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View Full Version : Recirculation biopellet reactor flow rates


Seth81
07-03-2013, 06:06 AM
So I just bought a recirculation bio pellet reactor, the Aqualund Proteus -200 model to be exact. As I have no experience with a bio pellet reactor, I was wonder what people recommend as an effluent flow rate.

The reactor seems to top off at an effluent flow rate of 0.053 gpm, which seems much too small for my 190 Gallon tank (250g system), but like I said I have no experience, so I am looking for experience peoples opinions.
Also does anyone see a problem with me connecting the reactor discharge into the John guest fitting of my skimmer? I've heard you may not want to direct all the effluent from the reactor to the skimmer.

Seth81
07-04-2013, 09:32 PM
Anyone have any expeience?:question:

kien
07-04-2013, 10:28 PM
So I just bought a recirculation bio pellet reactor, the Aqualund Proteus -200 model to be exact. As I have no experience with a bio pellet reactor, I was wonder what people recommend as an effluent flow rate.

The reactor seems to top off at an effluent flow rate of 0.053 gpm, which seems much too small for my 190 Gallon tank (250g system), but like I said I have no experience, so I am looking for experience peoples opinions.
Also does anyone see a problem with me connecting the reactor discharge into the John guest fitting of my skimmer? I've heard you may not want to direct all the effluent from the reactor to the skimmer.

I have never used a recirculating reactor so I don't have any experience with those. My biopellet reactor pump is rated for 500gph and I have the inlet valve dialled back to about half that. I would guess my flow is somewhere between 100gph and 200gph (ish). I don't really know. Nor have I really cared. I just focus on the tumbling of the pellets. That is, make sure they are nicely fluidized all throughout the reactor.

I have seen some people plumb the outlet of their BP reactor directly to the inlet of their skimmer but I have never done that. Instead I just point the BP outlet at the Skimmer inlet. Yes, some of the effluent makes its way into the sump and water column but the theory there is that some of BP byproduct also feeds corals in the tank so that's OK.