Bio pellet or gfo reactor

I

Incaico

Premium Member
I'm debating between both. Can you guys that have use both chime in and tell me which one you prefer and why? Also what kind of reactor are you using? I'm thinking of going with a Brs reactor for either gfo or the pellets.
 
You will need both realistically, bio-pellet's are not so good at removing phosphates ime. So biopellet's gfo and carbon...woooohoooo The reactor's are not that good for biopellet's, I would get another brand specifically for biopellet's or mod a used TLF reactor like here. http://tinyurl.com/TLF-MOD

Cheers,
 
Brs biopellet reactors are not that good they don't allow enough flow to get a tumble.

I have been running biopellets for almost two years now. I don't run gfo as I feel as long as your dosing the bacteria you should have 0 nitrates and phosphates. I do run carbon in media bag that I change out every ten days when I do a water change


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I was using a vertex
Zr-15 zeovit reactor that I converted but now upgraded to jns alpha 2 biopellet reactor.

Contact member vushnick he might have a extra one


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@kuyatwo wrote:
Brs biopellet reactors are not that good they don't allow enough flow to get a tumble. I have been running biopellets for almost two years now. I don't run gfo as I feel as long as your dosing the bacteria you should have 0 nitrates and phosphates. I do run carbon in media bag that I change out every ten days when I do a water change Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk said:
Are you actually testing for phosphates, cause once I tested, my phosphate levels were 0.06ppm and the gfo got them below 0.03ppm. Ton's of folk's do both but depend's on what you are doing with your tank, each is different. I feed alot now where as before I did not feed as much. Some run just bio=pellet's and seem to be ok, some run both and seem to be ok....find out what work's for your tank is the real answer here. [smilie=smile.gif]

Cheers,
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Yeah Ron I test with red sea pro test kit and Hanna checker. I alternate dosing both zeobak and mb7 with great results. And I noticed frank at franks tanks has taken off all his macro algae and exchange them with biopellets. I do have a golf size ball of chaeto that is in my external overflow and it has stated the same size for over a year now.


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@kuyatwo wrote:
Yeah Ron I test with red sea pro test kit and Hanna checker. I alternate dosing both zeobak and mb7 with great results. And I noticed frank at franks tanks has taken off all his macro algae and exchange them with biopellets. I do have a golf size ball of chaeto that is in my external overflow and it has stated the same size for over a year now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk said:
Thats a little different just running biopellet's and not having having phosphates. [smilie=lol.gif]

Cheers,
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Leaning towards a a gfo reactor and then save up for a larger bio pellet reactor than the Brs brand.
 
@Incaico wrote:
Leaning towards a a gfo reactor and then save up for a larger bio pellet reactor than the Brs brand. said:
Gfo reactor is like $15-$20 you see them all the time on the boards. Tlf phosban reactors.

Just depends what you want to spend either way is a wash. Biopellets you can run for a year on almost one bag. Gfo is can expire pretty quick on how high your phosphates are. Plus biopellets consume nitrates.


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@kuyatwo wrote:
I have been running biopellets for almost two years now. I don't run gfo as I feel as long as your dosing the bacteria you should have 0 nitrates and phosphates. I do run carbon in media bag that I change out every ten days when I do a water change said:
@kuyatwo wrote:
Yeah Ron I test with red sea pro test kit and Hanna checker. I alternate dosing both zeobak and mb7 with great results. And I noticed frank at franks tanks has taken off all his macro algae and exchange them with biopellets. I do have a golf size ball of chaeto that is in my external overflow and it has stated the same size for over a year now. said:
I have heard of running bio pellets, but I have never head of "dosing" them. Can you provide me with some details or point me in the direction of a good article?

Mitch
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Hey Mitch.

He's "dosing" (which basically means adding very small amounts - measured in ml) Microbiactor 7 and Zeobak, two products which boost the good bacteria in your system. If you want more research on it look up the zeo and brightwell nano dosing methods.
 
I feel it depends on how high your PO4 is to start with. If its low, or undetectable, then just biopellets will be fine. If PO4 is really high to start with, then you will most likely still need to use GFO as well to get the levels down. Biopellets use PO4 the least then NO3 and finally carbon. So again, if the PO4 level is already stable and low, then biopellets will be fine alone, and you can always add a little GFO reactor later.
 
I have the Reef Octopus BR-70 reactor and am very happy with it. I am running it with a MJ600 with 300ml of NPX pellets in it. It tumbles the pellets really well. The only thing I've noticed is that there is a small spot up near the mesh filter where a few pellets always float up and get lodged in place. Other than that it seems to be great. I stopped running my GFO when I started the biopellets.
 
I used bio-pellets for a year before moving here. I built a reactor similar to the BRS carbon/GFO reactor. Cost me about $20 in parts from eBay. I used a MJ1200 to drive it, but I installed a ball valve in the line between the pump and the reactor to control flow. I set it for a constant tumble, like a fast boil. Worked great. I lost all my chaeto, though. PO4 dropped to undetectable levels just like the nitrate. I would occasionally use MB-7, but you shouldn't need GFO. Carbon is good, though.

I'll be using bio-pellets again on my new build.
 
Does anyone know what the tank-size ratings are for the reef octopus biopellet reactors? I am assuming The br-70 is up to 70 gallons and so on. If so, do they make one larger than the br-140?
 
I'm running the TLF NPX biopellets. They say to use 100ml per 25g.

BR-70 = 300ml = 75g
BR-110 = 800ml = 200g
BR-140 = 1500+ = 375g+

BRS recommends using 236ml per 50g with their pellets.
 
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