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View Full Version : Bio pellet question regarding unwanted bacterial film (mulm)


Douglas
03-09-2016, 12:23 PM
I'm running Bio pellets in one reactor, GFO in another, and Carbon in a third. All in my sump. The Bio pellets seem to be dissolving, and coating all other reactors, skimmer pump, and return pump, in white gummy coating, requiring cleaning, and changing of media, every few weeks. is this Normal?

Myka
03-09-2016, 02:22 PM
Put your the outfeed from the biopellet reactor into the input for the skimmer. How much flow is in your biopellet reactor and what type of reactor? How much biopellets? How big is the tank? What are your test results for NO3 and PO4?

kien
03-09-2016, 02:26 PM
I'm running Bio pellets in one reactor, GFO in another, and Carbon in a third. All in my sump. The Bio pellets seem to be dissolving, and coating all other reactors, skimmer pump, and return pump, in white gummy coating, requiring cleaning, and changing of media, every few weeks. is this Normal?

That's normal if you have an over abundance of bacteria waste, also known as mulm. :biggrin: However, this isn't normal to have over an extended period of time. This can result if you have an explosion of bacteria growth and consumption. Is the output of your bioPellets pointed at the inlet to your skimmer? This can greatly reduce mulm build up in the rest of your system as it will get skimmed out.

Also, mulm is something that can tend to just go away over time as the system balances out.

riceboy
03-09-2016, 03:24 PM
That is normal, and like the others are saying you should have the outlet pointing directly at the skimmer. how fast are they dissolving?

Douglas
03-09-2016, 05:48 PM
Yes the outlet of my reactor is directed into the input of my skimmer. Its a Two Little fishes 150, powered by a maxi jet 1200. I would say the bio pellets are dissolving and a slow rate, with a mild tumbling rate. About a cup of pellets in the reactor.

But it clogging my other two reactors, pretty quickly, is my main issue.
Just wondering what can be done to prevent this from happening.

72 gal display
.02 po4
no readable No3.

kien
03-09-2016, 08:12 PM
how long have you been running the pellets now? If not for very long then maybe the systems still needs to balance out. In the meantime you have to manually clean/extra mulm. Or, if you've been running pellets for a while now, maybe your skimmer is undersized for the tank+bioPellet combo.