N/P Reducing Pellets ("Solid Vodka") - "Wow" ... 3 month update

[Delphinus]

I am starting a review thread for the new pellet product people are referring to as "solid vodka dosing".

For more background info, check out this thread in the Oceanic Corals vendor forum here: http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=58523

Some background: I'm trying these pellets on a mixed reef with a high fish load that I feed heavily (Further details at the bottom of this post). Between the addition of a pair of butterflies who get fed frozen mysis daily, and a pygmy eel this fall who has a voracious appetite, I have been noticing nitrates start to climb as high as 30. So I was very interested in this product when it became available.

So why a combination of these pellets with zeovit and not just one or the other? To be honest, I'm not sure. I just wanted to try it. For one, I had been meaning to consider going back on zeovit anyhow - one thing that always impresses me with zeovit tanks is just how clear the water is.

I am certain that these N/P Reducing Pellets would be more than adequate on their own for nitrate and phosphate reduction, I'm just hoping that the combination of zeolites and N/P pellets in the reactor will be an aggressive nutrient reduction system so to allow me to continue the feeding schedules I've established with the tank residents.

So, what's a thread without pictures. This maybe has nothing to do with the product being reviewed, but on the other hand, if an experiment isn't reproducible, then it's not science. So without further ado, here is the reactor I am using:

The exterior shell:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/delphinus_photos/Zeovit%20and%20NP%20Reducing%20Pellets/P1010001.jpg

The inner chamber, with zeolites but before adding the N/P pellets:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/delphinus_photos/Zeovit%20and%20NP%20Reducing%20Pellets/P1010002.jpg

I meant to buy 5.5" diameter acrylic but was sold 5" by mistake, so I had to add the top flange to keep the inner chamber from wiggling side-to-side excessively.

The original version of this reactor had the water flow over the top edge, I added a PVC elbow for the output and ground down the inside so the inside chamber could still "pump":

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/delphinus_photos/Zeovit%20and%20NP%20Reducing%20Pellets/P1010005.jpg

I also constructed an intake manifold for the feed powerhead so that dosing is introduced directly to the reactor (not shown is the standpipe that fits into the "T" piece, the standpipe is where the zeovit additives get dropped):
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/delphinus_photos/Zeovit%20and%20NP%20Reducing%20Pellets/P1010006.jpg


Detailed tank information follows:
- 115g cube tank (30x30x30)
- Approx 80 lbs live rock arranged in a bommie, or "rock island" style aquascape
- 1" sandbed (about a 4" wide strip surrounding the bommie)
- no refugium (previously was running chaeto in a small aquaclear lit by 2x9w PC; but this is now offline, the chaeto was the first algal casualty to the pellets)
- 2 part autodosing for Ca and Alk, Mg dosed manually
- Skimmer: Precision Marine "Bullet 1" beckett
- Light: single 250w DE on 12 hour photoperiod

Fish inhabitants (currently 15):
- Tangs: Zebrasoma desjardini (Red Sea sailfin), Acanthurus tennentii (lieutenant), A. nigrofuscus (lavender)
- Rabbit: Siganus doliatus (penciled)
- Angels: Centropyge potters (potters), M/F pair Genicanthus bellus (bellus)
- Butterflies: pair Chaetodon ulietensis (doublesaddle or false falcula)
- Wrasse: Halichoeres chrysus (canary)
- Dottyback: Psuedochromis fridmani (orchid)
- Eel: Gymnothorax melatremus (golden dwarf moray)
- Trigger: Xanthicthys mento (crosshatch)
- Chromis: Chromis viridis (green)
- Blenny: Cirripectes stigmaticus (ember or scarface)

Other inhabitants:
- Various tridacnids (T. derasa, T. crocea, T. squamosa)
- Various ps gorgonians
- Various zoanthids
- E. quadricolor (rose BTA)

Currently no SPS or LPS (would be butterfly food).


More info to come...

[Delphinus]

So the pellets arrived December 23, here's a gratuitous picture of them in the bag:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/delphinus_photos/Zeovit%20and%20NP%20Reducing%20Pellets/P1010009.jpg

I think they look like white lentils. :lol:

For a 115g tank, I am running 1/2 litre zeolites, and 1/2 litre of pellets. Both of these are half the recommended dosage for this approximate volume.

Now, the results:
I put the pellets and zeolites reactor online on December 24, after a 25% water change and replacement of carbon.

I am measuring nitrate with a Pinpoint NO3 monitor and I recalibrate the probe prior to each use, currently on the high range setting (10 to 100ppm).

Day 0 (following the water change): NO3 = 17ppm


Today is day 4, and I took another nitrate test.

Day 4: NO3 = 14ppm

So, 4 days in and already appears to be a slight reduction of nitrate.

I will continue to post back results every few days.

[Delphinus]

For what it's worth, one potential "con" to running the pellets in the manner I have chosen is this.

The pellets are porous (as they intended to be). This means when dry they will float. The zeovit reactor I am using has a check valve but it failed after 2 days (possibly due to a pellet lodged in it, I haven't yet had a chance to investigate the reason).

I was initially running the reactor on a 3 hours on / 3 hours off cycle (as per zeovit prescriptions). However with the failed check valve, the water level would drop back down to sump level which is approximately 1/4" lower than the top of the pellets, so 1/4" of the pellets would dry out during the "off" cycles. These would float up to the top of the reactor at the start of the next "on" cycle and ended up in the sump, some of which ended up getting sucked up into the sump return pump and spat into the display tank.

I'm not worried about the pellets in the main tank, they will eventually dissolve, but it's disappointing that there is a non-zero percentage of pellets are not in the reactor as was intended.

The pellets are also small enough to fit through the holes of the reactor and fall through to the outside chamber when the inside chamber is "pumped."

So there is a case to be made to suggest running these pellets in a separate reactor with a strainer on the output, such as a Phosban reactor.

[StirCrazy]

Hey Tony, how are you explaining the reduction happening so fast when the manufacture says it will take two weeks for the bacteria to build up on the pellents and start giving you a noticable reduction?

Steve

[don.ald]

i understand you want the NP to tumble, but just a thought: could you put the NP loosly in a media sack and agitate them with the daily cleaning of the zeolites? since you are using both zeo and NP would this maybe be enough?
:idea:

[Tom R]

With Zeovit you have to change out the rocks every 8 to 12 weeks. Are you going to also change out the N/P Pellets at that time?

Tom R

[Delphinus]

Hey Tony, how are you explaining the reduction happening so fast when the manufacture says it will take two weeks for the bacteria to build up on the pellents and start giving you a noticable reduction?

Steve

It's just a guess on my part but I was sort of hoping that with the combination of zeo and these, that the addition of the bacteria to the reactor would explain this.

It does mean that I don't know if it's the zeo or the pellets responsible or if it's both. I don't have a way to quantify how much reduction is attributable to either.

i understand you want the NP to tumble, but just a thought: could you put the NP loosly in a media sack and agitate them with the daily cleaning of the zeolites? since you are using both zeo and NP would this maybe be enough?
:idea:

Maybe. One thing the pellets are good for is sloughing off a bacterial film which the manufacturer claims is good coral food. A sponge on the output or a filter sock would impede this, or possibly get clogged.

Zeovit also makes this claim.

I have noticed that when I agitated the reactor that more of this film is released than when I was running zeovit before on its own. So there seems to be some truth to this aspect. Whether it's as good as they say it is for corals though, ... too early for me to speculate on. :)

Having mixed the two together though ... I do have a problem down the road when it comes time to replace zeolites. The pellets don't stay put as a layer on top, the agitation fully homogenizes the mix so I'll be picking out zeolites one pebble at a time when the time comes. We'll see how much I hate that. Putting a sponge in the chamber to separate the two substrates seems defeating. So I still wonder if in the long run these are better off in their own reactor, or passive in a high flow area in the sump in a loose filter bag. But we'll see how it goes.

With Zeovit you have to change out the rocks every 8 to 12 weeks. Are you going to also change out the N/P Pellets at that time?

Tom R

The manufacturer claims no need to replace the pellets but just let them slowly dissolve, theoretically dissolve into nothingness over 6 months. So the plan is to keep the pellets but just pick out the zeolites.

[wayner]

So are these pellets suppose to replace the need for zeo rocks in a zeo reactor?, or are we taking different types of bacteria here., if this is the case, then I suppose one would have the option to just dose a color enhancing product or anything else for that matter without the need to pump the reactor daily and change out rocks periodically as these pellets disolve over time..

Sounds easier, but maybe I don't have this down right just yet?

[RuGlu6]

Thank you for starting this thread Tony,
You are doing a favor to all of us by testing these pellets, because if they Do work it will be huge step forward in reef keeping.

I spend a lot of $ monthly to fight NO3 and PO4, so i hope this will work as advertised!

[andestang]

This is great Tony. I can't really tell from the pic of your reactor, but do you have an inner chamber like how I made mine which actually holds the zoevit media so it doesn't bind during shaking ? Maybe you could make a separator plate for inside the inner chamber or it looks like these pellets won't bind during shaking you can modify so they are on the outside of the inner chamber by drilling appropriate size holes for water flow. Make sense :silly: :drinking: ?

[andestang]

Ok not funny, the pic of the inner chamber didn't load when I first read the post :confused: back to this :drinking:

[Delphinus]

So are these pellets suppose to replace the need for zeo rocks in a zeo reactor?, or are we taking different types of bacteria here., if this is the case, then I suppose one would have the option to just dose a color enhancing product or anything else for that matter without the need to pump the reactor daily and change out rocks periodically as these pellets disolve over time..

Sounds easier, but maybe I don't have this down right just yet?

Hi Wayne: Yes. And No. :lol:

Here's how I see it. It's probably the same bacteria that colonizes the zeolites as well as the pellets. The pellets are really more of a direct replacement for vokda dosing, which is a sort of "halfway to zeo" method. Vodka dosing is adding a carbon source so that bacteria can consume the carbon and the "side effect" is reduction of nitrate and phosphate, but it involves daily dosing. Supposedly the best vodka dosing is a mixture of vodka and then occasional vinegar and occasional sugar as well; the problem is none of those come with "reef tank dosing instructions."

These pellets are a passive carbon source so it eliminates the need for daily dosing of carbon (via vodka or whatever).

So if your only goal was nitrate (and/or phosphate) reduction, you should theoretically be able to run these pellets on their own.

So this begs the question, why am I doing both these and zeo? And the answer is something I don't really have firm grip on. Both methods intrigue me; so why not try both? But one reason I can enumerate is the water clarity you get with zeo. Zeo tanks never fail to amaze me for their water clarity, you can pick out a zeovit tank at a glance for their water clarity. The colours pop more too if you have SPS, but I don't, so I can't really say that it makes my corals colour up more, but I dig the water clarity.

So (I wonder how many paragraphs in a row I can type in that start off with "So"), I hope to see a "best of both worlds" in this approach.

Hope this makes sense. :)

Thank you for starting this thread Tony,
You are doing a favor to all of us by testing these pellets, because if they Do work it will be huge step forward in reef keeping.

I spend a lot of $ monthly to fight NO3 and PO4, so i hope this will work as advertised!

No worries and I agree. NO3 and PO4 are the biggest nuisances, when I saw these pellets come available I knew I had to try them. Not many new products get me very excited, I tend to think a lot of them are overhyped, but this one really does seem promising. And although it's pricey, it's really in the same ballpark as things like GFO for PO4 reduction, but it does nitrate too, so in the end it may actually be a slightly more economical option. I hope so anyhow. :)


This is great Tony. I can't really tell from the pic of your reactor, but do you have an inner chamber like how I made mine which actually holds the zoevit media so it doesn't bind during shaking ? Maybe you could make a separator plate for inside the inner chamber or it looks like these pellets won't bind during shaking you can modify so they are on the outside of the inner chamber by drilling appropriate size holes for water flow. Make sense :silly: :drinking: ?
Hey dude, save some of the good stuff for me there! :) Yeah, as you figured out, I put an inside chamber in the reactor. I'm a little miffed at the store I got the smaller tube from, I distinctly asked for 5.5", we talked about how it would have to form a tight fit inside a 6" tube and blah blah blah and he said he had a broken tube so could sell me 12" of it - otherwise he'd charge me for a full tube so after all was said and done, even though I wanted more like 14"-15" I settled on 12" (although that still yields close to 3 litres if my math is any good, so it's fine in the end) but I was just so annoyed when I saw a 1/4" gap all around when I put it all together. I don't have a router so making the top flange using a table saw and a dremel was an interesting and noisy exercise (and a little bit dangerous .. little bits of acrylic were flying all over the place being spat out by the table saw) and the end result is ugly to boot. But oh well, it's functional, and that's the more important aspect.

