it trying to filter out that wavelength of light? Or just a "snazzy look" thing? I ask because you say if the pellets turn grey remove them, but I'm curious how you can tell they're grey through that.
That brand always used blue tubing. And if the pellets look normal (you see that near the end of the video), you would immediately tell if they were like the dead ones I shared earlier in the video. The mass will be clumpy, gooey, and even through the blue wall would look wrong. A clear reactor would show it better, obviously. If the flow stopped in the reactor for at least a day, I'd collect a sample of the output water in a cup and give it the sniff test. If it smells sour, it's ruined.
Question: How do you attach or position the outflow tube so that the effluent all goes into the skimmer?
Hey Mel, I know it’s old video, but since you’ve mentioned skimmers at the end of the video, I would like to ask how do you feel about ATB skimmers ?
Keep on doing what you doing :) love your channel
i've been running BP for 3 years on 300g SPS system. had initial problems getting them to 'kick in'; ultimately required i modify the reactor (RD 500 - r.dynamics' largest) to allow for increased flow rate as well as cutting back on UV. went from 100ppm too now at undetectable NO3 and run GFO as needed to keep PO4 under.06ppm. problems i've had mostly due to biofilm sludge caking reactor plumbing (like snot) requiring weekly break down to clean reactor (nasty). either due to hvy bioload, BP breaking down too rapidly, or insufficient flow through reactor. i've been running increased flow through lately (same volume of media) and keep on feeding.
Thanks for sharing your personal experience, Greg.
what is your current Flow Through rate on BP reactor (measuring say ml/min on reactor effluent)?
I couldn't say but I'd guess it's probably close to 500gph.
I've been running my bio pellets for over 8 weeks and I haven't seen any change in nitrate levels. Not sure what could be going on. The only way I can get nitrates down is water changes.
Is that working in freshwater tank? I setup Aquamaxx reactor 10 days ago, currently at 50% biopellets capacity and my nitrates are not going down a bit, they're creeping up as before reactor was installed. I understand it may take few wks to kick in but then why dosing 25% a week when forst dose make no difference. What am I missing?
I don’t know if these would work in freshwater. Mine are in a saltwater reef setup.
I do believe in feeding fish in adequate amount, rather than under feeding them. As far as a fat fish being healthy, Maybe I really don't know. But when it comes to dogs, I can tell you a fat dog is not a healthy dog. Anyways thank you for the informative video. I aways enjoy your videos.
Melev is bacteria addition to the tank absolutely necessary for the biopellet reactor to work in reducing nitrates? and if so is there any benefit of using probidio instead of microbacter 7? Thanks
Yes, I feel it is very important to dose some type of bacteria regularly. Primarily, because the majority of people that told me it didn't work never dosed any (or they quit too soon expecting faster results). I've been using them with bacteria for years and not once did it not work - heck I have a video where it worked way too well. hehe
Prodibio has a line of products that include additional elements to replenish what your reef has consumed. And it's dosed every 15 days, which seems pretty easy to remember.
Quick question....when you fill up a brand new tank....everything is new....would you fill up with tap water and treat is as you go along and then add and mix salt...or do you start straight from RODI water?
I would fill the tank up with saltwater (mixed up using RO/DI). There's never a good reason to use tap water. I know it takes longer, but this is a hobby about patience. :)
I was thinking about building a tube that will direct feed into my skimmer from the bio pellet reactor...Do you think that is unnecessary or perfect? My only concern is finding a way the the skimmer can still pull from tge sump and receive from the media reactor.
since i use biopellets goe with a T in my skimmer. My skimmer goes verry slow and the neck is dark brown/black glogging verry fast (+/- 2 days) that is so dry must i get a bigger skimmer(deltec SCC 1660 or SCC 2061) ive got the tunze doc 9410 500liter(+/-100G) aquarium
I just relocated from another state so everything is new and I have not set it up. I have my rocks recycling in tubs. Thanks for your quick response by the way I love your videos and you have a lot of knowledge. Is there another reactor I should get? I have the calcium. I was looking at algea reactors. I still have my old skimmer ATI BUBBLE Master 250, but I will not be able to get the waste holder or neck cleaners or can I? My tank was moved from Texas and than Washington and each time It was set up for me; but now I'm into the DIY lol so I'm seeking a lot of advice. Ohh I now have the rollermat vs the socks and I'm redoing my lights with the maxspect ethereal. I'm also rebuilding the stand and canopy. HELP LOL SMH. I do love it!!!
