Biopellets Info

[SkullV]

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....

The last sentence of the Blog reads:

Am I sorry I began dosing with solid carbon? No. Will I continue the regimen? Always. Would I recommend the use of bioplastics? Most definitely. The ups and downs are part of the hobby and a little extra work never killed anyone that I’m aware of.

 

[EricTheRed]

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?

Nope, not unless you want to increase your bioload or get rid of your fuge.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

In my case, when I converted my 90 from a fowlr to a reef tank, I really didn't know much about keeping reef tanks. Instead of getting a big sump so I could have a fuge, I kept the old wet/dry trickle filter, removed the bioballs and used it as my sump. Since I didn't have any room for a fuge and really wanted to keep fish (bioload) and coral in the tank, I decided to try bp's instead of geting a bigger sump and going with the traditional methods. It's worked well for me and will continue to do it on all my tanks.

 

[EricTheRed]

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....

Yeah, but even after he took his pellets offline, he still said he'd start them up again after his tank stablized.

 

[FishBeard]

Nope, not unless you want to increase your bioload or get rid of your fuge.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

In my case, when I converted my 90 from a fowlr to a reef tank, I really didn't know much about keeping reef tanks. Instead of getting a big sump so I could have a fuge, I kept the old wet/dry trickle filter, removed the bioballs and used it as my sump. Since I didn't have any room for a fuge and really wanted to keep fish (bioload) and coral in the tank, I decided to try bp's instead of geting a bigger sump and going with the traditional methods. It's worked well for me and will continue to do it on all my tanks.

Since I dont have a fuge, just a tiny critter keeper with some rubble and cheato, im going to leave my system the way it is. Actually going to remove the keeper and go back to the shower caddy to hold the cheato since it was an experiement in POD sustainability, which failed miserably.

 

[Lil BamBam]

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.

Yes, his tank is one of the best ones in my list. I also took pictures of his tank

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2089434

 

[Lil BamBam]

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).

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.

Well after doing some heavy reading and so many threads. I might give this a try with 1/2 cup as starters or less. I will keep this thread updated as much as possible with my experience. Will take pictures and videos to help new comers to biopellets.

Cubbies, ETR, Skull, I will be in contact with you guys as I'm taking this slow.

Also would a air stone help?

 

[Cubbies]

Also would a air stone help?

For?

 

[EricTheRed]

Airstone isn't required, just a good skimmer. Lemme know if you have any questions. Also, keep an eye on pH, there's a good chance it might drop a little bit.

BTW...what's the "list" you're talking about.

 

[poidog]

I would do a CO2 scrubber. Will keep O2 elevated and keep your pH stable.

 

[Lil BamBam]

BTW...what's the "list" you're talking about.

Is my list of tanks that I wish I could have