Biopellets Info

Lil BamBam

Lil BamBam

Premium member
Hello Everyone,

I have been doing research regarding Bio-Pellets and need everyone’s input. Still haven’t tested my tank with top of the line test but have used API which I can’t trust. LOL!! Here are a few questions..

  • What brand and which ones to stay away from?
  • How much is needed and how would it be measured?
  • Signs to watch out for when using this product?
  • How often do you replace?
  • What not to do?
  • Any good instructions when 1st staring up?
  • Where should this be placed to be most effective?

What reactor to use or stay away from? IMO stay away from BRS reactor for BP.. Have seen to many issues when trying to solve my GFO problem..

Please add any videos or links that will help knowing about Bio-Pellets good or bad. Would like this thread to be useful for members trying this product…

Dre
 
poidog

poidog

Active member
Don't do it. There have been so many threads I've been reading of people ditching pellets because they have crashed their tanks. I think now that there been out for a couple years they are running their course and people are ditching them.
 
Lil BamBam

Lil BamBam

Premium member
poidog said:
Don't do it. There have been so many threads I've been reading of people ditching pellets because they have crashed their tanks. I think now that there been out for a couple years they are running their course and people are ditching them.
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Yeah, but I know a few members that use it with great success.. Im old school and like the old methods :D W/C, carbon dosing, GFO, DSB and fuge.

Lets face it.. Things are getting better and far advanced so fast.
 
SkullV

SkullV

New member
poidog said:
Don't do it. There have been so many threads I've been reading of people ditching pellets because they have crashed their tanks. I think now that there been out for a couple years they are running their course and people are ditching them.
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Like any other product out there you ONLY hear the bad stories, rarely does anyone get on the internet to give a GREAT review of the product they are using. Also 99% of the time the people who crashed their tanks used the pellets incorrectly (I have read the stories too).. I have been using bio pellets for months now without a problem. Parameters haven't shifted. Corals haven't died, fish haven't shown any ill effects.

I use a modified Phosban 150 reactor running off my Eheim1262 return pump. Never had an issue with clumping, never had an issue getting them to tumble. I run 300ml of NPX Bioplastics. I added 100ml a month for the first three months and drew a line on the reactor where the pellet level is when the pump is off. It is ESSENTIAL to add them slowly like this or you will probably crash your tank. Every 3 months I'll check the pellets and add more to get back up to the line.

Like most of the aquarium products that "crash" peoples tanks, its almost always user error and not the products fault.
 
Cubbies

Cubbies

Active member
I'm going on three weeks now with mine. I started with half of half recommendation Dre. Personally I'm using the BRS single canister. I gotta admit I love it. I am running a Mag3 with it. Just a recommendation put a pre filter on the pump which you will use. Believe it or not I am starting to see a huge difference. My sandbed is alot whiter and the spots that are still a bit dirty are starting to clear up. My SPS is coloring up so nicely and I'm starting to see polyp extension that I had not seen before. Also I was having a bit of a problem with film algae on the glass and now I am the point were I have minimal to none. You don't replace the pellets you add a bit after about 6 months or so. In all honestly I don't think I could be happier with how it's turning out. I plan on adding about 1/4 of a cup in a couple weeks. I would recommend starting out reeeeeaaal slooooow!
 
ColaAddict

ColaAddict

New member
The nicest lookin SPS tank owned by badsmitty in RC uses biopellets. U have to use it properly and start with only a fraction of recommended amt or youll crash your corals due to the rapid reduction of nutrients. I dont think fishes are affected by that, so u might be able to start full dosing with a fowlr tank. Also, like any carbon dosing, a good skimmer is a must.
 
SkullV

SkullV

New member
ColaAddict said:
The nicest lookin SPS tank owned by badsmitty in RC uses biopellets. U have to use it properly and start with only a fraction of recommended amt or youll crash your corals due to the rapid reduction of nutrients. I dont think fishes are affected by that, so u might be able to start full dosing with a fowlr tank. Also, like any carbon dosing, a good skimmer is a must.
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People have noted fish getting red sores as a result of adding large amounts of biopellets too quickly.
 
lunacris

lunacris

Active member
I've been running one on my 210 for a lol while I love it be sure to start slow get nice tumble and feed more if you have lps these are the first to not like the sudden change so I run about 1000 ml on my 210 & will be stopping at 1500 however I only started with 250 & added equal amounts as weeks passed oh and try and make sure the out of this reactor is coming out where your skimmer takes in I personally shake mine up and do it at night I've read the tank loves it almost.like feeding good luck
 
FishBeard

FishBeard

New member
So once you have an established BP reactor running, is there any further need for GFO? Since I already have a dual reactor, and "could" use one canister for both GFO and Carbon (only have like 55g water volume), I could just get the fittings I need to run the 2 reactors separately and do BP in the other. I really need a worthwhile alternative to a fuge since I have nowhere to add one to my system, and GFO is going to get costly long term...
 
lunacris

lunacris

Active member
depends on your system I guess most will say you.need all three I'm still testing and in a few weeks my final tests will be the determining factor if I need the gfo or not I've been to stores that say both gfo and biopellets do the same thing and others that say they don't bio pellets will.do some of the work but it looks like not all of it
 
FishBeard

FishBeard

New member
Well if I am already running GFO, and will need to keep doing so, what is the point of adding the BP to the system?
 
