O.C.'s Pellet questions and answers! - Page 18

Coleus · #**171** 06-21-2010, 05:28 AM

Well, I have been runing the pellets with 2x TLF 150 reactors for over 3 months and just start to see the great result since I turn off my UV. I am going to upgrade them to Deltec FR-509. Can i just transfer the content of the 2 x TLF to Deltec? Will it cause any bio restart?

kien · #**172** 06-21-2010, 06:44 AM

I just upgraded from a Vertex 15 to the Vertex 20

I just dumped everything from the 15 to the 20 and topped it up with new pellets and it didn't skip a beat. I tried to preserve as much pellet and water as possible.

Coleus · #**173** 06-21-2010, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kien

I just upgraded from a Vertex 15 to the Vertex 20

I just dumped everything from the 15 to the 20 and topped it up with new pellets and it didn't skip a beat. I tried to preserve as much pellet and water as possible.

thanks

fkshiu · #**174** 07-03-2010, 07:17 PM

How important it is to have the pellet outflow going into the skimmer?

I have a gravity-fed skimmer directly from my overflow so it will be quite awkward for me to have the pellet outflow feeding the skimmer intake.

Cameron · #**175** 07-05-2010, 06:53 AM

Ive been running the pellets for a few more weeks now....having a really bad hair algae outbreak.

My GSP are brighter than ever yet my LPS and SPS are suffering...any thoughts?

Delphinus · #**176** 07-05-2010, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cameron

Ive been running the pellets for a few more weeks now....having a really bad hair algae outbreak.

My GSP are brighter than ever yet my LPS and SPS are suffering...any thoughts?

Seems strange. I've added pellets to two tanks now and can't say my SPS nor LPS really showed any difference before and after. Could there be someone picking on them?

Quote:

Originally Posted by fkshiu

How important it is to have the pellet outflow going into the skimmer?

I have a gravity-fed skimmer directly from my overflow so it will be quite awkward for me to have the pellet outflow feeding the skimmer intake.

My guess is it's better to outflow into an area near the skimmer outtake, but not mandatory.

frd72 · #**177** 07-15-2010, 07:23 PM

hi there i purchase a bag of NP Bio pellets few months ago from Paul..
Here is a quick video of the phosban reactor with pellets, i used Quite one 2200 pump to have that tumble i want. i have a 75G tank.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnMGzUh6Qow
Thanks for watching...

teddy

Cameron · #**178** 10-22-2010, 07:23 AM

why am I getting such an algae outbreak everytime the pellets start going?

GMGQ · #**179** 04-19-2011, 06:12 PM

Hi, what are your thoughts about running a biopellet reactor without a skimmer? I want to reduce N & P, as well as provide some food for the frags.

I'm considering running biopellets on my 30gallon frag tank. There's only 1 fish in there, and he's adding to the bioload, so algae is growing in that tank.

From what I read, the main reason for needing a skimmer is to oxygenate the water, as the bacteria uses up the oxygen. I have a maxijet 400 w/ venturi running in my sump to oxygenate the water already, plus my drain sometimes sucks down a gulp of air, and flushes a bunch of micro bubbles into the sump. So i'm thinking that should be sufficient for oxygenation?

If I do run biopellets, I would use a TLF150 reactor and not use that many pellets anyways. Therefore there should not be an excessive amount of bacterial mulm floating around.

So other than the oxygenation issue, is there any other downside to running biopellets without a skimmer?

Thanks in advance.

abcha0s · #**180** 04-19-2011, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMGQ

Hi, what are your thoughts about running a biopellet reactor without a skimmer? I want to reduce N & P, as well as provide some food for the frags.

I'm considering running biopellets on my 30gallon frag tank. There's only 1 fish in there, and he's adding to the bioload, so algae is growing in that tank.

From what I read, the main reason for needing a skimmer is to oxygenate the water, as the bacteria uses up the oxygen. I have a maxijet 400 w/ venturi running in my sump to oxygenate the water already, plus my drain sometimes sucks down a gulp of air, and flushes a bunch of micro bubbles into the sump. So i'm thinking that should be sufficient for oxygenation?

If I do run biopellets, I would use a TLF150 reactor and not use that many pellets anyways. Therefore there should not be an excessive amount of bacterial mulm floating around.

So other than the oxygenation issue, is there any other downside to running biopellets without a skimmer?

Thanks in advance.

Simply put - it won't work. Period. Don't try it.

Here's why. The whole point of carbon dosing is to export nutrients from your system. The bateria consume the N&P and are then exported from your system through skimming. If you don't skim them out, the bacteria will eventually die in your system and release the Carbon/N&P back into your water colomn. This creates a really bad bacteria cycle and can potentially lead to a tank crash.

There is no magic to the use of biopellets. The N&P will stay in your system until you remove it. If you don't skim it out, you are just adding carbon to the system and removing nothing.

To answer a question posted earlier - you really need to direct the effluent from the biopellet reactor directly into your skimmer. Ideally it would be a direct link between the two systems. If you simply direct the effluent in the general direction of the skimmer intake, the system will be less efficient and you will have more bacteria in your water colomn. This bacteria will die leaving the carbon in the water colomn (where it was previously only in the reactor) and the whole system will not be as efficient. Even with a good skimmer some bacteria will end up in the water colomn (which may be a good thing) but you really want to minimize this.

- Brad