[wayner]

Tony Thanks! and keep up the Good Work :biggrin:

[globaldesigns]

I just picked up a 1 litre bag from Tony. I have placed 500ml in my zeolite reactor with 1 litre of zeolites. I have my reactor running on a 3 hour interval and I mix the reactor twice daily.

As I am running 100% Zeo, and Tony is running some Zeo also, I will post with him on what I see. Is this ok with you Tony, as we can keep this in one thread then?

For me I don't have any issues, but want to see what kind of results I will see with color colorization and growth.

I will keep you posted.

[Zoaelite]

Really excited to see how these work out, I will keep tuned but thanks for spending the time and writing this up Tony (Guess there's a reason they selected you to mod :lol:).

So this begs the question, why am I doing both these and zeo? And the answer is something I don't really have firm grip on. Both methods intrigue me; so why not try both? But one reason I can enumerate is the water clarity you get with zeo. Zeo tanks never fail to amaze me for their water clarity, you can pick out a zeovit tank at a glance for their water clarity. The colours pop more too if you have SPS, but I don't, so I can't really say that it makes my corals colour up more, but I dig the water clarity.

As much science as there is in reef keeping I kind of enjoy looking at my tank like stew in a giant crock pot (As odd as this might seem). You have to have the meat and potato's but adding little things here and other stuff there is what makes your special blend. It's almost like a 6th sense just there, hard to explain.
Levi

[RuGlu6]

Well :lol: i thought i would be able to hold it for at least 6 month and see how it works for others....

Could not hold any longer and picked up a 500 ml bag of bio pellets today.
I don't like testing and dosing thats why i decided to try this new product.

Like was mentioned before these pellets are promising and make a lot of sense, no dosing is a definite plus.

At any rate , i just simply placed it in TLF media reactor, the flow is whatever it is from MJ 1200 power head.

I do keep SPS and i do have some nuisance algae so that means i have both P04 and N03.
I do Not dose anything (well sometimes magnesium, strontium and occasional kalkwasser) and there is no change in my tank other then pellets.

I will contribute what i can to this new product research

[banditpowdercoat]

Well :lol: i thought i would be able to hold it for at least 6 month and see how it works for others....

Could not hold any longer and picked up a 500 ml bag of bio pellets today.
I don't like testing and dosing thats why i decided to try this new product.

Like was mentioned before these pellets are promising and make a lot of sense, no dosing is a definite plus.

At any rate , i just simply placed it in TLF media reactor, the flow is whatever it is from MJ 1200 power head.

I do keep SPS and i do have some nuisance algae so that means i have both P04 and N03.
I do Not dose anything (well sometimes magnesium, strontium and occasional kalkwasser) and there is no change in my tank other then pellets.

I will contribute what i can to this new product research


Basically exactly the same for me. No real SPS, a Birdsnest, Digitata and Acro. Only the Digitata is ok, but brown. Lots of Hair algae, fingers bleed trying to prune. Hope the pellets will work. Should be here this week

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Basically exactly the same for me. No real SPS, a Birdsnest, Digitata and Acro. Only the Digitata is ok, but brown. Lots of Hair algae, fingers bleed trying to prune. Hope the pellets will work. Should be here this week


Shipped today! :mrgreen:

[Delphinus]

So the pellets do release a lot of mulm as per the manufacturer's claims. It's quite noticeable after a reactor pumping. I'll see if I can capture this on picture or video. Might be a bit tricky on account of the (lack of) lighting under the stand but I'll give it a go!

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

So the pellets do release a lot of mulm as per the manufacturer's claims. It's quite noticeable after a reactor pumping. I'll see if I can capture this on picture or video. Might be a bit tricky on account of the (lack of) lighting under the stand but I'll give it a go!

How did you make out getting a picture of the mulm?

[Delphinus]

Not great on the photo, but here's one that sorta worked out:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/delphinus_photos/Zeovit%20and%20NP%20Reducing%20Pellets/P1010011.jpg

It looks like mostly salt creep but I did wipe down the chamber before the picture so almost all of the white bits are mulm. (I see I missed a few spots, only showed up under the flash :redface:)

[StirCrazy]

Basically exactly the same for me. No real SPS, a Birdsnest, Digitata and Acro.

um.. all three you mentions are real sps.:wink:

Steve

[banditpowdercoat]

um.. all three you mentions are real sps.:wink:

Steve

I was meaning alot alot of them LOL, thye just 3 tiny frags, they are lost in my 150g

[globaldesigns]

K, want to report on things.

After 3 days (or 2 1/2), I am seeing more mulm from my ZeoReactor than prior. As I had an established 1.5L ZeoReactor, I already had bacteria colonization, so this probably sped up the process in the NP Bio Pellets. I am just guessing here.

Anyways, after mixing the reactor just now, I can see much more mulm being pumped into my display prior to not having the NP Bio-Pellets. Prior to the Pellets I never saw anything, but now I actually see it coming out of my returns with a bunch of micro bubbles (from the pumping action I guess)

I wasn't sure how good things would work, as I have the pellets in a carbon bag in the reactor, but all seems good. And when it is time to change the zeolites, I won't have to pick through things like Tony. HAHA!

This is good, will keep watching things and see what happens. I haven't tested anything yet, will wait a few more days before doing this.

[andestang]

So you didn't do any measurments before adding the pellets? Would be interesting to see if you get the same results as Tony.


K, want to report on things.

After 3 days (or 2 1/2), I am seeing more mulm from my ZeoReactor than prior. As I had an established 1.5L ZeoReactor, I already had bacteria colonization, so this probably sped up the process in the NP Bio Pellets. I am just guessing here.

Anyways, after mixing the reactor just now, I can see much more mulm being pumped into my display prior to not having the NP Bio-Pellets. Prior to the Pellets I never saw anything, but now I actually see it coming out of my returns with a bunch of micro bubbles (from the pumping action I guess)

I wasn't sure how good things would work, as I have the pellets in a carbon bag in the reactor, but all seems good. And when it is time to change the zeolites, I won't have to pick through things like Tony. HAHA!

This is good, will keep watching things and see what happens. I haven't tested anything yet, will wait a few more days before doing this.

[globaldesigns]

So you didn't do any measurments before adding the pellets? Would be interesting to see if you get the same results as Tony.

I didn't do any measurements, as Nitrates & Ammonia are not a real problem in my tank... I am seeing what this does for growth and color. But I must say the mulm production seems better than the zeolites. Time will tell.

I think I might take some before pics and then do a comparison with some after pics.

[Delphinus]

Day 10 (or call it "week 2" - planning to continue testing on a weekly basis, but with this post I'm resetting to Sundays), nitrate is at 12.

Should be noted that bioload increased since last numbers I posted, added a lavender tang and a crosshatch trigger. I fed them like crazy the first few days to make sure they were eating and getting a fair share leftover from the tankmates feeding frenzy. So there was likely a slight slowdown in reduction or even an increase in nitrates for a bit. Now that they're pretty much in there with the rest of them I'm reverting to regular feeding schedule.

[Lance]

How are the new additions making out Tony?

[Delphinus]

Better, a lot better. The tang had me really worried for a bit (really got a rough hazing) but the aggression has abated and he's healing and eating and so both are doing really well.

[globaldesigns]

Update from me also... I seemed to have a slight algae on my sand, thought what the #$@#%#$%@#$... Anyways last night I found the intake pump for my skimmer was almost totally plugged. I am such a dummy, I noticed the outake for the skimmer was almost bubbless, thought to myself "Wow, water is changing and no bubble in water output", but in reality hardly any water was entering the skimmer. Another clue would of been the lack of skimmate, but again I thought "Wow, cleaner water means less skimmate"

I tookt the intake pump out, took it apart and it was completely jammed up with baby snails on the intake port, they must of liked eating the sludge on there. Something to keep an eye on.

Anyways, skimmer is now going crazy, to catch up on water cleaning.

On the BioPellets, I am seeing more mulm production and can notice an increased extension on SPS polyps when I pump the reactor.

Probably too soon for anything else, but will keep you posted.

[RuGlu6]

Small update on bio pellets.

Just to reiterate, i have a fare share of SPS and all are in good color and growth, no real algae problem.
I don't use ZEO so still waiting for a "mulm" to develop.

The only noticeable and welcomed effect i can report is water clarity and even better polyp extension.
On the pellets themselves (they are in TLF reactor) i don't see any changes just some air bubbles and some dark spots forming (bacteria?)

[Lance]

Got my pellets today. I placed the outflow line from the reactor up to the bulkhead strainer that feeds the skimmer pump, so virtually all the effluent should go to the skimmer. Now to wait and watch.

[BC Mosaic]

Got my pellets today. I placed the outflow line from the reactor up to the bulkhead strainer that feeds the skimmer pump, so virtually all the effluent should go to the skimmer. Now to wait and watch.

Just curious as to why you placed your outflow there instead of the return pump to the DT? That's what I did because your way I would think that the skimmer is removing your good mulm as well as the bad stuff from your tank.

Your reactor is a ?

I'm using a Phosban Reactor 150 and I noticed that the sponges (both top & bottom ones) are getting gummed up. Did I not clean it well enough prior to this use or is that the "good mulm"? Any of you guys have this same experience?

Thanks

[Lance]

Just curious as to why you placed your outflow there instead of the return pump to the DT? That's what I did because your way I would think that the skimmer is removing your good mulm as well as the bad stuff from your tank.

Your reactor is a ?

I'm using a Phosban Reactor 150 and I noticed that the sponges (both top & bottom ones) are getting gummed up. Did I not clean it well enough prior to this use or is that the "good mulm"? Any of you guys have this same experience?

Thanks


I read on their web site that they recommend the outflow from the reactor be placed before the skimmer to limit the amount of bacteria entering the system.
I am using the pellets in a Bulk Reef Supply reactor. It's only been running for a few days and I have no mulm yet.

[BC Mosaic]

I read on their web site that they recommend the outflow from the reactor be placed before the skimmer to limit the amount of bacteria entering the system. ......

I guess I forgot or missed that part. Will rearrange both my systems right now.

Thanks for doing this.
Cheers

[Delphinus]

So, I said I was going to just take readings every Sunday from now on but yesterday was day 14 and I couldn't help myself, I just had to knoooooooow.

So, day 14 readings: NO3=10

So all in all, the nitrate reduction continues.

The mulm production is insane, the reactor becomes milky white after agitation. A lot of it is getting skimmed out I think, the skimmate production doesn't seem to be faster but the skimmate is much darker than before.

Also I'm having to swap out my filter socks (100 micron) roughly twice as often as before. Before it was once a week, now it's easily twice a week.

So the stuff is definitely there in the water column, but luckily I don't see it as particulate. It would be really interesting to see how SPS would react to it, if they would have greater PE or not. The gorgs in my tank don't seem much changed but they are being pestered by butterflies so I am not getting full expansion on some anyhow.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Your experiences seem to be mirroring what many others are noticing with these Bio pellets. They seem to be holding true to what they are intended to accomplish! :mrgreen:





So, I said I was going to just take readings every Sunday from now on but yesterday was day 14 and I couldn't help myself, I just had to knoooooooow.

So, day 14 readings: NO3=10

So all in all, the nitrate reduction continues.

The mulm production is insane, the reactor becomes milky white after agitation. A lot of it is getting skimmed out I think, the skimmate production doesn't seem to be faster but the skimmate is much darker than before.

Also I'm having to swap out my filter socks (100 micron) roughly twice as often as before. Before it was once a week, now it's easily twice a week.

So the stuff is definitely there in the water column, but luckily I don't see it as particulate. It would be really interesting to see how SPS would react to it, if they would have greater PE or not. The gorgs in my tank don't seem much changed but they are being pestered by butterflies so I am not getting full expansion on some anyhow.

[geobee]

On their website I didn't notice any recommended flowrate through this media. Are there any specifics on this

[Delphinus]

I'm going with the zeovit suggestion for zeolites of 100gph per 100g of tank (115g tank and using a 100gph powerhead which is slowed down some because it's lifting water into the reactor which is 24" tall).

I'm not sure there's a hard and fast science to it though. My recommendation is "not too slow and not too fast." :lol: Yeah I know that's not very definitive but that really is sort of how I approach it though! :) Hope this helps.

[Ron99]

I think you want the pellets gently tumbling a little to make sure no anaerobic areas develop. Other than that I don't think there is really a recommended flow rate. I guess it depends on your reactor etc. I have a ball valve on the tube from my pump to the reactor to fine tune it so the pellets move just a little.

[globaldesigns]

I think you want the pellets gently tumbling a little to make sure no anaerobic areas develop. Other than that I don't think there is really a recommended flow rate. I guess it depends on your reactor etc. I have a ball valve on the tube from my pump to the reactor to fine tune it so the pellets move just a little.

