GFO vs Biopellets

KeishaKornbread

KeishaKornbread

Banned
From what I understand GFO absorbs phosphates and removes them when you remove the GFO. Bio Pellets, provide a carbon source, which will promote bacteria which will feed on phosphates and nitrates and remove them. So why wouldn't someone just run BP since it would be taking care of two issues, whereas just running a GFO reactor would only handle phosphates? :confused:
 
Asked same question and answer i got was that bio pellets are for nitrates and may help with phosphates and gfo is for phosphates will not remove nitrates not sure but i was thinking like you and set up a bio pellet reactor and my nitrates and phosphates both dropped im guessing if you have really high phosphates that gfo is answer i had high nitrates and lower phosphates and it did the job just my experience tho perhaps gfo does something else i missed
 
bio pellets are also much more aggressive, and IMO for experienced reefers as many other parameters must be kept in check or you get a total tank crash. Also, tank will need supplements, to keep corals happy, because it can strip too much out of the water.

GFO, put it in the sump and forget about it.
 
Yes, they are for two different issues. GFO is specifically meant for phosphate removal. Biopellets will secondarily remove phosphates, but are designed for nitrates. If you don't have much issue with phosphates, then bio-pellets are the way to go, but if you're looking for drastic reduction in both, then you'd need both. The bacteria's not geared for phosphates.
 
All the above :)

If your PO4's are fairly low to begin with then the bp's can keep them in check w/out gfo. As poidog said, you can run into problems with the nutrients being too low running bp's. I've noticed a lessening of color in some of my sps and believe it is because my nutrients are too low. I've doubled up on feedings to generate more fish poop :becky:
 
ETR get zeo Xtra for the sps to color back up. I've heard nothing but good things about it. I'm going to try it out.

2000th post --- :D
 
Congrat's on # 2000 :)

Have you ever heard of Aquavitro's Fuel? I was thinking about trying that out?

poidog said:
ETR get zeo Xtra for the sps to color back up. I've heard nothing but good things about it. I'm going to try it out.

2000th post --- :D
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poidog said:
bio pellets are also much more aggressive, and IMO for experienced reefers as many other parameters must be kept in check or you get a total tank crash. Also, tank will need supplements, to keep corals happy, because it can strip too much out of the water.

GFO, put it in the sump and forget about it.
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Like in a mesh bag in the sump? Or in a reactor?
 
I don't have problems with nitrates but my phosphates have been creeping up a tiny bit. My Hanna Checkcker says it is at .3 and my API tests say zero. Nitrites and Nitrates are still zero. More nitrifying bacteria is a good thing, right? And with more of them in my system, they would eat up the phosphates right?

Am I wrong? I've slept with a biologist or two, but I am certainly not one...so I'm no expert.
 
chgoblknazn said:
I don't have problems with nitrates but my phosphates have been creeping up a tiny bit. My Hanna Checkcker says it is at .3 and my API tests say zero. Nitrites and Nitrates are still zero. More nitrifying bacteria is a good thing, right? And with more of them in my system, they would eat up the phosphates right?

Am I wrong? I've slept with a biologist or two, but I am certainly not one...so I'm no expert.
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Sounds like you might be best suited with only GFO. You should shoot to have your PO4's < 0.03, so you're a little on the higher side for keeping sps. Are you seeing any algae?
 
Be careful with bio pallets. They will strip your system clean( too clean) that's when your system will crash. They work great but bacteria that bp creates don't know when to stop consuming nitrates and phosphate. So that will come down to true zero. Not good. It took me about 8 months to get to that point. So I think use GFO and cheato for nitrates. Much safer.
 
Damianek said:
Be careful with bio pallets. They will strip your system clean( too clean) that's when your system will crash. They work great but bacteria that bp creates don't know when to stop consuming nitrates and phosphate. So that will come down to true zero. Not good. It took me about 8 months to get to that point. So I think use GFO and cheato for nitrates. Much safer.
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Thanks for the heads up! I think this may be the direction I take.
 
+1 for GFO, -1 for pellets. IME, they strip the water too quickly and I experienced some bleaching from them. In addition, many people, including myself, have had increased cyano from the pellets. I'll never try them again.
 
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