EricTheRed

EricTheRed

No, I'm not a communist..
I've been doing it for 1.5 years on my reef and also run them on my new fowlr. I used a cheap Phosban 150 with a MJ 1200. If you go this route, make sure you take out the foam sponges inside the canister and replace them with plastic mesh to keep them from clogging. You can buy the mesh from 2 Little Fishes or go to a hobby or fabric store and buy the the mesh that is used for needlepoint and cut to fit. I bought a BRS pellet reactor for my fowlr and have to say I regret not staying with the Phosban 150. The BRS unit is big, bulky and has rigid tubing which vibrates and makes noise. On the plus side, it is easier to add pellets to the BRS unit. Also the BRS unit is supposed to be mounted outside of the sump and can't hang on the sump like the Phosban reactor. I didn't have the space to mount it under my fowler so it's actually sitting in my sump. This is just my preference, some people may actually prefer to have it mounted and have plenty of space....just food for thought.


One of the things you need to be aware of is that it is recommended to start with a half dose (or less) and go from there. How many pellets you use will be determined by your bioload. If you start w/ 200ml of pellets and add 100ml more a week later and find that 300ml is working for you, then you don't need to use the entire bag of pellets (400ml or 500ml depending on brand). Just use what you need and top-off the pellets every 3-6 months, depending on your consumption. One real issue to look out for is that bp's can reduce your nitrates so fast that the rapid drop can effect your coral that was "acclimated" to higher nitrate levels. Much of this boils down to what your nitrates are when you start the bp's. If you're only starting at 5ppm nitrates then the pellets are not going to upset any coral going from 5ppm to zero in a few days. If you're at 40ppm and go to zero in a week, well guess what, you should expect that there could be issues with coral, right?

When I started 1.5 years ago on my 90G, I didn't have any sps yet and I was at 15-20ppm nitrates. I started with 200ml of pellets and within 3 days I was at zero. My lps wouldn't fully open for about a week. Then they rebounded and never looked better. I don't know what might have happened if there were sps in the tank when it went from 20ppm to zero so fast. I never had anything bad happen to my fish, so can't comment on that either.

What I do know is that I have SICK sps color, tons of growth and I feed my 7 fish like kings...and my tank hasn't crashed (yet).
 
EricTheRed

EricTheRed

No, I'm not a communist..
poidog said:
Here's a good recent read.
http://www.reefs.com/blog/2011/12/14/90-days-of-bio-plastics-use-my-observation/
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Thanks, Eric!

This excerpt from the article explains why people's tanks would crash and why you must have a good protein skimmer running. Another reason why i might get a CO2 scrubber.

The recommended dosage for the total water volume of my system was 400mL of pellets, which equals about 2.5 cups. Julian had recommended beginning with 1/2 the recommended amount when I started and making adjustments after a couple of weeks. The biggest reason that he recommended this is the fact that as the colony of bacteria grows there are more organisms using oxygen in the water column. This is one of the big dangers of carbon dosing. As more and more oxygen is depleted the livestock that depend on it become endangered. Not only that, but pH is affected by the cellular respiration taking place and it too begins to decline. When it becomes too low, system crash is inevitable.
 
FishBeard

FishBeard

New member
ETR, you've seen my tank, my SPS are very bright and vibrant, and my tests always come out below 5ppm nitrate, 0 phos (cause of the GFO). Do you think I have anything to gain from adding the BP to my system?
 
Cubbies

Cubbies

Active member
I agree with Eric 100%. If used correctly there shouldn't be a problem at all. I believe that problems occur when people start running them like they shouldn't. Like I said previously, I started about 3 weeks ago and have started to see nothing but positive affects on all my corals including SPS. In all honesty I was about to give up on SPS as it wasn't giving in my tank. I wasn't seeing much color out of them, minimal PE, etc.... Ever since starting to run BP my tank is having a total turn around. Corals look amazing and growth has been crazy as well. Again I started with half of half of the recommended amount.
 
FishBeard

FishBeard

New member
Cubbies, if you read that article, the writer's experience reflects your own. He was very satisfied with the BP at first as well, then it went downhill....
 
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