My pellets are in my ZeoRx, but I have them in a carbon bag, they don't tumble. But when I mix my reactor twice daily, I am quite vigorous... Seeing some good mulm come out. I am having a slight, and I say slight algae bloom yesterday, but today it has decipated. Same with diatoms on sand, but again today it is looking good again. Something is happening!

Overall, water looks nice, it was clean before, but seeing even more sparkle/scrispness. This is a good sign of things happening.

Edit:
I have also now turned off my UV, I was running this opposite cycles with my Reactor, on a 3 hour on/off cycle. UV was independantly added (not on return), keeping the pump going and cylcing some water in the return area back through refuge and skimmers. This to put some mulm through the refuge/skimmer cycle so I don't get too much and to run some cleaned water through twice. Also have my Reactor on 24/7 now to see what happens.

[burrows14]

I am interested in running these in a TLF reactor. Do the foam rings pose any problem or does the reactor have to be modified due to the mulm.

cheers
Ray

[BC Mosaic]

I am interested in running these in a TLF reactor. Do the foam rings pose any problem or does the reactor have to be modified due to the mulm.

cheers
Ray

The pellets reduce in size over time so if there are no foam rings these small pellets will be spat out out of the recator.

The foam will get plugged up with mulm eventually and will have to be cleaned.

[burrows14]

hmmm sound like a lot extra maintnence... maybe ill wait a littl bit and buy a reactor

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

hmmm sound like a lot extra maintnence... maybe ill wait a littl bit and buy a reactor

Supposedly it can take 8 months to a year for the pellets to fully dissolve, new pellets can be added continuously to maintain the volume.

[burrows14]

Sweet! Order placed!:mrgreen:

[RuGlu6]

It would be really interesting to see how SPS would react to it, if they would have greater PE or not. The gorgs in my tank don't seem much changed but they are being pestered by butterflies so I am not getting full expansion on some anyhow.

SPS PE is VERY noticeable,even though sps in my tank had a very good PE ( i thought ) now its even better.

[RuGlu6]

I noticed that the sponges (both top & bottom ones) are getting gummed up. Did I not clean it well enough prior to this use or is that the "good mulm"? Any of you guys have this same experience?

Thanks
I noticed the same thing, sponges a getting plugged up slightly. I know for sure i Did clean them up before placing pellets on Dec 30/2009, and i am only a day 10 with pellets.

[banditpowdercoat]

Was reading on RC that many don't use the sponges in the TLF reactor's I was thinkning not using the sponges too.

[fishoholic]

Very interesting info. My nitrates are a bit high (around 20) I tried vodka dosing I got to dosing 8.7ml on day 68. But after 68 days and not seeing any change in my nitrate levels I slowly stopped vodka dosing.

Since I stopped vodka dosing my nitrates have remained at the same level. The only difference I noticed from vodka dosing was my zoos started to shrivel up and die :sad: Since I stopped vodka dosing my zoos are slowly making a come back and are looking better. I would like to try these N/P pellets but I wonder if after a few months of use if it too would have a negative affect on my zoos like the vodka dosing did.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

I would think that taking out the sponges would be fine, I personally would add a piece of Enkamat pre cut to fit in place of the sponges top and bottom. The Enkamat would work perfectly to stop the pellets from flowing out with the flow but at the same time not plugging up!

http://www.oceaniccorals.com/store/images/uploads/enkamat.jpg

:peace:

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Very interesting info. My nitrates are a bit high (around 20) I tried vodka dosing I got to dosing 8.7ml on day 68. But after 68 days and not seeing any change in my nitrate levels I slowly stopped vodka dosing.

Since I stopped vodka dosing my nitrates have remained at the same level. The only difference I noticed from vodka dosing was my zoos started to shrivel up and die :sad: Since I stopped vodka dosing my zoos are slowly making a come back and are looking better. I would like to try these N/P pellets but I wonder if after a few months of use if it too would have a negative affect on my zoos like the vodka dosing did.

I doubt the pellets would have any negative effect on the Zoas whatsoever, the beautiful part of the pellets is that they produce the Mulm which feeds the whole tank including Zoas. Dosing Vodka alone does not produce any such bacterial Mulm byproduct.

Hope that helps.

[fishoholic]

I doubt the pellets would have any negative effect on the Zoas whatsoever, the beautiful part of the pellets is that they produce the Mulm which feeds the whole tank including Zoas. Dosing Vodka alone does not produce any such bacterial Mulm byproduct.

Hope that helps.

Yes it does Thanks :biggrin:

[banditpowdercoat]

I would think that taking out the sponges would be fine, I personally would add a piece of Enkamat pre cut to fit in place of the sponges top and bottom. The Enkamat would work perfectly to stop the pellets from flowing out with the flow but at the same time not plugging up!

http://www.oceaniccorals.com/store/images/uploads/enkamat.jpg

:peace:

Do you stock Enkmat? I've been meaning to try find some for Skimmer Pump mods

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Do you stock Enkmat? I've been meaning to try find some for Skimmer Pump mods


I do have some left, enough for one skimmer mod. I have more on order too.

Ian

[banditpowdercoat]

Well, I think I'm gona be buying a Bubble Magnus anyways. The DIY skimmer is just to much of a time consumer/headache. I need to get my tank params under controll here, and finish off the projects, not tinker with equipment LOL

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Well, I think I'm gona be buying a Bubble Magnus anyways. The DIY skimmer is just to much of a time consumer/headache. I need to get my tank params under controll here, and finish off the projects, not tinker with equipment LOL


Good call!:lol:

[globaldesigns]

I would think that taking out the sponges would be fine, I personally would add a piece of Enkamat pre cut to fit in place of the sponges top and bottom. The Enkamat would work perfectly to stop the pellets from flowing out with the flow but at the same time not plugging up!

http://www.oceaniccorals.com/store/images/uploads/enkamat.jpg

:peace:

I put them in a normal carbon bag, all seems ok. FYI

[Delphinus]

Day 21, start of week 4. Something a bit surprising and unexpected today.

Today's nitrate reading is 20.

I recalibrated my meter 4 times and got the same result. Still in disbelief I tested nitrate with my Elos nitrate test kit and unfortunately the only thing I got out of it was why I hate colour comparison based test kits because depending on how close I was standing to my tank, you would think 2.5, 5, or 10ppm nitrate ... so I'm not sure what to think of that .. chuck it out maybe? I'm not sure.

Surprising because I even did a 20% water change yesterday.

So, there might be a couple reasons that contributed to this unexpected jump:

1) There was a bit of a tank upset on Sunday where I found the trigger in the overflow. Removing him from the overflow was a several hour exercise in where the sump had to be shut off, as I had to remove plumbing and the skimmer and the hood just so I could stand close enough to the overflow to maneuver a net inside the overflow.

2) Tonight I found that my skimmer air intake was blocked by lint. Was a little surprised because I shoot water in it once per week to clean it out, but when I blew into it, the restriction was obvious. I had to use a nail to scrape out the little John Guest valve to get the lint/dust out that had solidified in there.

3) It could just be it's a signal to replace the zeolites. I'm also using half the recommended dosage for both the zeolites and pellets, so perhaps this is the signal that it's time to start ramping up the volumes up to the recommended levels.

4) Been having a little trouble dialing in the autodosing of Alk and Ca lately. It was stable for several months but lately I've been having to increase the flowrates and it's been a little bit tricky, one week the Alk will jump too high, the next it will drift down.

Other than the electronic reading of the number, there is no visual cue that there's anything to worry about at this point. The water remains clear, the sand remains clean, the fish seem to be fine. So, hopefully just a little bump and things will reset in the next few days.

[banditpowdercoat]

Hope it's nothing Tony. 5 days till I can start MY pellet's :D I can't wait!

[Lance]

There was a bit of a tank upset on Sunday where I found the trigger in the overflow. Removing him from the overflow was a several hour exercise in where the sump had to be shut off, as I had to remove plumbing and the skimmer and the hood just so I could stand close enough to the overflow to maneuver a net inside the overflow.


Is he/she ok Tony?

[Delphinus]

Seems to be OK now. A few scrapes and scratches though, but looks mostly healed up now. I tried to upload a second video last night using a more-better camera but the upload failed and then my laptop died. So tonight's project is to see if I can resurrect it enough to try uploading to youtube a second time.

I've covered the overflows now but truth be told I don't know if that's better. I could just see a fish jumping and then getting stuck enough in the eggcrate that they just die instead of flop back into the tank. :neutral:

[Delphinus]

Well, weirdness abounds. Looks like yesterday's readings are suspect after all.

I tried testing again today and got 13ppm. I tested my other tank and it was the same as it's ever been at 5ppm.

So, just for giggles, I tested the water in the reactor with the pellets, and noticed something odd. If I tested by putting water into the sample vial, I would get readings anywhere from 13 to 19 (did 4 tests in a row all with different numbers). If I tested by putting the probe into the reactor itself, I got steady readings of 7 again and again. So I thought (not initially putting two and two together), oh, ok, something in the tank is spiking the nitrate, but at least the reactor is doing its thing and reducing the nitrate.

But then I tested my sump without the sample vial, and got 7. So I tested the main tank and again got 7. Back into the vial, I got 13, 14 and other numbers.

Soooo .. I guess my testing is being thrown off by interference. I don't know if it's the syringe I'm using to collect 5ml of tank water, or the probe's sample jar itself that's causing the interference. It bears mention that I rinse the probe and the vial itself with tap water after every use before I put it away, so I don't think it's any residual left on the probe itself. Also weird that the 40g tank has steady readings of 5. Just for giggles I should see what reading I get if I just stick the probe in the tank water in that tank (I didn't think to try that tonight..)

[banditpowdercoat]

What kind of meter you using Tony? That amount of testing would have used a whole Salfert kit LOL. I HATE using the kit's :( I love my PH meter, but my PH barely moves, so I don't need it really HAHAHA

[Delphinus]

I use a Pinpoint nitrate monitor. Yeah I hate colour comparison based test kits because I don't know if I'm looking at them in the right light or whatever. Titration ones (ie., where you drip something and count the drops or measure the volume dispensed until you see a colour change are a little better, because apparently I'm not colourblind enough that I can't tell the difference between red and blue, but apparently I am colourblind enough to not see the difference between one pink and another pink).

[globaldesigns]

Just an update from me.

Wow!!!! I can say the mulm is ridiculous, much more than just running zeolites. I am with Tony and running about half of the recommended of both Pellets and Zeolites.

When I pump the reactor it is like I dosed Coral Snow, lots of mulm and cloudy for a bit.

My wife stated last night, "your tank is becoming more colorful". I didn't ask her about it, she just commented. So I will give Kudos to the NP Bio Pellets.

And it has only been a couple weeks, I can't wait to see what happens in the future.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Excellent results. Our newest order arrived today so they will be shipping out to everyone Monday. Those with back orders will also be looked after.

Ian


Just an update from me.

Wow!!!! I can say the mulm is ridiculous, much more than just running zeolites. I am with Tony and running about half of the recommended of both Pellets and Zeolites.

When I pump the reactor it is like I dosed Coral Snow, lots of mulm and cloudy for a bit.

My wife stated last night, "your tank is becoming more colorful". I didn't ask her about it, she just commented. So I will give Kudos to the NP Bio Pellets.

And it has only been a couple weeks, I can't wait to see what happens in the future.

[purplepolypeater]

is anyone testing phosphates as well? afterall this product claims to reduce both and i am very interested in using this soon if the results prove fruitful.

[Delphinus]

Unfortunately I decided not to bother with phosphate testing. I always get a zero phosphate reading when I do a test, but I do get non-zero nitrate readings, so I chose to focus on what I can actually track. I don't know why it is that I always test out at zero for phosphate. I feed fairly heavy so you'd think there would be some, but I've used all different kinds of test kits and even a meter and the results are always the same. It could be the ball of chaeto I grow in the sump does a better job of sucking up PO4 than it does NO3.. that's the only theory I have on that.

For what it's worth it is on the eve of day 28 here, so I might as well post the NO3 numbers I got this morning. The tank seems to have clamped itself at 10 in the last week. I got a few readings of 7 on the weekend but they were sporadic readings, ever since then I can't get a reading of sub-10.

So I think what's happened is the pellets and tank have hit upon the equilibirium point seeing as it hasn't really dropped below 10 in any significant sense in the last two weeks. In other words, the amount they are able to reduce are matched with the amount the tank can produce. I had been using half the recommended dosage for starters for both pellets and zeolites, just to ease the tank into things ...I think it's time that I up the amounts to the recommended dosages and see how it continues on from there. So that will be this week's project.

[Lance]

is anyone testing phosphates as well? afterall this product claims to reduce both and i am very interested in using this soon if the results prove fruitful.


