Bio Pellet Question

C

ctaylor81

I've used the search function, but haven't found an answer to my question. I plan to use bio pellets on my new 120-gal in a Next Reef reactor. I think I'm going to run it on my Mag9.5 and T the pump off and run it to the bio pellet reactor and a BRS reactor, with ball valves to control the flow. I'd like to keep the BRS reactor plumbed in, just in case I need it for carbon or GFO later down the road if the need arises.

My main question is when to start running the pellets on a brand new tank? From the beginning or wait til the cycle has completed? Or when? I haven't come across an answer to this question, so any help is appreciated.

Thanks
 
You can start from day one. I would recommend a gate valve and not a ball valve. A ball valve has an off and an on and then an in bewteen....where a gate valve you will have much more control of your flow.
 
I agree with Steve. Get it set up on day 1. By the time the tank is cycled, you should have a good start on the bacteria colony in it.

And the gate valve suggestion is a good one. I have a ball valve on mine and it's a serious pain when I want to make fine adjustments to tumble rate and flow.
 
Very cool. I'll make sure I have it running when I get it going. Also, with gate valves instead of ball.

Secondly, I'm still stuck on which pellets to run. Everyone is making pellets now, so I guess I just need to pick one I like and have read good reviews on. I've used a lot of BRS's products and have generally been satisfied. Any other suggestions?

Thanks
 
i would recommend the reef octopus reactor over the brs reactor. i like the cone bottom it gets a good tumble with minimal dead spots. I'm comparing it to my nextreef reactor which had problems with dead spots at the bases edge.

Im running two fishes pellets. fairly happy with it. the pellets are rounded instead of cylinders like the BRS plus franks tanks always has some in stock when i need to top off the reactor.
 
i have the brs biopellet reactor with their brand of pellets and i am very unhappy. i dont know which on is the issue, but will be going with different pellets first.
Tapatalk
 
I have used the BRS pellets and Ive had problems with it sticking together and have had to run extra flow. I've been running two fishes for about 2 months and I've been happier. No clumping and I'm getting better numbers according to my elos test kits. I've also heard good stuff on the vertex pellets too.
 
You should check out the new reefdynamics Bio pellet reactor.
there is a lafish Guy video that helps explain the design and its what makes since to me, and I wouldn't use any other reactor besides it.
You should check it out
 
i spoke with about a dozen people about which brand to use while at macna and these seemed like the best option. http://www.npactivepearls.com/

i have been debating giving them a try for a while and will likely try them. i will be getting the coralvue reactor because as mentioned, the cone bottom is supposed to really help.
 
I'm using reefoctopus 110 reactor with brs pellets and I'm happy, but i did get a bigger pump for the reactor (mag 9) I'm going to try pellets that are round instead of cylinder look I think they should Trumble better.
 
They are pretty much all the same I have ran biopellets since they first came out. Vertex to ATB to BRS to tlf currently running biospheres. One thing you must do is dose a bacteria weekly if not daily to get the full usage from them I have noticed if you don't dose the biopellets will not get consumed. I alternately dose daily of mb7 and zeobak.

Also once you start biopellets you need to feed your tank and fish more or you will starve your corals.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I use the NextReef reactor, and have used Vertex and now Biospheres. I'll be using EcoBak starting in January.

Make sure the output of the reactor is flowing DIRECTLY into the intake of your skimmer pump. If you can fabricate a little PVC fitting to hold it in place, even better. I've been running them for 10 months, since my tank was started up. They work.

Remember to keep your Alkalinity around 8 dKH. If it creeps up to around 10 dKH, some SPS corals will suddenly have burnt tips. If you lower the alk, the coral will heal up but it is lost time because the coral has to regrow.
 
I use BRS brand pellets in a large Sea Side Aquatics reactor and hate that I still have to clean the reactor bimonthly !! it slows weekly to the point where it completely stops tumbling. Should of spent a tad more and gone with a Octopus or SWC reactor which have the inverted cone for better tumble. Get one of these 2, you won't regret spending a bit more. Trust me !!
 
Bringing up my old thread because my new tank now has water and I will be putting the pellets online tomorrow. A few new questions though:

1. When I feed, I turn off my return, powerheads and skimmer, but do not have it setup where my bio-pellet reactor and carbon reactor (same pump) are turned off as well. I know I need to direct the output from the bio-pellet pellet reactor into my skimmer, but when I'm in feed mode and the skimmer is off, will my water quality be affected by 10-minutes of no skimming?

2. If the answer to #1 is yes, then is it OK to have the pellets stop tumbling for a period of 10-min's until my skimmer is back on? I have no experience with pellets yet, but it seems that this will increase the likelihood of clumping if they stop tumbling and sit stagnant for 10-min's.

Any help is appreciated
 
my bio pellet reactor is hooked up to my return pump so it shuts off for 15 minutes at each feeding. So far I haven't had any clumping issues and that's not enough time for anearobics to do much so I would think you would be fine.
 
I've had my biopellets reactor off for over an hr with no clumping. The problem I have is, since it's connected via manifold to the main pump it pics up debris and small pieces of macroalgae which slowly slow the flow till it has to be cleaned. I recently made some of the holes in the bottom plate bigger and it helped tremendously with the flow issue.
 
Soaked my pellets for over 24-hours, but still had half the first batch float to the top. Also not sure my Mag7 is going to be enough flow to power the carbon reactor and the bio-pellet reactor, given the head loss. I'm going to give it a few days and see how the tumbling goes, then possibly upgrade it to a 9.5 I have laying around. I'll report back in a few days.
 
If you have decent flow, but not a ton, they should settle. Usually, I think the recommended amount of flow makes the surface of the pellets in the reactor "boil". You should see a lot of agitation on the surface, but the water shouldn't be blasting through the reactor. If the pellets don't settle in a day or so, you might try reducing the flow.
 
@ctaylor81 wrote:
Soaked my pellets for over 24-hours said:
Seems like you should be able to get enough flow, with the mag7. The mag9 will probably add a bit of heat to your tank, almost worth it to run two seperate MJ1200's on each of your reactors. Hopefully they will tumble better in a day or so. [smilie=smile.gif]

Cheers,
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