Bio Pellets and Skimmer

[FrootStick]

Hey guys

Looking at running bio pellets, but can really plumb it up to my skimmer.
Is this necessary? Or can i run the reactor without it being plumber directly to my skimmer.

Any info on this would be great.
Thanks

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Since we only very broadly understand how organic carbon reduces N/P in a reef tank, following what works for everyone else is probably your best bet. Having said that, I will say that I've done a good bit of research on organic carbon dosing, and I don't quite agree with the reason that most reefers say you should do this. It just doesn't make logical sense to me.

Proponents of plumbing the reactor to the skimmer say that your DT can have algae outbreaks and blooms if you don't skim the effluent first. This would make sense, except that people who dose other sources of organic carbon, like vodka/sugar/vinegar, don't use a reactor. These reefers simply dump the organic carbon directly into their tanks. The bacteria that eat the carbon source aren't contained in tanks that don't use a reactor, so following the logic above, everyone who doses organic carbon without a reactor should have massive algae/bacterial blooms in their tanks. This is just not so. Many reefers dosing vodka/sugar/vinegar have seen the same benefits that those using biopellet reactors have.

I would certainly try the reactor without plumbing to your skimmer. If you start to have algae or bacterial blooms, them you may need to plumb to your skimmer. However, I don't think you will.

 

[FrootStick]

My thoughts exactly mate. People were telling me to dose vinegar and glucose. But it's the same thing. Thanks I will give it a go!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

My thoughts exactly mate. People were telling me to dose vinegar and glucose. But it's the same thing. Thanks I will give it a go!

Agreed, that's my understanding as well. Biopellets are essentially a nutrient source much in the same way that vodka or sugar is. Unless anyone else has seen information I'm not aware of.

 

[DaveK]

Before you start to use bio pellets or start to dose a carbon source, let me ask you this... What sort of problem are you trying to solve?

There can be valid reasons for using either method, but you don't want to do it unless other methods are not working. If you don't have a problem, then save your money.

 

[chadzx10]

Use nopox by red sea. Keeps nitrates low, much easier than bio pellets

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[chipmunkofdoom2]

NO3: PO4-X from Red Sea is a fine product and there's nothing wrong with it, but it's simply another thing to dose daily. The main appeal of a biopellet reactor is that you don't need to dose something daily. The reactor requires periodic maintenance and refills, but that may be ideal for reefers who are not able to dose daily.

If OP wanted to dose a liquid carbon source, I'd recommend dosing vodka or vinegar instead. Aside from the cost savings, you can dilute vodka/vinegar to an exact concentration. This way, you can use it in a dosing pump.

Again, nothing wrong with NO3: PO4-X. I just would (and do) use something cheaper and more available if I was to go the "liquid" route. At the end of the day, we're just trying to add a sugar source to the tank to get bacteria going, no more, no less.

 

[FrootStick]

Bio pellets in reactor suit my needs far better. I work away 3 weeks at a time.

 

[MatroxD]

If I remember, from when I first started investigating using them, the reason you want to plumb it is not only because of the good for the bacteria, but primarily because of the co-polymers within the plastic. Basically what the pellet is made of, in addition to the actual mulm(the shedding that they do) that the pellets give off.. It supposedly is a lot, and something you don't get from dosing vinegar, vodka, etc(other forms of carbon dosing).

I can't remember, but for example, I dose vodka before using pellets. And the skim is vastly different, nastier(thus, I began overdoing my skimmer sizes ever since) and stinks a massive amount more.. I remember Jeff(reef dynamics) explaining it more eloquently, but basically that's one of the reasons.. And when you first begin or set up your reactor, you don't even have the bacteria count to consume what would normally not go into your system, so if the skimmer pulls it fast(wet skim), then you don't have it cycling in the system..

That's what I remember, as I've been using pellets for probably 4 to 5 years total I believe.. And it also makes a big difference the type of reactor, whether it's single pass or recirculation.. The difference is very much in the independent control of the effluent and tumble rate.. Recirculation is, as I have come to discover for media(even gfo, calcium rector and carbon) one of the most advantageous things you can implement in a reactor..


And in my reactor, I typically have to top off about 2 oz every 6 to 8 months. Of course this will depend on things such as your tumble, tank size, effluent(pass through rate), etc.. And then, even on this system,i have never run it at or equal to 50% open(more like 1/4 open) after the initial break in of the pellets. On setup of the reactor,i have water flowing through it, but pretty much just a trickle stream(the advantage of a recirculation reactor). Then, once that initial and crazy all of a sudden drop happens(its pretty amazing, as it always happens over the course of two days that it can potentially drop nitrate easily 20ppm or more, thus the danger in using pellets), I dial it in(the effluent rate via the valve), so that it drops very slowly. Then, it's pretty much just a thing of getting the rate to the level I want to maintain(basically testing every two days) Other than that, honestly, I don't touch it.

Its really a set it up and forget it thing as long as you have the right type of reactor and pellets.. No sticking, no muss, no fuss..


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