I never bother testing for phosphates. I've always got a "0" reading on both Salifert & Elos kits. I know there are phosphates in the system bound up in the rock, algae, etc. I find you need a top grade tester to measure phosphates.

[Delphinus]

Oh FWIW, another observation. Some of my fish seem to enjoy eating the mulm. So it's not just coral food, it's fish food too. :lol:

The mulm production is INSANE. I hope it's doing good for inhabitants because there is a lot of it and it does increase your skimmer output. So the downside is more work, the filter socks need cleaning twice as often and the skimmer needs cleaning more often as well. Wish I had a wetneck skimmer. :lol:

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

We have just received another order of Pellets, they are ready to ship!

[banditpowdercoat]

is anyone testing phosphates as well? afterall this product claims to reduce both and i am very interested in using this soon if the results prove fruitful.

I will test PO4 as well. I am leaving for home today, will test and start my own thread for ease and less clutter. I am sure I have some PO4 reading. It was .03 in Dec

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

As read on Reef Builders (http://www.reefbuilders.com).

http://reefbuilders.com/files/2010/01/BioPellet-solid-carbon-dosi.jpg

Biopellet reactor in the works by Aquarium Specialty and NextReef (http://reefbuilders.com/2010/01/21/biopellet-reactor-solid-carbon-dosing-works-aquarium-specialty-nextreef/)


Hot on the heels of the announcement of Fauna Marin Zeo-Matic 2 Reactor we come to learn that Aquarium Specialty (http://aquariumspecialty.com/) is working with NextReef (http://nextreef.com/) to develop of fluidized Biopellet Reactor. It only makes sense that the North American distributor of the Dutch Biopellets would team up with the media reactor specialists over at NextReef to take the initiative in developing a product that would optimize the performance of the solid-carbon-dosing Biopellets. At the outset the Biopellet Reactor will only be available in bundles of two sizes: the smaller bioreactor with the half liter of biopellets and a larger version that will come with the full liter of the biopolymer pearls. No word on whether the media reactor will include integrated or external flow adjustment or a water pump but it better include the former, preferably in a well designed integrated form like a wedge pipe or a dial (we’re looking at you Scott!). Word is that NextReef should be receiving their Biopellets very soon to test out on the prototype reactors. Keep it locked to Reef Builders for forthcoming pics and/or vids of the new biopellet reactor in action.

[Phanman]

Anyone know if any place in calgary is selling this yet?

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Anyone know if any place in calgary is selling this yet?


I have two orders going to Calgary if you would like to hop on board.

Cheers!

Ian

[Delphinus]

Week 6 update.

So, sometimes you learn things by trial and error. My last week's efforts to double up the media in the reactor have had a paradoxical effect. I doubled up both the zeolites and the N/P pellets and the resulting mix is noticeably restrictive on the velocity of water running through the reactor. In turn, the bacterial mulm released upon agitation is on epic levels, far more than the tank inhabitants consume - and this in turn is contributing to a build up of nitrate back in the tank.

Meanwhile, those who are running the pellets in reactors on their own report continued reductions.

So, I will be separating the two media types into different reactors. I have a spare phosban reactor I can use for starters and will see where things go after that. I will elect to sustain or suspend zeovit independently of this. I suspect at this point that the mulm from the pellets have coated the zeolites rendering them ineffective.

"In conclusion": although I think I don't have enough datapoints to make a solid recommendation on whether it's worthwhile or not to run pellets AND zeovit together; versus just one or the other... however I do think there is a definite trend here that we can make a recommendation against running both types homogenously in the same reactor vessel.

[globaldesigns]

Anyone know if any place in calgary is selling this yet?

No one yet, been asking, no store is interested at this time.

[globaldesigns]

Week 6 update.

So, sometimes you learn things by trial and error. My last week's efforts to double up the media in the reactor have had a paradoxical effect. I doubled up both the zeolites and the N/P pellets and the resulting mix is noticeably restrictive on the velocity of water running through the reactor. In turn, the bacterial mulm released upon agitation is on epic levels, far more than the tank inhabitants consume - and this in turn is contributing to a build up of nitrate back in the tank.

Meanwhile, those who are running the pellets in reactors on their own report continued reductions.

So, I will be separating the two media types into different reactors. I have a spare phosban reactor I can use for starters and will see where things go after that. I will elect to sustain or suspend zeovit independently of this. I suspect at this point that the mulm from the pellets have coated the zeolites rendering them ineffective.

"In conclusion": although I think I don't have enough datapoints to make a solid recommendation on whether it's worthwhile or not to run pellets AND zeovit together; versus just one or the other... however I do think there is a definite trend here that we can make a recommendation against running both types homogenously in the same reactor vessel.

Personally I am still running 1L of Zeolites and 500ml of BioPellets in the same Reactor. I am seeing good results.

Tony thanks for your test results, maybe running more of both is not worthwhile, but at this point the amount and combination I have seems fine.

[BlueTang<3]

they say with zeo less is more usually had a bad algae outbreak from dosing recommend levels or at least on bottle dropped back and things turning around

[globaldesigns]

they say with zeo less is more usually had a bad algae outbreak from dosing recommend levels or at least on bottle dropped back and things turning around

I agree 100%, dose recommended amounts see algae blooms, cut it back and all is good.

I personally dose Zeovit at about 75% of the recommended. Found this to be effective so far.

[BlueTang<3]

on zevoit.com you put your tank parameters and it ends up only being like 20% what they tell you to dose on the bottle saves a guy a lot of cash

[Delphinus]

For what it's worth I run 25% the recommended doses for zeovit already. It was a good start in reductions but it levelled off at two weeks at NO3=10 and hadn't decreased further and in fact I'm feeding less than when I started so I feel that the two systems in concert should be doing much better. The real kick here was when I doubled up the media's and the nitrates started increasing again. I think if you're going to do it homogeously I would cut back on the amounts or maybe do maybe more zeolites with just a thin layer of pellets.

It's OK I set out to see what would happen if I did this and now I know. I'll continue to post results as I go, one method had a pretty good run so I'll put out the same sort of run for separating and we'll see how it goes.

[globaldesigns]

For what it's worth I run 25% the recommended doses for zeovit already. It was a good start in reductions but it levelled off at two weeks at NO3=10 and hadn't decreased further and in fact I'm feeding less than when I started so I feel that the two systems in concert should be doing much better. The real kick here was when I doubled up the media's and the nitrates started increasing again. I think if you're going to do it homogeously I would cut back on the amounts or maybe do maybe more zeolites with just a thin layer of pellets.

It's OK I set out to see what would happen if I did this and now I know. I'll continue to post results as I go, one method had a pretty good run so I'll put out the same sort of run for separating and we'll see how it goes.

Wow!!! BlueTang 20%

Tony 25%, I am going to start rethinking things here. I am into saving some $$$$

Thanks for the heads up guys!!!

[Delphinus]

It's not just the $$$ savings (which is nice of course) but I think the tank reacts better also. If I actually do the recommended dosage per volume for one day I will notice a slight film algae over everything the next day.

[globaldesigns]

It's not just the $$$ savings (which is nice of course) but I think the tank reacts better also. If I actually do the recommended dosage per volume for one day I will notice a slight film algae over everything the next day.

I do have that, always had... I just replaced my zeolites, so I am in the process of my 10 day zeobak and food dosage. But I am cutting that back also as per you guys.

when I start dosing everything else, I will cut way back. Maybe this film will be gone for good.

I can say the my skimmate has changed from a green to a very brown color. A good sign of lack of algae.

[Delphinus]

Quick update. About a week ago I separated the pellets and put them into a phosban reactor, fed by a Maxijet 1200, throttled back on the reactor (not quite full bore on the pump).

I was optimistic that this would be a beneficial change, however, I am simply astonished at the results a week later.

Last week my nitrate reading was 10, as it had been for several weeks prior.

This week, my nitrate reading is bouncing between 3 and 4 (splitting the difference, let's call that 3.5). WOW.

But it gets better. I tested the effluent of the pellet reactor as well as the zeovit reactor:
- The zeolites are pulling nitrate down, the effluent has a reading of 2 for nitrate.
- The pellets have an effluent reading of zero (specifically, "under-range" on the meter, which means <1.0).

[nlreefguy]

but how are your corals doing? In your opinion is the mulm from the biopellets significant as a food source for the corals?

[banditpowdercoat]

How much tumbling do you have in the Phos reactor? And did you use the top foam? I have mine fed off my return pump, so am not sure about the flow. They tumble inside. Any more flow and 'm afraid the pellets would float out the reactors top plate holes and into the sump. Which probably wouldnt hurt, as have a screen on pump intake that is to fine for them to fit through LOL

[Chin_Lee]

Tony - any noticeable difference in PE on your SPS or LPS? I'm starting to ponder the use of this........

[Pescador]

How much tumbling do you have in the Phos reactor? And did you use the top foam? I have mine fed off my return pump, so am not sure about the flow. They tumble inside. Any more flow and 'm afraid the pellets would float out the reactors top plate holes and into the sump. Which probably wouldnt hurt, as have a screen on pump intake that is to fine for them to fit through LOL

So I've joined the club as well, thanks to a very piggy puffer in my 220. I'm running 2 litres in a converted CA reactor.
It's got a screen of that plastic needle point stuff and 2 layers of Enkamat that seems to work pretty well and not plug up.
But how much flow do you need to tumble this stuff? There's an Eheim 1048 on it now that just barely wakes it up.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

So I've joined the club as well, thanks to a very piggy puffer in my 220. I'm running 2 litres in a converted CA reactor.
It's got a screen of that plastic needle point stuff and 2 layers of Enkamat that seems to work pretty well and not plug up.
But how much flow do you need to tumble this stuff? There's an Eheim 1048 on it now that just barely wakes it up.


All of the Pellets should be churning and moving in the reactor, more flow the better. My pellets are turning and flowing around my reactor with heavy flow. Pellets that are just tumbling on the top is not enough flow.

[Delphinus]

but how are your corals doing? In your opinion is the mulm from the biopellets significant as a food source for the corals?

I'm not sure. The mulm that gets released is fairly sizeable, unfortunately I don't have anything that eats large things right now - just some photosynthetic gorgonians for the most part.

However, some of the fish go nuts over it, in particular my lavender tang seems to love it.

How much tumbling do you have in the Phos reactor? And did you use the top foam? I have mine fed off my return pump, so am not sure about the flow. They tumble inside. Any more flow and 'm afraid the pellets would float out the reactors top plate holes and into the sump. Which probably wouldnt hurt, as have a screen on pump intake that is to fine for them to fit through LOL

I played with the flow so that there was just the slightest bit of tumbling. I actually thought at first it might be better not to have too much tumbling but it started to clump together, so now I think some slight tumbling throughout might be better. I'll try to take a video of it maybe.

I replaced the top foam of the reactor with a single layer of Enkamat. It seems to stop at least 99% of the escapees. If I didn't already have the Enkamat I would have sliced the foam in half like Kien did with his.

Tony - any noticeable difference in PE on your SPS or LPS? I'm starting to ponder the use of this........

I can't really say. All I have are gorgonians and zoanthids in this tank (and clams). I have a pair of butterflies that were slowly turning the tank into a FOWLR so everything else got moved into my frag tank until I decide what to do with the butterflies.

So I've joined the club as well, thanks to a very piggy puffer in my 220. I'm running 2 litres in a converted CA reactor.
It's got a screen of that plastic needle point stuff and 2 layers of Enkamat that seems to work pretty well and not plug up.
But how much flow do you need to tumble this stuff? There's an Eheim 1048 on it now that just barely wakes it up.

I found it wouldn't tumble in the zeovit reactor but then I was agitating that thing manually. The wider diameter of the circle probably means it would need a step up in pump driving it to tumble it..

[Reefer Rob]

Looks like the pellets work great for reducing nutrients, and safer than carbon dosing. I'm wondering if there's any use for this in a system that already has low nutrients.

I know it produces bacteria that provides food for corals, but won't live rock be doing essentially the same thing? Bacteria-plankton should be sloughing off the rock in the same manner, it's just not as obvious.

Still on the fence... but this looks very interesting.

[Chin_Lee]

What are you guys using on the TLF reactors to get these thing tumbling? MJ1200?

[banditpowdercoat]

What are you guys using on the TLF reactors to get these thing tumbling? MJ1200?

I've just T'd off my Sump return. A Little Giant 4

[kien]

I use a maxijet 900 on mine and they tumble. I did have to mod the sponges though (cut them down very thin like enkmat).

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Looks like the pellets work great for reducing nutrients, and safer than carbon dosing. I'm wondering if there's any use for this in a system that already has low nutrients.

