Reef nutrition

Solid Vodka Dosing? What do you guys think about these new reactors?

Going on 6 mos now and I do notice it helps reduce cyano and algae once I increased the beads tumbling rate in the reactor, but it is not a cure all in my system since I do feed alot, and I mean alot. I am about to put my gfo back online in addition to the biopellets to choke my algae issue. The verdict, I would say yes, it works, just make sure it tumbles at a very high rate.
 
I hear the way it works is it produces a carbon source for nitrifying bacteria. I would think that it only takes care of nitrates not phosphates.
 
Read somewhere that NP brand Biopellets were/are supposed to deal with both?, Nitrates and phosphates (Hence the N P ?) I just did not want to jump on the new trend in filtration. If it works with both nutrients then is a simple solution instead of running GFO, Sulfur reactors, sugar/vodka, etc.
Rich mentioned too he received a product and the dealer/manufacturer said "tell us if it works"??? Can't recall if the product was some sort of pellets. Still I'm reading here and there on the subject of NP Biopellets.
 
I use WM Ecobak but I can't tell if it's working cause my nitrates were always low and my phosphates ran around .04 to .10 when using GFO. Can't get the damn thing to tumble though with my BRS reactor no matter how much flow I put through them (probably has to do with the reactor and the hose). Thinking bout getting an Avast MR5 and seeing how that works out.
 
xcaret said:
Read somewhere that NP brand Biopellets were/are supposed to deal with both?, Nitrates and phosphates (Hence the N P ?) ...
Click to expand...

Do you have to replace those a lot more?

My guess would be that they add GFO/similar to the pellet, and expect you to replace it fairly often.


If it is truly bacterial:
1) I would be really curious as to what type of bacteria they might be using there.
I have heard of phosphorous "sollulizing" bacteria, that convert P into forms more usable by plants/fungus.
But I have not heard of any bacteria that eat and sequester significant amounts of it directly.

2) How does it get out of the tank??
With denitrifying bacteria, they convert nitrates to nitrogen gas, so exhausts out.
But you do not manually remove the bacteria.
 
Believe has to be replaced at X time, not sure of it, might depend on the tank, bio-load; it is rather "consumed" than depleted? to my understanding.
I was looking into NP-Bp after the tank crash; I had a Sulfur based reactor for nitrate control and it was about due a recharge on the sulfur media which has it's pros and cons; since I found about the NPB-p's and reading a little, thought it was a smarter safer choice.
I base my decision on whatever add to the tank based on reading what other people post. I don't want to state/affirm but think replacing Bp's is not as often as one would GFO. Is one of the reasons that I'm still contemplating the media if I see the need for it and have done my homework about the product being the right choice. At the moment I have no need for it, nitrates and phosphates are well under control;
"If it ain't broke..."
I'm getting a bit more into SPS and I'll be feeding/adding more to the tank so at the moment is what I'm having on the scope-sight.
 
sfboarders said:
I use WM Ecobak but I can't tell if it's working cause my nitrates were always low and my phosphates ran around .04 to .10 when using GFO. Can't get the damn thing to tumble though with my BRS reactor no matter how much flow I put through them (probably has to do with the reactor and the hose). Thinking bout getting an Avast MR5 and seeing how that works out.
Click to expand...

Stupid question then... why did you decide to use a biopellet reactor? I am using one (but by no means would recommend it right now as I am still evaluating what exactly it is doing), but I was having a Nitrate problem. My understanding is that they work very well for controlling Nitrates but not as well for PO4. I use a Next Reef reactor (the one with the clear blue acrylic) with EcoBac pellets and a Mag 3 to feed it. I am currently running 1.5L of media and have no problems with tumbling. In fact I have it dialed down a bit as the Mag 3 was actually a little too much. My understanding is that the blue acrylic does not promote algae growth on the media as much as the clear one does.

The following opinions have been brought to you by someone of no real authority.
 
... you learn something new every day.
I did not even bother to wonder Why are those reactors (Next Reef) blue? just cool looking toy; I saw one on Joe Vincent's tank (180G) and was "Cool toy gotta get me one of those!" but what for?
Still, if I spot one FS DIRT cheap, I'll grab it...
 
Again it is just a manufacturer claim (though it does make some sense to me) so take it with a grain of salt.

"Light-reducing cast acrylic tubing reduces the buildup of nuisance algae and fosters beneficial bacterial growth"
 
I've been running WM pellets for 3 months now and so far I got mixed results. I'm using the BRS dual reactor with GAC with a mj1200 and it's tumbling alright. It's tumbling more after the 3 month mark for some reason. Water is crystal clear and corals are doing good except SPS ,'cause mine got wiped out 2 months ago :( 'cause of ALK issues. HA is growing on my rocks and glass but not too bad yet. Skimmer is pulling some dark stuff tho with my light bioload.
 
seminolecpa said:
sfboarders said:
I use WM Ecobak but I can't tell if it's working cause my nitrates were always low and my phosphates ran around .04 to .10 when using GFO. Can't get the damn thing to tumble though with my BRS reactor no matter how much flow I put through them (probably has to do with the reactor and the hose). Thinking bout getting an Avast MR5 and seeing how that works out.
Click to expand...

Stupid question then... why did you decide to use a biopellet reactor? I am using one (but by no means would recommend it right now as I am still evaluating what exactly it is doing), but I was having a Nitrate problem. My understanding is that they work very well for controlling Nitrates but not as well for PO4. I use a Next Reef reactor (the one with the clear blue acrylic) with EcoBac pellets and a Mag 3 to feed it. I am currently running 1.5L of media and have no problems with tumbling. In fact I have it dialed down a bit as the Mag 3 was actually a little too much. My understanding is that the blue acrylic does not promote algae growth on the media as much as the clear one does.

The following opinions have been brought to you by someone of no real authority.
Click to expand...

I ran out of GFO and wanted to try another alternative. If this can keep my nitrates and phosphates low I'll probably stick with it. Also nice that you don't have to change it out as often as GFO is what tempted me to give it a try.
 
That's one of the "attractive" things about the pellets, not having to change it often. One thing I consider too is (VS a Sulfur based reactor) is that you may add more media any time and Sulfur reactors once you open it to replenish media, bacteria dies and have to start all over again the process or so I read.
 
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