SO many changes! lol I like a reactor for biopellets, for carbon, and a calcium reactor. You can get the Skimmer Swabbie and waste collector from Avast Marine. Gotta run...
Thanks so much!!! so I will get a carbon reactor. I didn't have one previously. Thanks again
Yes upgrading everything all at once. I say I will be done in like 10 years lmao!!! lol. I like the NYOS you have. But I'm redoing my stand and canopy in popular wood with all the fancy gadgets and carvings. So I'll do NYOS at a much later date. Take care and thanks again for the info.
Been running pellets for 6 months and they haven't done a thing but I haven't been dosing bacterial. I was under the assumption it just took a little longer to start.
Make sure they are tumbling, that the top plate isn't clogged, and dose bacteria weekly. What is the current nitrate level in your tank? Besides measureable lower nitrate, you should see a gradual depletion of pellets over time. If they are the exact same as when you set them up, they've done nothing.
The nitrates are sitting at 8 with the red sea kit. They are tumbling good no clogs plus its a recirculating reactor I was under the assumption that I didn't have to dose bacteria it would just take longer to populate now seeing that hasn't work I try dosing.
@melev'sreef mate love your channel, all your videos are very informative and easy to understand without getting into the technical jargon too much .. im just curious is it essential to dose MB7 every 5-7 days when running biopellets .. and could you possibly give me a link to help me understand the purpose of this dosing and it benefits .. keep up the excellent work mate.
Did you happen to see the links in the video's description area? I put a few in there to give you some additional reading info.
Hi Marc, great vid as always. I am currently running the Prodibio regimen (Digest, pTim, Stronti, Iodi, Vits, and RB) and looking to fire up a BP reactor in the next week or so when my upgraded return pump arrives (to run off a manifold). My question is do you need to continue dosing the Bioptim with biopellets? The BPs are now the food source for the bacteria correct? Thanks!
I run Bioptim and Biodigest like normal. Since they work hand in hand, I never even considered stopping one or the other.
Hi mel, Have you thought of running AIO instead of this normal bio pellets only? Why and why not?
+Bosco C I haven't seen the need. The AIO pellets might grind the gfo right off and send fines into the display, perhaps. These work great for nitrate control.
I have an external skimmer. Can the output of the bio-pellet reactor be hard plumbed to my skimmer intake?
I don’t believe so.
I was using pellets and I started slow and then I added more and I noticed that my skimmer was coming alive and that I was having dry skimmate coming out of the holes of the skimmer cup. All was good until I noticed that Purple Tang looked like it was getting hole in the head and Hillea, my clowns also looked like it was getting a white spot over the mouth. So I pulled them.
So my question is Can bio pellets cause Hillea?
Mark was wondering if a 10 micron filter sock would filter out the waste of a bio pellet reactor? I know it's recommend to route the out put of the reactor to the input of the skimmer however the pellets can cause more skimmer maintenance, so my thought is have the sock catch most of the gunk then the skimmer takes care of the rest
You could definitely give that a try.
What is your opinion about zeovit system? are bio-pellets comparable to the Zeovit low nutrient system?
Zeovit is entirely different. It uses a series of different additives and zeo rocks in a mulm reactor. Be sure to google that topic to get very familiar with it. I think their website is zeovit.com
Thank you for your videos.
I haven't done a water change in over 10 months, I use a super reef octopus 5000 , a 50gallon remote refugium with 60 pounds of miracle mud and also an algea scrubber in my 210. Lol. I also have a lot of tangs. :)
What's your favorite tang?
can this be used in a freshwater aquarium containing african cichlids...i have a hard time keeping nitrates low...i am literally reaching my breaking point
I don't know, but I think not.
Another great video Marc. Am I correct in saying that you do not use any GFO/Phosphate media and just use phosphate RX when required. I'm looking at implementing the same idea on my new 6ft long/shallow. Thanks man
Yes, that is correct. I haven't used GFO in a decade.