I know it produces bacteria that provides food for corals, but won't live rock be doing essentially the same thing? Bacteria-plankton should be sloughing off the rock in the same manner, it's just not as obvious.

Still on the fence... but this looks very interesting.


Absolutely there is use for these in an already low nutrient system, I can now feed more and more often resulting in even happier fatter fish. The beautiful part of the pellets is that they are only used up based on the amount of nutrients in the system to sustain the bacteria. If the nutrients are low the pellets will deplete very slowly and the bacteria populations will be smaller.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

What are you guys using on the TLF reactors to get these thing tumbling? MJ1200?


MJ1200 is what I am using and works perfectly.

[banditpowdercoat]

Crap, I threw my foam out. It was nasty LOL.
Anyone have a little chunk of Enkmat?

[Delphinus]

I can mail you some Dan, PM me your address and I'll toss a bit in an envelope. What are you running it in, a phosban reactor (just so I know to give you a big enough piece - what I have leftover are just tiny scraps).

[globaldesigns]

OK Tony, Enough already!!!

Because of your results, I have now dug out my Deltec Fluidizer and moved the NP BioPellets into there with a maxi-jet 1200. Then leaving the Zeolites alone in the reactor. I am sure glad I didn't sell that with everything else I got rid of.

All is now setup. I am just kidding, keep it up! Thanks for the testing.

For everyone else who doesn't know, I had the pellets in a carbon bag ontop of the zeolites in the reactor. Since moving them, as per Tony, the zeolites are easy to mix manually and the biopellets are continually mixing in a fluidizer.

I hope I see the results Tony is seeing, I will let everyone know.

Rick

[burrows14]

Im running mine for 2 weeks in a TLF reactor at the moment. Until I read this thread today I was only using a MJ400 and had little flow and the pellets were all clumped together with no tumbling at all:sad: Just threw on a MJ1200 and now they are rolling like dice! looks cool to boot lol Ill update if I notice and changes with my system. Lately Ive been fighting cyano since I upgraded my lighting system.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Im running mine for 2 weeks in a TLF reactor at the moment. Until I read this thread today I was only using a MJ400 and had little flow and the pellets were all clumped together with no tumbling at all:sad: Just threw on a MJ1200 and now they are rolling like dice! looks cool to boot lol Ill update if I notice and changes with my system. Lately Ive been fighting cyano since I upgraded my lighting system.

The pellets need to churn very aggressively, the more the better.
this is very important for the pellets to work properly.

[burrows14]

Perfect! thanks for the info. I am also running my tlf with no foam disc at the top. Is that a good idea?

[Delphinus]

The only risk that I can see is that some will escape the reactor...

[globaldesigns]

I got mine churning nicely now, they weren't before when in the bag in the ZeoReactor.

I have reset up my timing cycle of 3 hours for the ZeoLites, and then using the alternate time and run the BioPellets. So basically there is always one running, not both at the same time.

We will see what the results will be.

[RuGlu6]

I am running pellets since Dec 30/2009 so it has been more then a month.
No Zeo rocks, just TLF media reactor driven by MJ1200,

Bare Bottom, (some, very little sand in the sump) 65 Gal tank. running 50% of 500 ml bag as per manufacturers recommendation.

I had never seen any mulm :question:.

I did notice extra SPS PE but LPS are not showing any more polyps then unusual. My Po4 was and is at the lowest detectable level of the Elos kit.
I don't have No3 kit. Some hair algae that i have in the sump (right were the pellets are) seems to be without any changes.
So i decided to increase the flow a week or so ago and had pellets removed from TLF reactor and put in to a container where my DT return line discharge.
Still no mulm. So i bought a Zeo bak to supplement bacterial growth.

So far i don't see it worth my $73..

I wonder if i am doing something wrong?
Should we come up with a list of questions and e-mail to manufacturer?
.

[Delphinus]

Have you given the reactor a shake at all? What about the output sponge, is it clean or does it have white gunk in it?

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

I got mine churning nicely now, they weren't before when in the bag in the ZeoReactor.

I have reset up my timing cycle of 3 hours for the ZeoLites, and then using the alternate time and run the BioPellets. So basically there is always one running, not both at the same time.

We will see what the results will be.


I would not suggest running the pellets on an off/on schedule. They need to be run 24/7 regardless of what is happening with your zeo. The pellets can start to go anoxic very quickly at the rate they use oxygen.

The pellets use up the dissolved oxygen so quickly and is exactly why the manufacturer suggests to point the out put of the reactor into the intake of the skimmer. The skimmer will then re-oxygenate the effluent.

Ian

[liz]

So what you guys are saying is that I can run Zeolites in a phosban reactor with a MJ1200 instead of buying the Vertex reactor?

If so, that will save me some $$.

[globaldesigns]

I would not suggest running the pellets on an off/on schedule. They need to be run 24/7 regardless of what is happening with your zeo. The pellets can start to go anoxic very quickly at the rate they use oxygen.

The pellets use up the dissolved oxygen so quickly and is exactly why the manufacturer suggests to point the out put of the reactor into the intake of the skimmer. The skimmer will then re-oxygenate the effluent.

Ian

K, I will run them continuously. Thanks.

[globaldesigns]

So what you guys are saying is that I can run Zeolites in a phosban reactor with a MJ1200 instead of buying the Vertex reactor?

If so, that will save me some $$.

You do need the reactor for the Zeolites, as they need to be tumbled 1-2 times daily. We are using fluidizers or phosban reactors for the NP BioPellets. They are much lighter and tumble quite easily using a MJ1200

[Coleus]

You do need the reactor for the Zeolites, as they need to be tumbled 1-2 times daily. We are using fluidizers or phosban reactors for the NP BioPellets. They are much lighter and tumble quite easily using a MJ1200

Anyone has a good result for just using NP BioPellets alone? I know Kien has but wonder anyone else has.

I am thinking of hooking this up with my TLF and the output will run right into my skimmer.

I really hate changing out Carbon and Rowa.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Anyone has a good result for just using NP BioPellets alone? I know Kien has but wonder anyone else has.

I am thinking of hooking this up with my TLF and the output will run right into my skimmer.

I really hate changing out Carbon and Rowa.


The pellets alone work great; however, you will still want to run carbon as the pellets alone will not make up for what carbon does. Carbon helps soak up impurities like chemicals, dyes, tannins, metals, odors, etc.

Ian

[Werbo]

I am planning on running 2 TLF reactors. One with carbon and the other with vodka pellets. Could one MJ1200 provide sufficent flow to accomplish this and still "tumble" the pellets?

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

I am planning on running 2 TLF reactors. One with carbon and the other with vodka pellets. Could one MJ1200 provide sufficent flow to accomplish this and still "tumble" the pellets?


Depends on how much carbon and how much in pellets you plan to run. Daisy chained together with one MJ1200 might not cut it.

[RuGlu6]

Have you given the reactor a shake at all? What about the output sponge, is it clean or does it have white gunk in it?

thx for reply.

Yes shaking every day. Both sponges were thoroughly cleaned on Dec 30, now obviously some debris but still enough flow for pellets to tumble.
No white gunk/mulm at all.

Also i wanted to mention to you that in one of your posts you say that pellets covering the zeolites with bio film , "what if" hypothetically it is the other way around ... that it is zeolites covering the pellets?
Because in my case i have no zeolites and i see no white mulm/gunk...

At this point i am seriously questioning the pellets ability to reduce P or N, perhaps in case when they are combined with zeolites they provide food for bacteria that already exists on the surface of the zeorocks. But that alone would not justified the cost, there are a lot of bacteria food around and its not what we want from it.

Oh well, another "miracle" will see how it goes.
One thing i know that i will not be buying another bag of it any time soon.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

thx for reply.

Yes shaking every day. Both sponges were thoroughly cleaned on Dec 30, now obviously some debris but still enough flow for pellets to tumble.
No white gunk/mulm at all.

Also i wanted to mention to you that in one of your posts you say that pellets covering the zeolites with bio film , "what if" hypothetically it is the other way around ... that it is zeolites covering the pellets?
Because in my case i have no zeolites and i see no white mulm/gunk...

At this point i am seriously questioning the pellets ability to reduce P or N, perhaps in case when they are combined with zeolites they provide food for bacteria that already exists on the surface of the zeorocks. But that alone would not justified the cost, there are a lot of bacteria food around and its not what we want from it.

Oh well, another miracle will see how it goes.
One thing i know that i will not be buying another bag of it any time soon.


You will not see the mulm in large quantities or at all if the pellets are tumbling aggressively as the bacterial mulm is constantly being abraded off the surface of the pellets. If the were just in passive flow you would likely see large amounts of the mulm being produced.

The easiest way to tell if they work is to test your tank for nitrates, phosphate etc. Then test the effluent from the pellet reactor...

Doing this test myself the effluent from the reactor has always been zero or close to it.

[hillbillyreefer]

I've been running it for 13 days. The tank with bryopsis, I'm not seeing any difference in. One of the other tanks that had alot of bubble algae, and cyano I'm seeing differences in. The bubble's are disappearing, and the cyano is getting worse,but not much. I'm not sure where the cyano came from but my urchin has been missing in action since just before the cyano showed up. I'd much rather deal with cyano than all the bubble algae so I'm happy. I don't test for phos or nitrates. I've got so much algae in these tanks nothing ever shows up, so I quit wasting my time.

The one major upside I'm seeing is polyp extension. My sps always had a bit of extension, but now it is unreal. A couple of the SPS now have noticeable growth on them. I've got 3 non photosynthetic gorgonians that really haven't ever grown, sometimes they're open most of the time they aren't. In the last week their polyps have been open full time, and new branches are sprouting everywhere. I haven't seen any improvement in the areas I was looking for help in, but the side effects are worth it to me.

I built my own reactors. I used 700 ml pop bottles, cut the bottoms off, covered them with plastic window screens secured with rubber bands. A hole was drilled in the cap so a power head (MJ1200 and Rio 600) friction fit through the hole. To keep the pellets out of the pump a small piece of screen was put over the threads and the cap screwed back on. Works really well. Cost was about twelve cents and 3 minutes of work.

[RuGlu6]

Anyone has a good result for just using NP Bio Pellets alone? I know Kien has but wonder anyone else has.

I am thinking of hooking this up with my TLF and the output will run right into my skimmer.

I really hate changing out Carbon and Rowa.

I would stay with what works (rowa) for now, at least hold it another month.

Just Pellets alone did not work for me it has been more then 4 weeks i see no change at all, except to be honest very good SPS polyp extension in the first week.

I will continue using pellets for now and report later.

[RuGlu6]

You will not see the mulm in large quantities or at all if the pellets are tumbling aggressively as the bacterial mulm is constantly being abraded off the surface of the pellets. If the were just in passive flow you would likely see large amounts of the mulm being produced.

The easiest way to tell if they work is to test your tank for nitrates, phosphate etc. Then test the effluent from the pellet reactor...

Doing this test myself the effluent from the reactor has always been zero or close to it.

Hard to tell when my Po4 is already close to zero. I don't test for No3 (no kit)
supposedly hair algae should disappear, but it is growing at its regular rate.
I only have 4 small fish and one small hippo tang, so no bio load, my point is no miracle, nothing dramatic, no real change.
But how else i would learn if not by making a mistake?

[Delphinus]

I wouldn't really expect the hair algae to disappear overnight though. FWIW, I have hair algae growing on the top 1/2" of my overflow slats where the tangs and urchins can't seem to get at it. The problem is that even if you got your tank down to zero nitrates, the nitrates are still being produced, thus the hair algae is a consumer of nitrates alongside the pellets. So at best it might slow down a little bit but it's really going to have to be a long time before it's starved out. (I think, anyhow.)

I would be testing for nitrate to see if it's having an effect. I would be really surprised if it isn't.

The mulm production is to me more of a bit of an unfortunate side effect rather than a benefit. Perhaps if the pellets are tumbling and the mulm is sloughed off in small but continuous quantities it's more beneficial but one thing I've noticed is that if the pellets are allowed to settle for any amount of time (even just for a few hours), shaking the reactor to re-fluidize the pellets releases a .. . for lack of a better way to put it .. a crapstorm of mulm in biblical plague proportions. I've had my tank in a total blizzard situation at some points after manual agitations. I'm still trying to find the ideal balance of flow and pellet volumes for my phosban reactor to stay fluidized, it's having trouble staying fluidized, what happens is say half of it gets pushed upwards and clumps together while the bottom half stays fluidized. I might have my reactor a little bit overfull so if it continues I might be looking at upgrading the reactor or worst case maybe reducing the volume inside the reactor.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

I wouldn't really expect the hair algae to disappear overnight though. FWIW, I have hair algae growing on the top 1/2" of my overflow slats where the tangs and urchins can't seem to get at it. The problem is that even if you got your tank down to zero nitrates, the nitrates are still being produced, thus the hair algae is a consumer of nitrates alongside the pellets. So at best it might slow down a little bit but it's really going to have to be a long time before it's starved out. (I think, anyhow.)

