Best Biopellet Reactor?

icedearth15324

icedearth15324

TeamCR
I have a heavily stocked 75g tank with 29g sump and I'm looking at getting a good biopellet reactor.

I was using a cheap reactor, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't big enough to handle the amount of biopellets I would need for my bioload and tank size. I'd prefer one that comes with a pump already because finding a pump to match can be annoying (or more expensive), but that isn't a deal breaker.


Anyone have any advice?
 
I am using a Reef Dynamics recirculating reactor on my 75 and could not be happier.

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Eventually I believe I would want to get to around 400mL of biopellets. But if I'm going to spend this kind of money for a reactor, I'd probably potentially want one that could be run on up to a 125g tank in case I upgrade.
 
I am running their BPR135 and it is rated for up to 135 gallons. I also use 12oz of their pellets and my levels stay low.

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I recommend you look deeper into using BPs before you use anywhere near 400ml for a 75gal tank.....

here is my experience with using BPs [http://www.chicagoreefs.com/forums/showthread.php/20198-My-Bio-Plastics-experience] after months of research and years of avoiding them based on all the horror stories all over the boards....most regarding the stripping of all nutrients in the water column....

IMO, unlike pumps and skimmers, I think going "small" is the safe and effective way to go....of course like anything else, everyone has different experiences so ymmv

best of luck ;)
 
I'm with Cet on this. 400 is a lot on a 75. I've been running about 200 ml on my 220 gal tank and nitrates are pegged at zero. I've been using this amount for about two years and I have big dirty fish. I use a tlf 150 that I modded for BP and it works flawlessly. It's just what I had around, but it works well.
 
cet98 said:
I recommend you look deeper into using BPs before you use anywhere near 400ml for a 75gal tank.....

here is my experience with using BPs [http://www.chicagoreefs.com/forums/showthread.php/20198-My-Bio-Plastics-experience] after months of research and years of avoiding them based on all the horror stories all over the boards....most regarding the stripping of all nutrients in the water column....

IMO, unlike pumps and skimmers, I think going "small" is the safe and effective way to go....of course like anything else, everyone has different experiences so ymmv

best of luck ;)
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A lot of my research has said to use around 230-250mL of BP per 50 gallons. The reactor I had before was an Aquatop MR-20 and I was using NPX biopellets and after using around 1/2 cup and increased it to a little more and never saw my nitrates go down. I feel it was mostly because of the bad reactor, since the pellets barely moved in it.
 
icedearth15324 said:
A lot of my research has said to use around 230-250mL of BP per 50 gallons. The reactor I had before was an Aquatop MR-20 and I was using NPX biopellets and after using around 1/2 cup and increased it to a little more and never saw my nitrates go down. I feel it was mostly because of the bad reactor, since the pellets barely moved in it.
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I use a cpr nano tumbler and about 30 -40 ml of npx pellets is too much for my 50 gallon

Again if you have any lps .. Zero nitrates is not idea imo


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I would highly recommend going with a recirculating reactor. Will make it much easier to maintain proper levels. Instead of having to remove media all you have to do is turn a valve to reduce reactor output. Biggest thing in using a Bio reactor is testing. You don't want your levels to get to zero. That will hurt your tank. I aim for my nitrates to be between 5 and 10, and phosphates around 0.05.

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mlott132 said:
I would highly recommend going with a recirculating reactor. Will make it much easier to maintain proper levels. Instead of having to remove media all you have to do is turn a valve to reduce reactor output. Biggest thing in using a Bio reactor is testing. You don't want your levels to get to zero. That will hurt your tank. I aim for my nitrates to be between 5 and 10, and phosphates around 0.05.

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You can adjust the waterflowing into the JNS to reduce the turbulence by twisting a grate on the pump but I'm not sure if it is as easy or precise as what you're describing.
 
icedearth15324 said:
A lot of my research has said to use around 230-250mL of BP per 50 gallons. The reactor I had before was an Aquatop MR-20 and I was using NPX biopellets and after using around 1/2 cup and increased it to a little more and never saw my nitrates go down. I feel it was mostly because of the bad reactor, since the pellets barely moved in it.
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You should start with a 1/4 max of what you think you will need. You can always add more in a few months. This MUST be a slow ramp as it takes time to seed. GL. I used a TL150 on a 65g
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I ended up getting an awesome deal on an Alpha 2 Reactor which is overkill in size, but I like the convenience factor of how I add more pellets. I started off with around 50-60mL of NPX pellets and will go from there.
 
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