Hi Melev, i am new to your channel, also for the reef tanks, just wanted to say that i enjoyed your rich video, and actually benefit a lot, specially that since day one a year ago after cycling my new tank my nitrates are always on the high side, so finally i decided to use Bio Pellets reactor, and its running for one week, so far nothing changed with parameters, i guess i need to wait 4 weeks as you advised in your video to break in, is that right ?
And make sure you are dosing bacteria on a regular basis too.
I'm with you on feeding the fish lots! They get half a sheet of Nori, a bit of pellets via an auto feeder and some frozen at night!
Now why do you like bio-pellets over vodka? is there any big advantage? you mentioned you switch a while back so i'm curious why one over the other?
Biopellets are around the clock, and technically you can't overdose them like you could if all the vodka was pumped into the tank accidentally. They work amazingly well. Have you watched this biopellet video yet? Or did you skip over the parts where I explained why they are awesome? ;)
I tested my nitrate today twice with an Elos test kit, and both times the results were 1ppm. That's pretty cool considering there are nearly 60 fish in this system.
Oh i heard they are awesome, this is why i'm so curious! So far I have only tried vodka dosing but quiet due to some issue with my yellow tang that i suspect happening form overdosing vodka. I had a DOS setup to evenly dose the vodka throughout the 24 hour period so it was essentially 24/7 at time. I was debating starting it up again in the near future
I still can't tell if you actually sat through the entire video yet or not. But if you feel vodka dosing works well for you, you don't need to switch. For me, biopellets was a nicer choice in comparison since I was using a digital timer and an Aqualifter to dose vodka. That was kinda sketchy compared to running a DŌS pump.
Of course i watched it all! The only reason i quit doing vodka dosing is my yellow tang had yellow blotchy discolorations a few weeks into vodka dosing.. i quit and he cleared up after a few weeks. I read this can happen form overdoing/overdosing your carbon source.. If i start back up I will take it much much slower.. Vodka to me seemed simpler since I already had a doser (and wouldn't need to buy another reactor).. however i was still curious on if there is any real difference or just another way to accomplish the same task.
I recently added a chaeto to the tank with a 90W led.. Its been growing insanely fast - So the current plan is to let it go for a month then see how my levels are..then decided if i should try carbon dosing again or not.
Of course I watched it all! If you were doing it with a timer/aqualifter vs a doser than that makes sense. I was dosing vodka for about 6 weeks until my yellow tang developed some orange blotches.. i read this was caused from overdoing carbon dosing and quiet dosing... the tang cleared up over a few weeks and went back to normal... i have been debating trying carbon dosing again but at a much lower/slower rate
For now I added some chaeto and a 90W led to the sump (Amazing chaeto growth!) so i'm curious to see how that affects my nitrate levels after a few weeks.. ill likely give it a month then re-test and decided if its still worth carbon dosing. My previous nitrate levels were in the range of "16-32" .. which isnt terrible but a bit lower would be nice.
For me Vodka seemed more convenient ($20 bottle and an existing dosing head) Vs buying biopellets and a new reactor.. so i was mainly curious if there was any real/main difference in vodka vs biopellets or they are just 2 different methods of doing the exact same thing.
How do you feel about recirculated bio pellet reactors. Where you can control the output and the the tumble? Is it worth it.
I've heard about them, I've seen a couple, but I've never used one and thus don't have any input one way or another. Single-pass reactors have worked well for me.
I am looking into starting a tank, you make it sound like all of the equipment you show is absolutely necessary. Well I don't have room for a sump, would be nice but not going to happen. So am I out of luck on success?
Not necessarily. The equipment I use makes the hobby easier for me, but you can keep it very simple and focus on water changes and have a very nice aquarium too. The more stable your water parameters, the better your success rate.
Hi, I just installed an all in one biopellets today but I didn’t dose bacteria. Actually I accidentally bought Microbacter start XML. Will that work?
I think you need to buy some Microbacter 7.
Is dosing NoPox carbon dosing? I dose 2 mills every couple of days for phosphate control and it really helps. 60 gal 15 corals mixed. i dose Cal. and Alk daily but i cannot keep Alk over 7 is it because of the NoPox dosing you think?
i bought the reef octopus bio-churn biopellet recirculating reactor 120 for my 300 gallon reef tank. I also purchased the Skimz Monzter NM152 External Nitrate Reactor did I over do it since both lower or eliminates Nitrates?