I would be testing for nitrate to see if it's having an effect. I would be really surprised if it isn't.

The mulm production is to me more of a bit of an unfortunate side effect rather than a benefit. Perhaps if the pellets are tumbling and the mulm is sloughed off in small but continuous quantities it's more beneficial but one thing I've noticed is that if the pellets are allowed to settle for any amount of time (even just for a few hours), shaking the reactor to re-fluidize the pellets releases a .. . for lack of a better way to put it .. a crapstorm of mulm in biblical plague proportions. I've had my tank in a total blizzard situation at some points after manual agitations. I'm still trying to find the ideal balance of flow and pellet volumes for my phosban reactor to stay fluidized, it's having trouble staying fluidized, what happens is say half of it gets pushed upwards and clumps together while the bottom half stays fluidized. I might have my reactor a little bit overfull so if it continues I might be looking at upgrading the reactor or worst case maybe reducing the volume inside the reactor.

You likely have too much volume of pellets in the reactor, my pellets are running using an MJ1200 at full blast. They are churning inside the reactor very aggressively.

[Chin_Lee]

Ian - how much pellets did you put in? 500ml or 1000ml package?

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Ian - how much pellets did you put in? 500ml or 1000ml package?

I am running 500ml full blast.

[banditpowdercoat]

I am running 500ml full blast.

500ml in my phos reactor too. But T'd off my sump return. I probibally need more flow. mj1200 is on the list!

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

500ml in my phos reactor too. But T'd off my sump return. I probibally need more flow. mj1200 is on the list!


Good thing the Maxijets are cheap! :lol:

[Delphinus]

What size system is that 500ml on Ian?

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

What size system is that 500ml on Ian?

150G running Zeo as well. Going to add another 500ml Sunday.

[globaldesigns]

150G running Zeo as well. Going to add another 500ml Sunday.

I actually up'd my BioPellets to 750ml when I moved them into the fluidizer. so I am running 750ml of pellets and 1.5L of Zeolites on a 200G of water (approx water volume)

[selekt]

No tank before and after pictures?

[Delphinus]

Welcome to Canreef. :)

I don't really have any before/after shots, although I suppose I could dig up a photo from a month ago and take another in the same angle. But to be honest there's really not that much visually to go on. The only metric I have that something is happening is the nitrate reading.

[Pescador]

Hey Tony, I know you have a nitrate meter but are there any test kits that you tried that compare to your meter readings?
I have kits by Salifert, Hagen, and Elos. They are all different values and hard to read. I guess I should forget about numbers and just stick to one test and look for a decrease.

[Delphinus]

I think I have both Elos and Salifert for nitrate but it's been some time since I used them. Unless it's a really low reading I usually have a really hard time with colour comparisons and there's a lot of guesswork involved. It's like you say, I end up just using them to spot trends rather than establish an actual number.

[Pescador]

I finally got some movement tumbling the pellets, I tee'd off the aux pump and still using the Eheim.
There's 65 gph exiting the reactor so we'll see what happens. My nitrates are bad, closer to the dark side of the chart. :sad:

[selekt]

Welcome to Canreef. :)

I don't really have any before/after shots, although I suppose I could dig up a photo from a month ago and take another in the same angle. But to be honest there's really not that much visually to go on. The only metric I have that something is happening is the nitrate reading.
Thank you.

Well I was just wondering if you were experiencing the crazy colours and growth that is being experienced with vodka dosing and other similar methods (bacteria driven).

[RuGlu6]

http://www.dvh-import.com/Site2/NP-reducing-BioPellets/View-all-products.html

from Dr. van Houten
NP-Reducing BioPellets Product Guidelines
http://www.dvh-import.com/Site2/Product-Guidelines/View-all-products.html

[globaldesigns]

Just an update:

Since moving the Pellets to their own fluidizer, powered by a MJ1200, I can see even quicker changes. I am running 1 full litre of the pellets now and can say that the green film algae on my glass is litterally falling off and turning a dark brown color. Any algae or other un-wanted stuff on my rocks are forming a dark brown covering on it and when I use my turkey baster to blow it off, it reveals a nice clean rock underneath.

All I can say is this stuff is working. Haven't tested nitrates yet, but will probably do that tonight.

[Willito]

Ok Tony, it's been almost 6 weeks since you started, what is your conclusion at this point. I ask becasue I want to know if the results are anything echoed by the creator. He states that it would take 2-4 weeks to see progress. What positives, if any, have you observed up to this point. Negative? I am all for it if you does what it claims, as I am in need of such remedy for my large fish population. Tell us the real truth.:wink:

[Delphinus]

Pretty much full on win in my opinion. To me the most telling thing is that in a single-passthrough Phosban reactor running maybe 3/4litre of pellets that the water at the input had a nonzero nitrate reading, and the water exiting at the output had a zero nitrate reading, not just a slightly reduced reading an actual zero reading. Thus the turnover proportion through the reactor versus the tank volume becomes the limiting factor in how fast you will see nitrate reduction in your tank.

In a nutshell, I would say it does what they claim, but if anything what we can learn from this thread is that how you run it is the most important variable. The pellets will do nothing for you or in fact can make nitrates worse if just run passively - they need to be fluidized 24/7. So the the reactor you choose needs to be sized appropriately or you have to tailor back the volume so that the reactor you do use can appropriately energize the pellets without clumping issues or slamming into the top of the reactor and gumming up. The slightest obstruction at the output means the mulm will not have a chance to escape and it's amazing how fast it builds up and then the pellets start to congeal together. It's important to have a strong skimmer removing mulm from the water column.

But compared to other methods I've run - ULNS, sulfur denitrators, chaeto, remote DSB's .. this one seems the most win. ULNS work better for visual results but involves more labor, my sulfur denitrators never dented my nitrates and I tried many different configurations, chaeto never makes a dent for me, and neither did remote DSB.

I would totally recommend for a heavy FOWLR as well as a reef.

[Delphinus]

Another thought - I would say it's more important to have the reactor charged up and able to run energized pellets without intervention, than the actual total volume of pellets itself. Ie, if the recommendations are 1 litre per 100g, but your reactor can only reliably fluidize say somewhere between 1/2 - 3/4 litre of pellets, then run the 1/2 - 3/4 instead, and just plan to reload the reactor more often than you might with the larger volume.

[kien]

NP biopellets for the win!! I agree 110% with what Tony said. We got our pellets at the same time. Before pellets I had a nitrate reading of 8 (with a pinpoint meter). Two weeks later that dropped to 4ppm. 4 weeks later I'm sitting at 0 ppm. I can't explain what else could have pulled my nitrates down other than the pellets :-D.


I do have a small amount running passivley along side the main batch in my phosban reactor but will soon be looking into getting a larger reactor to house all 1000mL worth of pellet.

[Willito]

From what I gather so far, it seems that the more fluidize pellets you can create in the reactor, the better the results are. With that in mind, can you actually have too much flow that can somehow adversely be detrimental? If not, then why not super-fluidize the pellets in a larger recirculating reactor and control the throughput by other means.

I am thinking of a recirculating design like a ca reactor with the throughput being determined by the size of the a feed pump and/or valve. Of course it wouldn't be drops per minute but rather gph for the effluent and you would need two pumps in this setup. what's your thought on this?

[Delphinus]

I was thinking along the lines of that myself Will, at the very least maybe a circular flow style reactor; since I have had a few incidents of the pellets clumping up on me - it would be nice to find a more trouble-free way to run it (for now I'm just going to go with a larger reactor so that the pellets can move around more freely).

My guess on a recirculation/multipass reactor however is that it would probably be not as good. The mulm production of these pellets is insane and if not actively shed from the reactor, as it is produced, seems to act as a binding agent for the pellets and they eventually stop fluidizing and then you have to manually stir them up to re-energize them and you also end up releasing a LOT of mulm (I think there's such a thing as "too much of a good thing" in this case). Just my guess though.

Plus though, seeing as single pass is enough to emit effluent with 0 nitrates, there may not be that much benefit to going beyond that. My tank bioload is huge and single pass seems enough to make that zero.

[Willito]

IMO, something like TLF phosban reactor might be too tight for us to achive the fluidization we want without it binding and clogging. In a larger reactor, you will definately be able to turn up the flow and super charge the pellets in a way that I think it is meant to be. I have a huge recirculating reactor powered by an 500gph pump that I think will keep the pellets nicely suspended to do the job. With this level of flow within the reactor, the pellets shouldn't encounter the binding problem, especially if it's composed of light weight polymers, and the mulm should not be noticable as it sheds. For the throughput I am considering a 200-300gph pump, or might even consider gravity feed.

[banditpowdercoat]

Ya, when I get my new skimmer, I'll be retiring my DIY recirc. That might make a nice in sump reactor too?

[globaldesigns]

I have to agree with Tony. I initially put the pellets in the ZeoRX and saw some mulm and changes, but still could not get the green film on back glass to go away, it would dissapate but still form in a different area.

Since putting them in a deltec fluidizer, and only a week later, wow what a difference. No green algae film forming and everything else falling off the back walls.

They do work, if setup properly

[don.ald]

with these pellets one would not run macroalgae as well, correct?
assuming no nutrients for the algae to grow.

[Delphinus]

I have been running a chaeto fuge but have noticed a significant slowdown in its growth since starting. I'm considering stopping running it altogether, just haven't quite pulled the plug on it as yet.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

I have been running a chaeto fuge but have noticed a significant slowdown in its growth since starting. I'm considering stopping running it altogether, just haven't quite pulled the plug on it as yet.


My HOB CPR Fuge is now useless and grows nothing after bringing the pellets online. I will be removing it soon.

[Willito]

when will the 1000ml be in stock?

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

when will the 1000ml be in stock?


1 Week

[Coleus]

1 Week

Lucky me, I ordered the last batch. Hmmm I should resell mine for a profit now.

J/K

I order 2L but not sure how much i am going to use for my 180G tank, any left over, i am willing to part for anyone want to use it right away at cost.

Ian, do i start 500ml or 1L? I have 2 TLFs that i can use

[kien]

I am about to pull the plug on my chaeto as well. Probably a good idea sooner rather than later because if the chaeto starts to starve and die off it will release nutients back into the system. I will be happy to see it go as chaeto has been frustrating to maintain for me. Plus now I can turn off the 'fuge light. Lights out for the 'fuge I guess :-). .. Say goodnight Gracie.

[banditpowdercoat]

Lucky me, I ordered the last batch. Hmmm I should resell mine for a profit now.

J/K

I order 2L but not sure how much i am going to use for my 180G tank, any left over, i am willing to part for anyone want to use it right away at cost.

Ian, do i start 500ml or 1L? I have 2 TLFs that i can use

put the whole L in. 500ml in each TLF. From all the writups in how these pellets work, you can't have to much. They just wear out slower.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

put the whole L in. 500ml in each TLF. From all the writups in how these pellets work, you can't have to much. They just wear out slower.


+1, it would be very difficult to overdose the pellets!

[RuGlu6]

Hey Guys , i e-mailed my questions to the web site stated on the package and here is his response.
One of the points he makes is that you can Not overdose, however i talked to one of the trusted long term J&L personnel and he told me that when he doubled the pellets he had a bacteria bloom in hie tank. Anywho below is the response to my questions.

Morning !

The exact amount is hard to tell because of the bioload of the tank. You can not overdose the product. The guide line is 50-200ml of pellets per 100L of water

The more water thrugh the pellets, the better.

It is best to use the BioPellets in a fluidized bed filter, so yes it is best that they thumble. They can also being used in a canister filter, but keep the flow through in mind.

The production of mulm is not necessory. It is a benefit if it happens because it will serve as food for small animals.

If the pellets are in a fluidized bed filter, then no need to shake the pellet. If they are in a canister filter, I would say yes.

Best Regards / Met vriendelijke groet,

Dennis van Houten

D. van Houten (Import-Export-Euro*Depot/Distribution)
Postbus 5081
9700 GB Groningen, The Netherlands

Tel: +31 (0)6 51717084 Fax: +31 (0)50 5777204

----- Original Message -----
To: info@dvh-import.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 11:37 AM
Subject: BioPellets


Good morning.
Can you please elaborate on the exact use of the pellets in terms of the following

The exact ammount of pellets per 100 liters
The exact amount of flow thrugh the pellets
Shuld the pellets thumble or be at rest
Is the production of mulm necessory or not, some people report a lot of white mulm some none at all
Should pellets be shaken regulary or left alone

[Willito]

Thanks for sharing that. Just as I thought, the more flow throughput the better the pellets will perform. At a high flow rate the mulm is not going to be visable as the fast moving water will carry away any particals shedding from the pellets.

So how many gph is everyone running through their reactor?

[kien]

Thanks for sharing that. Just as I thought, the more flow throughput the better the pellets will perform. At a high flow rate the mulm is not going to be visable as the fast moving water will carry away any particals shedding from the pellets.

So how many gph is everyone running through their reactor?

I'm running 900gph and have not had much issues with mulm after I sliced my phosban filter pads I'm half :). I would recommend doing this if you are going to use a phosban. Enkmat works too.

What I want to know is, what ever happened to the notion of having too much flow through a media reactor? I thought that too much flow would not allow for enough contact time for the bacteria to consume the passing nutrients?

[Willito]

Is that a typo? 900ghp? That seems like alot for a little TLF reator, much more than what I was planning. I was gearing towards 500gph or so. Guess I have to rethink my reactor again.

[kien]

haha sorry that was a typo. Meant to say maxijet 900 with 230 gph. :-)

[burrows14]

Im running 500ml on a TLF with a MJ1200 going full blast

[RuGlu6]

What I want to know is, what ever happened to the notion of having too much flow through a media reactor? I thought that too much flow would not allow for enough contact time for the bacteria to consume the passing nutrients?

x2 !
My point exactly, with fast flow how can bacteria have time to consume anything?

Unless the idea behind this (like was mentioned by Ian) is not to get anaerobic, and bacteria will consume what ever is attached to the individual pellet.
I have to report though that bubble algae is disappearing slowly, i used to have quite a bit of it and now almost nothing (!).
But there was one change, i started using Coral Snow and Zeo bak, so i don't know yet if i am convinced, but hey this is fun !

[Kryptic4L]

ordered mine last night due to this thread. also placed an order with another company for some new digital aquatics gear seeing as ive run out of space on my power bar's. I also has a plan for sponge replacement on reactor that might work out well.

[Delphinus]

I think the difference here is biology, Kien and RuGlu6. Slow flow through a media reactor to increase contact time is typically based on chemical absorption and binding with carbon and GFO. Bacteria on the other hand, in ideal growing conditions, can proliferate insanely fast. It's not unheard of for bacteria colonies to double their population in a matter of minutes. Well, anyone who's suffered through a dinoflagellate bloom in their tank has seen this with their own eyes. This is also why bacterial based ULNS trumps algal based nutrient reductions, for example (not that algae doesn't work, but it grows slower).

[kien]

I think the difference here is biology, Kien and RuGlu6. Slow flow through a media reactor to increase contact time is typically based on chemical absorption and binding with carbon and GFO. Bacteria on the other hand, in ideal growing conditions, can proliferate insanely fast. It's not unheard of for bacteria colonies to double their population in a matter of minutes. Well, anyone who's suffered through a dinoflagellate bloom in their tank has seen this with their own eyes. This is also why bacterial based ULNS trumps algal based nutrient reductions, for example (not that algae doesn't work, but it grows slower).

Ah! That makes total sense! Guess I'll crank it up and strap on a MJ1200 this weekend :-D

[banditpowdercoat]

I'm running 900gph and have not had much issues with mulm after I sliced my phosban filter pads I'm half :). I would recommend doing this if you are going to use a phosban. Enkmat works too.

What I want to know is, what ever happened to the notion of having too much flow through a media reactor? I thought that too much flow would not allow for enough contact time for the bacteria to consume the passing nutrients?

I think that falls fro different media. The biopelets probibaly do not need the contact time like Rowa or carbon?

[Chin_Lee]

I tried using enkamat and found the pellets still get through quite easily. I then used quilting mesh and its working very well in keeping the pellets in the phosban reactor while allowing the mj1200 to flow at max.

[Delphinus]

Sorry, but as someone who doesn't quilt a whole lot, could you please post a picture so I can know what it looks like? Please and thank you?

[Chin_Lee]

hey Tony
For the record I don't quilt either and i'm sensing a tone of mockery of my feminine side :)
to prove my lack of quilting abilities, its actually a needlepoint mesh that I'm using. I saw it in the fabric section of any craft store and its been very usefull in many DIY applications. They come in many different mesh sizes too.
Here's a youtube video of what it looks like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30xYy_JlT8Q

[Pescador]

Oops I was typing the same time as Chin_Lee
Tony, Walmart has it, it's plastic needlepoint canvas like a big window screen, it's the same stuff used in making viv's to wrap the eggcrate.

You can sort of see it on top of the eggcrate.
I'm using a double layer of enkamat and single layer canvas.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/Pescador58/Poison%20Dart%20Frogs/IMG_1428.jpg

[hillbillyreefer]

Window screen has been working for me. Not the metal stuff, make sure it's plastic.

[kien]

I can just picture all those crazed reefers aimlessly wandering hardware and craft stores looking for that perfect perforated material.. :lol: I get very strange looks when a salesperson asks me what I'm going to be using something for.. :biggrin:

[Coleus]

Woot got my pellets today. Thanks Ian for super fast shipping. Going to hook it up tonight and will give everyone update after 1 week :-)

[banditpowdercoat]

I can just picture all those crazed reefers aimlessly wandering hardware and craft stores looking for that perfect perforated material.. :lol: I get very strange looks when a salesperson asks me what I'm going to be using something for.. :biggrin:

Your tellin me. You should have seen some looks at the building supply store when I was building my 7'l Powdercoating oven!
"I'm building an oven" "HUH?" "Ya a walk in Oven" "Huh?"

[kien]

Your tellin me. You should have seen some looks at the building supply store when I was building my 7'l Powdercoating oven!
"I'm building an oven" "HUH?" "Ya a walk in Oven" "Huh?"

LOL! Nice! Sometimes they want you to explain.. and at that point I just give up. Just help me find the damn part, it is not for you to understand!

[Coleus]

Help! My Phosban reactor keep leaking and i can't fit it into my sump. is it because i have too much flow? I am using 500ml with MJ1200. What the heck i am doing wrong? I really hand tight it.

[kien]

Help! My Phosban reactor keep leaking and i can't fit it into my sump. is it because i have too much flow? I am using 500ml with MJ1200. What the heck i am doing wrong? I really hand tight it.

Is it just one phosban reactor or do you have it daisy chained (hooked up) to a second phosban? Sometimes when people daisy chain them and put a restricting device like a valve at the outlet it causes back preassure in the phosban which will cause it to leak. Sometimes even clogged up second phosban will cause the first phosban to build up enough preasure to cleak. Are you using the sponges? Is it leaking out of the main head or out of one of the nozzles?

[Coleus]

It is leaking the main head. I cut the sponges into half like in your thread. I do not daisy chained to anything.

[burrows14]

if needed Ill ship you a replacment oring if you can fix it by monday

[Delphinus]

Is your flow control valve on the inlet side of the reactor or the outlet? If it's on the outlet side, switch it around to the inlet side (ie. between powerhead and reactor). This way the reactor can't pressure up. Also check to see all hoses are seated all the way in. Sometimes when that's not enough you can take some twist ties, or zap straps, and squeeze the hoses onto the fittings, or the rubber ends onto the hose inserts. Last but not least open up the reactor and check that the O-ring is still in there, and that there isn't a little bit of debris interfering with the seal.

It's not the flow, my carbon reactor leaks like crazy if I let it, and I run way slower flow through it. I had to do all of the above to make it stop leaking.

[burrows14]

agreed flow has nothing to do with the leaks

[Coleus]

if needed Ill ship you a replacment oring if you can fix it by monday

Thanks you for your kind offer.

My control valve is between the reactor and maxijet, I don't get leaking from hose, it is from the lid. I open it up and the o-ring is still there. I am going to try put some tape and see if it is still leaking tomorrow, Right now, I tilt it so that the leaking water going into my sump. I also notice by tilting it, i got my pellets bouncing nicely.

[Chin_Lee]

the oring in one of my reactors was a little small than it should be. i had to stretch it out a little bit and then quickly install the oring and screw on the lid in order for it to sit properly. give that a try

[burrows14]

Pm me on monday and let me know because I bought a couple extra orings because I had the sam problem.

Cheers
Ray
Thanks you for your kind offer.

My control valve is between the reactor and maxijet, I don't get leaking from hose, it is from the lid. I open it up and the o-ring is still there. I am going to try put some tape and see if it is still leaking tomorrow, Right now, I tilt it so that the leaking water going into my sump. I also notice by tilting it, i got my pellets bouncing nicely.

[Coleus]

Hey Ray,

Where do you order extra orings?
Thanks

[burrows14]

I got mine from J&L. they dont always have them in stock tho thats why i bought a couple when they did.

Cheers
Ray
Hey Ray,

Where do you order extra orings?
Thanks

[Delphinus]

You can also get O-rings from Rona and Home Depot, but you'll kind of have to peruse the selection to find one the right diameter and thickness..

[Kryptic4L]

you could also try hi-tech seal's

[Chin_Lee]

i saw a healthy selection of orings at Lordco if you have one nearby

[kari]

Large and difficult sized o-rings are sometimes expensive and hard to find. In the past I purchased the required OD o-ring material off the roll and cut/glued the size to fit.

Not sure if this method helps but it worked great for what I was doing.

[RuGlu6]

Just to give you guys a heads up.
using pellets since Dec 30. the cheato colony totally collapsed yesterday,
looks like there is some nutrient depletion going on. Also noticing hair algae collapsing as well (noticeably easier to grab and dispose of the hair algae).
jmtcw

[Coleus]

I am not sure if low nutrient is good for my tank beacause it is mostly LPS.

[RuGlu6]

i have got some LPS as well, so i feed them more directly now with Cyclopeze, reefroids etc.

[Coleus]

My one day update. I emptied my skimmer cup yesterday and now i notice the color is dark brown instead of dark green that i used to get. My nitrate is reading at 15, will update the reading after one week.

So to solve the leaking problem i have to tilt the reactor a bit so any leaking will go into the sump. The same thing happens to my other reactor :-( I use both reactors for pellets now, 500ml on each. For carbon, I just put in a bag and put it into my filter sock.

[globaldesigns]

I am seeing some real changes now... Algae on glass is dead and just hanging on, I am not touching it, as I don't want to pollute water anymore, letting the fish and cleaning crew clean things up. Some areas of rock that had fine algae do not anymore, the algae is dead and is brownish and just hanging on. Again letting the fish and cleaning crew clean things up.

The skimmers are going crazy, lots of skimmate and the days of green tinged skimmate is also gone. The color is brown to dark brown, again an indication of no live algae.

So, today I took one step further, since I am using a large Deltec Fluidizer with MJ 1200, I had room left inside. So I now am running approx. 1.5L of NP BioPellets along with my current 1.5L of Zeolites.

I still have new Zeolites in bags, so will keep running them, but once I have used them up, I am considering the next step to be removing the ZeoRX.


On a sad note: I have had a mandarin since pretty well the beginning of my tank setup, it has been about 5 days now and I have not seen him. So after about 1.5 years I think he fell victim to a crab, mantis or maybe is in my right side overflow (however I am unable to check it as it is against the wall). He was beautiful, rest in peace if you are gone.

[don.ald]

curiuous. why remove the zeostones?

[globaldesigns]

curiuous. why remove the zeostones?

Well to see if the Pellets can keep things going, and if so, then I don't have to bother pumping reactor everyday, don't have to buy stones and so on. Would make things even easier. But if by chance things were changing for the worse, I would put them back in. Personally I haven't had much luck with the Zeolites, not like I have with the BioPellets.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Backorder status....

New order of Biopellets arriving later this week; however, we have very few 500ml bags so anyone looking to order will have to go with the 1000ml instead. Better value anyway.

Cheers!

[fencer]

Here is a related link ...just for interesting reading

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16595525

[banditpowdercoat]

IO has made something similar too???

[Pescador]

IO has made something similar too???

It kind of sounds like theirs is a liquid you add to your tank. It settles out then dissolves over time?

[Delphinus]

I was trying to look up some of the links referenced .. yeah, so it seems as it there is already some kind of liquid product, then references to a plastic intended for mold injection or something like that? I didn't really have tiome to read it all and digest it all so I'm not sure what's up with that.

Wouldn't surprise me in the least though if other brands wanted a piece of this action sooner or later. They're just that good!!

[kien]

I just can't wait until they make coloured pellets or glow in the dark. Then I can hang the reactor outside (of my stand) and watch them bubble.:lol:

[fencer]

I have heard that you can use molasses as a carbon source as well

[Coleus]

I am seeing some real changes now... Algae on glass is dead and just hanging on,


Does this mean i have to look for a new home for my 4 urchins soon?

[kien]

Does this mean i have to look for a new home for my 4 urchins soon?

my urchin eats coraline, which the bio pellets have not affected.