I would use one or the other, not both. What is your current nitrate level?
But does it accomplish the same objective as the biopellets?
No. It's goal is ULNS levels in the tank, and results in pastel-colored corals (at least historically). I've known a few users of that system. You had to stick to a very specific routine daily, and it was rather expensive. Biopellets are for nitrate reduction.
Mine never smelled after not moving , u know after top plate got clogged, I still dose prodibio, but my nitrates are 12-16 ppm, can't get them down, I use to keep Dkh around 8, but now 9-10 with better growth, my local lfs runs pellets with dkh 11-12!! No burnt ends either... I think every tank is unique,do what's works!!
It would be really nice if we had a hard fast rule of absolutes. Everyone has a different method that works for them. That's hard on those with experience, imagine being a newbie trying to sort out all these opinions we offer.
what size biopellet reactor would I need on a 32 gallon tanks
A very small one could work. I saw that Two Little Fishies just released a tiny version of their Phosban Reactor, and named it Little Reactor.
Hi Mark, great video. I am currently running the a biopellet reactor (about 6 months now) in my red sea reefer 250, but I have not dosed bacteria (Prodibio or Microbacter). My nitrates are at 20 and phosphates are at .32. Do you think I should start dosing Prodibio in conjunction with the biopellets and get a better result? Should I dose Phosphate Rx to lower phosphates as well? In addition, I'm also running a Clearwater Algae Scrubber that I clean out every 2 weeks or so. Thanks for all your informational videos. Very helpful.
an you use the in a freshwater tank and how much will I use each month iv a 247 litter tank how much does it cost
Unless there is a product that can completely eliminate water changes, might as well just do water changes only for nitrate reduction. Just my opinion.
Triton does just that. And yes, water changes are good. This is just a method to help control and/or reduce nitrate between those water changes.
one question. how is the pistol shrimp? would like an update on it please.
I haven't seen the pair in weeks, but occasionally late at night I'll hear snapping, so perhaps it is alive and simply hidden deep under the rockwork. It's impossible to get food to it and the goby though since I don't know where they are.
+melevsreef thats a shame that you can not view them. i would like to get a pair but they cost $450 here in Australia just too much
That's crazy expensive! I think they'd be best in a Pico reef, where you are assured to see them.
Hi, I have biopellets running about 1 month now. But I have not started adding the bacteria. My alkalinity is at around 13 dKH. I lowered the dosing of Alkalinity and I'm also doing a water change saturday to lower it. Do you have any other recommendation? Oh, my calcium is at 470. Thanks!
All my recommendations are in this video. Alkalinity is too high though, I'd bring that to 9dKH, dose bacteria regularly, and lower calcium to 425ppm.
Thanks!
Thanks for the video. I'm going to try Biopellets again. I tried to make my own reactor reusing a two little fishies reactor. I have a 180 Gallon tank.What size/brand reactor do you recommend?
AquaMaxx makes a decent biopellet reactor, and you'll want one that can hold about 500ml worth of media for a 180g tank. MarineDepot.com sells it.
In my experience with bio pellets I found them to be problematic. I used them in conjunction with MB7 and I don't know if i wasntt dosing MB7 enough because I had this really white stringy bacterial bloom a few times. My corals didnt seem to be bothered by it but it was like a hair algae almost in texture only clear/white that grew all over the suface of the rock and glass in the tank. So not sure what the bacteria was but it seemed to be out competing the MB7 so I pulledthe pellets out and went to ZEO. This was back in like 2009 or 2010. I looked up your video cause I am starting to hear about some of new bio pellets which are black that also remove phosphate. I guess the assumption is there is GFO mixed in.
There are some All-In-One brands of biopellets. However, as they tumble and grind, I'm wondering if the GFO fines would get into the system. If they are exporting the effluent toward the skimmer's intake, that would help.
You did have a bacterial bloom going on. That's not typical though with biopellets, but I've seen it occur in some tanks. Usually they had to really get proactive or even setup the tank all over again to get rid of that stuff.
The reactor i used seemed to work pretty decent. . I always had the exit pointed right at the skimmer intake. Its been basically a decade now so much more is known. My last complaint would be the reactors. I don't think anyone is making a reactor that works perfect for pellets. I would have thought by now one of these skimmer companys would have came up with a reactor specifically made for pellets where they are forced into the skimmer like a ozone port or something along that line. The only company I see making a solid Pellet reactor is JNS. Id love it if you could get one and review it for me before I buy it lol
do I need to add bacterial additives or just let it populate and keep replinished
Yes, you need to add more on a regular basis as discussed in the video.
sorry to be picking your brain but what do you think of a moving bed filter in a sump refugium setup?
Can you explain in more detail what you mean? A moving bed filter?
using K1 media....
Sorry, that doesn't sound familiar to me.
Great video!
Nice avatar. :)
HI Great video, when using pellets is it best run run a wet or dry skim ?
Just wondering your opinion on sulphur denitrators and why they aren't more popular with the research I've done they seem to be the best option out there media last a few years once it's set up you just leave it and you don't need a skimmer to use one and no malm. Costly up front but cheaper than bio pellets long term.
As I mentioned, I have one here that I was about to install but the biopellets did their job so well I didn't have to set it up. I've known about them for many years, but never used one. In the reading I've done, the key is constant flow (even in a power outage, or the stuff within dies), and make sure the drip rate is steady. Do you have additional advice for anyone considering one?
+melevsreef I don't actually have one yet but I will be purchasing a korallin in the next few weeks. So no experience with one but I've had a hard time finding reefers who use them but the ones who do swear by them and from the research Ive done they sound like a no brainer. But none of you mainstream TH-cam reefers use them or make videos about them it's all about bio pellets and vodka/sugar dosing.
I wonder why that is, honestly. I know one successful reefer that loves his denitrator. Maybe I can come up with something for TH-cam with him.
+melevsreef that would awesome for the reefing community.
so those people with so-so skimmers that want to run biopellets, would u recomend a small dose? 50% of normal?
That's a good idea. And maybe see if there are any tweaks for that particular skimmer to make it more efficient. Be sure to clean the cup and neck of the skimmer frequently as well, so it isn't hindered with build up within. Anything you can do to get the most out of your skimmer is a good goal.
Do you still use the bio pellets? Do you recommend them to everyone? What are your nitrates at now? Ive heard 0 nitrates is bad.
+Hamza Razak Yes, I still run them. Last test was 3ppm NO3.
How have you managed to keep nitrates at 3ppm with a bio pellet reactor? I heard that its really hard to do. Please give me some advice as I'm thinking about adding one to my tank.
All my advice is in the video, that's why I filmed it. :)
Hey Melev love the vidoes tried pellets/pearls before never had much success but im going to do with with microbacter 7 this time and see if that helps. Can i ask can you run carbon with pearls. I have removed rowaphos and turned of my uv also, Thanks
Not in the same reactor. Put the carbon in a different reactor since it won't last nearly as long and needs to be changed out / removed.
melevsreef Ohh yes they are in different reactors. Never had success with bio pellets before and my MB7 arrived 10 mins ago woohoo lol hoping they will start working now. Will keep you updated.
how long would you say is typical to start seeing results? you said about 4 weeks correct? when you had the nitrate issue last and you said your nitrates were off the charts, did you do any water changes as well?
I am dealing with nitrates around 60. nopox dosing didn't work for me since I was to inconsistent with it. should I just wait it out and wait for my nitrates to drop? I'm running about 200ml of pellets and the effluent from the reactor is dumping right in front of the intake of my SRO 3000int skimmer.
No, I said it would be four weeks for them to get settled in. You probably will see results around 7-8 weeks. When my nitrates were 180ppm, I did about 800g in water changes and got them down to 20ppm. Then over the next few weeks they rose back up to 50ppm. (I'd not done another water change after changing the initial 800g, and explained why in the video.) Around that time the biopellets got established, and began to consume the NO3 from the water, and took them all the way down to 1ppm like you saw in the video.
You should be dosing bacteria weekly as described. Honestly, I'd suggest rewatching the video once more. :)
+melevsreef I watched it like twice, lol. Maybe my 1 year old was running amok when you went over that. So once you started noticing a downswing in NO3 it took about 5 months to get it down to 1 with no water changes, correct?
I'm dosing MB7 since it was available locally. Might switch over to prodibio once I finish it up. the 2 week intervals seem easier.
It didn't take five months to come down, but I haven't done a water change in 5 months and my results was 1ppm. It was under 5ppm for quite a while (using my API test kit). Mb7 should work fine. Just be patient, and test weekly. Or do a 50% water change now to cut them in half so the livestock isn't affected --- but mine seemed blind the the fact NO3 had shot up so high. That's why I didn't believe my test kit at first, but the second (new) kit measured the same, and brand new water measured 0. Hence, the kits were fine and my water wasn't where I wanted it.
I think around 8 weeks you should see improvement. The answer is arbitrary because we all tend to our reef differently. I feed more, but have a great skimmer... the point of this video was to show how well biopellets work. Had I done water changes monthly, some might say the water changes did the work.
+melevsreef thanks for your reply. I guess my confusion came from the fact that around the 10-minute mark on your video after your big water changes, you said a little bit after that your nitrates rose to about 50 or 60 but you didn't really worry about it because you put the pellets online and let them do their thing. Then around the 12 minute mark after your trip and the clogging issues your tested again and the NO3 was around 1. So I figured it took that amount of time (5 months) to get them down there. What I'm understanding now is that they went down quicker and stayed down around 5 for some time? do you remember roughly how quickly the NO3 was dropping once they pellets got going? Basically my question is how long did it take for them to drop from around 50 when you put the pellets online again to 5.
+melevsreef thanks for your reply. I guess my confusion came from the fact that around the 10-minute mark on your video after your big water changes, you said a little bit after that your nitrates rose to about 50 or 60 but you didn't really worry about it because you put the pellets online and let them do their thing. Then around the 12 minute mark after your trip and the clogging issues your tested again and the NO3 was around 1. So I figured it took that amount of time (5 months) to get them down there. What I'm understanding now is that they went down quicker and stayed down around 5 for some time? do you remember roughly how quickly the NO3 was dropping once they pellets got going? Basically my question is how long did it take for them to drop from around 50 when you put the pellets online again to 5.
Do you like vertex? I have a vertex Alpha 200.
+Jonathan Huse Its a good looking reactor.
Did you make that reactor? If not what brand do you recommend?
No, this is a Nextreef SMR reactor. You could purchase one by AquaMaxx that would work equally well.
so does this increase the bioload per-se?
No, it increases the biological filtration to help consume nitrate (primarily) and phosphate (somewhat) more readily.
Still doing biopellets?
Hi Marc, I bought the bubble Magnus biopellet reactor (only this or the octopus reactor is available where I am in Canada) and it is spinning the biopellets like a tornado instead of lightly tumbling them. I followed the instructions and took out the sponges. Is it ok to have it that fast instead of tumbling? I haven't seen my biopellets go down but I just learned in your video I need to add bacteria which I'll do now!
Yes, it seems that higher flow isn't detrimental to their efficacy. Let me know how it works for you.
Thanks Marc! It's been 2.5 weeks of it continuesly running. I had my doubts but nitrates went from 20 to 10 so far. I did do one water change of 20%. It could be that the change was from the new water not the pellets. Time will tell lol. Thanks a bunch!
Marc, should the output of my biopellet reactor be plumbed directly in to my protein skimmer? Thanks in advance.
Plumb it right in front of the intake of your skimmer.
Thanks
can you use bio pellets at the end of your reef cycle. or wen is the best time to start
I wouldn't use them until you have nitrates you want to remove.
@@melevsreef thanks
Hey Marc,
I just set up my bio pellet reactor couple days ago. The water is fed through one of the manifolds from my return pump, and the output from my bio pellet reactor is just by the intake of my return. I know bio pellets and skimmers goes hand in hand, like you explain in the video. But, what's the idea behind having your bio pellet output tube by the intake of the skimmer? .. Or am i thinking too much into this and it really doesn't matter too much haha
The output of the biopellet reactor should be flowing toward the intake of your skimmer. The stuff coming out is what I export immediately, and ultimately what benefitted my reef when I had a problem (mentioned in both videos). I wouldn't have the effluent going to the return pump.
+melevsreef oh okay that makes more sense. I biopellet output tube by the intake of my skimmer. thanks marc