[Coleus]

my urchin eats coraline, which the bio pellets have not affected.

phew, glad to hear

[Kryptic4L]

just waiting on my shipment still, started phase 1 of my mesh / foamless reactor

[Pescador]

Speaking of urchins, its probably unrelated to the pellets but my 5 year old long-spine is in the corner losing its spines. There seems to be less algae on the front glass and the skimmers are starting to produce a little more.

[Coleus]

Ok, the skimmage smell is so bad. My wife can smell it 10 feets away when i empty the cup

My nitrate reading still not dropping with api test kit after 5 days running. I do see lots of mulms like Tony described

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/picture.php?albumid=237&pictureid=2746

[Kryptic4L]

coleus, I believe they were using a pinpoint nitrate monitor to watch. I believe the test kit's were rather inconclusive.

[Chin_Lee]

Is anybody monitoring their ORP while using this product? My ozone generator has been offline for some time now and the ORP was hovering around 380 mark +/- 20 mv. I started with the NP pellets and my ORP has steadily dropped to 260 mv. Not sure what it is today but has anybody else noted their ORP levels dropping?

[globaldesigns]

Is anybody monitoring their ORP while using this product? My ozone generator has been offline for some time now and the ORP was hovering around 380 mark +/- 20 mv. I started with the NP pellets and my ORP has steadily dropped to 260 mv. Not sure what it is today but has anybody else noted their ORP levels dropping?

Sorry no, I haven't done so, nor do I have any way to.

I haven't even tested nitrates, etc... Just watching to positive affects to algae depletion, water clearness and overall color happiness

[kien]

Is anybody monitoring their ORP while using this product? My ozone generator has been offline for some time now and the ORP was hovering around 380 mark +/- 20 mv. I started with the NP pellets and my ORP has steadily dropped to 260 mv. Not sure what it is today but has anybody else noted their ORP levels dropping?

my orp (Profilux ORP probe connected to controller) was hovering around 410 prior to the pellets and now it is still hovering around 410. So I haven't noticed any change. Lots of people were reporting tonnes of mulm from their pellets, and although I had some, It did not get out of control. I think Tony said that when he shook his pellets his entire tank went snowy ? All that mulm could cause your ORP to drop maybe ? So if an ORP drop is caused by the pellets then either the mulm isn't being consumed or skimmed out fast enough maybe?

[RuGlu6]

Is anybody monitoring their ORP while using this product? My ozone generator has been offline for some time now and the ORP was hovering around 380 mark +/- 20 mv. I started with the NP pellets and my ORP has steadily dropped to 260 mv. Not sure what it is today but has anybody else noted their ORP levels dropping?

ORP in my tank did not change at all, it was 350 and still 350 after a month or so of using the pellets.

( side note: i have a lot of air going through an air driven skimmer in addition to Deltec 600 skimmer )

[Pescador]

My ORP hasn't really changed still at 340. I've got a lot of flow that's really churning 2 litres of pellets and haven't noticed any mulm yet.

[Delphinus]

Yeah, now that I've been able to resolve the clumping issues I don't have the mulm buildup anymore. I just had a tiny bit too much pellets for the phosban reactor, that's why I'm telling people now they're better off running fewer pellets than the recommendation because it will still work fine, just run out sooner, but will work better because of the increased mulm shedding.

[ALBERTA REEF]

Well I am up and running with the N/P pellets. One of my sleepless night projects. Did testing to phosphate 1.0mg/l and nitrate 25mg/l. Elos test kits. I can tell the pellets are working by the smell burping out of my skimmer. We will see how it works and that I get practice using my test kit.:biggrin:

[Coleus]

well i totally fail on this. I was away for couple days and the mulm build up that clog up the reactor. I think i am done with TLF, going to look for a big reactor that can do the job

[globaldesigns]

well i totally fail on this. I was away for couple days and the mulm build up that clog up the reactor. I think i am done with TLF, going to look for a big reactor that can do the job

I personally use a Deltec Fluidizer, without using any sponges/foam inside. I have 1.5L of Pellets running with a MJ1200. They tumble quite nicely and there is about 1.5-2 inches of space from top of output and top of tumbling pellets.

Things work well and no pellets are expelled from the reactor. I personally would recommend that everyone not use the foam inside and try to get tumbling without forcing the pellets to the top.

These pellets once soaked for a bit do sink, and therefore if flow is correct won't end up in aquarium.

[Canadian]

well i totally fail on this. I was away for couple days and the mulm build up that clog up the reactor. I think i am done with TLF, going to look for a big reactor that can do the job

Stop using the sponges. Go to Michaels and get some plastic needlepoint/cross stitch canvas/mesh. Cut it out to the shape of the round disks in the TLF reactor (actually just slightly larger - more like the size of the internal dimensions of the reactor). I'd put it on both sides of both disks to ensure none of the pellets escape. Use a hot glue gun to secure it to the disks. Run all the flow you want until the cows come home. Bob's you're uncle.

I have this mesh in my TLF reactor running Biopellets (on one side only hence the recommendation to put it on both if you're intending to nearly fill the reactor) and it's heavily fluidizing the pellets and they all stay in the reactor.

Picture of previously mentioned mesh (Mine's black. I got it from Michael's. It also comes in white) :

http://z.about.com/d/crossstitch/1/6/z/A/-/-/pcanvas.jpg

[burrows14]

Im upgrading tanks in a couple of week and moving all my rock and using 100% new water and subtrate. Will moving my current pellets to the new tank cause any problems because of not as much bacteria or will they just prevent any issues in my tank right from the get go?

[hillbillyreefer]

Im upgrading tanks in a couple of week and moving all my rock and using 100% new water and subtrate. Will moving my current pellets to the new tank cause any problems because of not as much bacteria or will they just prevent any issues in my tank right from the get go?

There is always some die off when you move from one tank to another. I'd think having established BP would be a great benefit to the new tank. It should help to keep the mini cycle that's going to happen to a minimum.

[Coleus]

Thanks

Stop using the sponges. Go to Michaels and get some plastic needlepoint/cross stitch canvas/mesh. Cut it out to the shape of the round disks in the TLF reactor (actually just slightly larger - more like the size of the internal dimensions of the reactor). I'd put it on both sides of both disks to ensure none of the pellets escape. Use a hot glue gun to secure it to the disks. Run all the flow you want until the cows come home. Bob's you're uncle.

I have this mesh in my TLF reactor running Biopellets (on one side only hence the recommendation to put it on both if you're intending to nearly fill the reactor) and it's heavily fluidizing the pellets and they all stay in the reactor.

Picture of previously mentioned mesh (Mine's black. I got it from Michael's. It also comes in white) :

http://z.about.com/d/crossstitch/1/6/z/A/-/-/pcanvas.jpg

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Update! AGAIN.

We are still waiting for our large order of Biopellets to arrive, it seems the manufacturer is having difficulties keeping up with demand on these Pellets. We should see our order late this week and will ship out all orders at once.

If you have ordered Pellets from us we appreciate your patience!

O.C.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

We are now stocking the MOD material for the reactors and it is available on our website for those that don't have access to it. We are also offering a MOD service to all our reactors and installing the mesh for use with the Biopellets, this is an option that is selectable on the reactor listings..

O.C.

[Coleus]

I think i am going to order a Vertex reactor. Wait for Kien to try it out :-)

[burrows14]

can the vertex reactor be in sump?

[don.ald]

i would think most would keep it in the sump?

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

can the vertex reactor be in sump?

Vertex reactor can be in sump or out.

[Coleus]

Despite all problems with TLF reactor that I have, imy nitrate is going down from 20 to 15 after 2 weeks running ( and i skipped the water change)

[dreef]

Have you recieved another batch of pellets yet Ian ?

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Have you recieved another batch of pellets yet Ian ?


Actually I received three of the 500ml but all were sold and have shipped out. I have about 30 bags of the 1000ml bags that will be here tomorrow or Monday. I believe I have 3-4 bags that are not spoken for yet.

:mrgreen:

[RuGlu6]

Yeah, now that I've been able to resolve the clumping issues I don't have the mulm buildup anymore. I just had a tiny bit too much pellets for the phosban reactor, that's why I'm telling people now they're better off running fewer pellets than the recommendation because it will still work fine, just run out sooner, but will work better because of the increased mulm shedding.

I want the mulm ! :mrgreen: or at least to see how it looks LOL.

[artrye]

I've been running the BioPellets since January, 2 TLF 550 reactors 500mL in each, sponges have been cut in half. Both reactors have a Maxi 1200. I just cannot make all the pellets tumble. Only half of the pellets will tumble and the other half just sits there. Is this fine?
For the time i've had my biopellets, I have slowly taken away the vodka, nitrates and phosphates are @ 0. Excellent polyp extension, clear water, I could not be more impressed with the pellets. Just wondering about the tumbling cause I dont want any type of build up in the reactor. I've tried the full 1L of pellets in one reactor, same result. I've tried a 600 gph, same result. Running out of ideas, maybe I should get a different reactor. Anyone have any suggestions?

[Canadian]

I've been running the BioPellets since January, 2 TLF 550 reactors 500mL in each, sponges have been cut in half. Both reactors have a Maxi 1200. I just cannot make all the pellets tumble. Only half of the pellets will tumble and the other half just sits there. Is this fine?
For the time i've had my biopellets, I have slowly taken away the vodka, nitrates and phosphates are @ 0. Excellent polyp extension, clear water, I could not be more impressed with the pellets. Just wondering about the tumbling cause I dont want any type of build up in the reactor. I've tried the full 1L of pellets in one reactor, same result. I've tried a 600 gph, same result. Running out of ideas, maybe I should get a different reactor. Anyone have any suggestions?

Go back one page and read post 223.

[Alohatropics]

Hi everyone,

I have a question. I've been running Zeovit with Biopellets within the same KZ 6L reactor. Have you guys stopped dosing ZeoStart2? I was assuming that since NP Biopellets is already a carbon source, it would be unnecessary to dose Start2 as this would be dosing even more carbon.

For those running a hybrid system like this, please let me know if your doing the same, thanks
!

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Hi everyone,

I have a question. I've been running Zeovit with Biopellets within the same KZ 6L reactor. Have you guys stopped dosing ZeoStart2? I was assuming that since NP Biopellets is already a carbon source, it would be unnecessary to dose Start2 as this would be dosing even more carbon.

For those running a hybrid system like this, please let me know if your doing the same, thanks
!

We do not recommend running the two together in the same reactor, the pellets need to be tumbled aggressively separate from the Zeolites. I would still dose the Start2 but at a reduced rate.

[Alohatropics]

My problem is that I have a 550gallon system and I'm running almost 3L of Biopellets. It would take a huge reactor and a huge pump to tumble that much. This is why I chose to put it with the zeolites. I can manually pump the reactor and mix everything up 2x a day this way. Is there something you would recommend for running this much NP?

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

My problem is that I have a 550gallon system and I'm running almost 3L of Biopellets. It would take a huge reactor and a huge pump to tumble that much. This is why I chose to put it with the zeolites. I can manually pump the reactor and mix everything up 2x a day this way. Is there something you would recommend for running this much NP?

I would run something like this http://www.oceaniccorals.com/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=134 with a Mag 3 pump, you should have no problem fitting in 3L of media and also keeping them fluidized. You have a rather large system!

[Alohatropics]

Thats funny, I'm running an MR Monster with carbon in one tube and GFO in the other. Maybe I'll run the pellets in both because they didn't fit into 1 tube originally. Thanks!

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Thats funny, I'm running an MR Monster with carbon in one tube and GFO in the other. Maybe I'll run the pellets in both because they didn't fit into 1 tube originally. Thanks!


Glad we could help, also welcome to Canreef! Where in NY are you from and how did you find us?

[Alohatropics]

I'm on Long Island, I'm actually a vendor but I was searching for some people on the internet that is running both NP and Zeo together. Thanks for the info!

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

i'm on long island, i'm actually a vendor but i was searching for some people on the internet that is running both np and zeo together. Thanks for the info!

yw!

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

All Pellets have shipped to all those who have been waiting ever so patiently for them to arrive!~ Post your results once you get them running!

Thanks!

O.C.

[kien]

If you don't like them for whatever reason, I am setting up an environmentally safe and sound disposal facility in my basement, so please send them my way.

PM for details.

K.

[banditpowdercoat]

if you don't like them for whatever reason, i am setting up an environmentally safe and sound disposal facility in my basement, so please send them my way.

Pm for details.

K.

lmao!!

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

If you don't like them for whatever reason, I am setting up an environmentally safe and sound disposal facility in my basement, so please send them my way.

PM for details.

K.


LOL,

Kien,

You will love the Reactor combo, post pics when you get it going.....

:mrgreen: