biopellets vs refugium

[exray]

I'd like to here ur opinion because I'm undecided between the two for a mix reef 120gallon tank. 48"x24"x24"

[Runfrumu]

If my sump were set up to where the refugium I used to have didnt collect so much detritus I would still have one. If you have a sump that is designed to have one they are great, like another little place where you can grow different types of macro's and and good place to help keep your pod population up with the benefit of nutrient removal.

Things being the way they are with my sump, I just run the biopellets. Also an extra reactor satisfies the equipment junkie in me too so it all works out.

[Anemone0524]

They are really two different things. Most people think of them as one or the other, but they accomplish different goals. I've run both.

In my experience, if you want lower nutrient, cleaner tank, with less maintenance, go with Biopellets. Its still relatively new, but its a proven product already on a lot of tanks, including mine. I was not able to get such low nutrients using a fuge with Chaeto. Its also basically set it and forget it. With a fuge you're constantly having to prune or siphon, and worry about flow and other things. Once you dial in your biopellets you're good.

The advantages of a refugium are also numerous though. Helps reduce phosphates and nitrates. Great place to allow biodiversity to live, like pods. If you run reverse photoperiod it regulates your PH. Its also a 'natural' way to run your system.

That said, BP is better for nitrate/phosphate reduction in my experience.

[Uncle Salty 05]

I prefer refugiums due to the pods they produce and the nutritional benfits my fish reap.
I have not tried bio-pellets and probably never will due to some of the stories I have read on RC.
I have recently started adding vinegar (a carbon source) to my kalkwasser reservoir and can see a difference already.
Boi-pellets are costly and I simply do not need them with a good refugium and ATO set up.
Plus refugiums are fascinating to watch, much more so than tumbling pellets.

[exray]

I had a refugium on my 180 B4 I down sized to a 120 and it worked great. But now that i'm downsizing to a smaller tank, that means less room or a smaller refugium. I'm thinking a 40gallon breeder tank from petco and making it into a refugium.

can I use them both?

I'm trying to get the best water quilty I can in a smaller tank

[Anemone0524]

using them both is unnecessary and not recommended. Also, its likely the biopellets, if used as advised, would suck all the nutrients out of the water and you wouldn't have very successful macro algae growth.


If the fuge worked for you before then it will work for you again. The only reason you might consider changing to BP is if you wanted to get towards an ultra-low nutrient environment, which I will maintain is not easy to do if you are a heavy feeder like me using just macroalgae.

[Uncle Salty 05]

That's the beauty of a refugium.
You don't have to feed nearly as much, due to the pods providing a constant nutritious food source.
I don't like refugiums hidden in a sump, that's why mine is next to my DT.

[exray]

Originally Posted by Uncle Salty 05

That's the beauty of a refugium.
You don't have to feed nearly as much, due to the pods providing a constant nutritious food source.
I don't like refugiums hidden in a sump, that's why mine is next to my DT.

I'd like to see a better pic of ur setup u can email me @exray2010@gmail.com r pm me

[reefgeezer]

I use a fuge. It works for my mixed reef. Nitrates and phosphates are low and SPS and softies are pretty happy. I tried ULNS via vodka and other carbon compounds, and biopellets. Most likely due to my ignorance, I got Dinos and had other issues, and just was never able to make the tank run right. I understand how to operate a fuge so I have decided to stick with it.

[Uncle Salty 05]

Originally Posted by exray

I'd like to see a better pic of ur setup u can email me @exray2010@gmail.com r pm me

Here is ma avatar a bit bigger.
Things have change somewhat since '09.
I will try to take some new pics this weekend.

[sullyfish]

I like my fuge setup and after a year have no need for pellets. My No3 and Phos are zero and due to alternate lighting my Ph stays a constant 8-1 to 8-2 range. I have a large 75 gallon stand alone fuge w/ 100 lbs LR and macro algea ( cheato and colerpa ) that gravity feeds into DT. I also have a small fuge in sump w/ LR and mangroves. I would suggest gravity feed fuge if you can do it since it does not harm pods being pumped into DT.

I find that Ditritus is not a problem in my tank, with the benefit of a all the ditritivores. As my tank has cycled, I first saw my ditritus slowly build up and No3 climb, but around then my pod/bristtleworm population in my fuge exploded. I now can see clouds of smaller amphipods in my large fuge, and the larger copepods are 5-10mm. Between them and the bristtleworms they keep ditritus in check.

[solitude127]

I run both. I've been running pellets for about a year now and got little growth with my chaeto lit with a CFL sprial bulb. I was thinking to myself, wow these pellets really work well. So one day I ended up buying a DIY LED kit from China with bridgelux LEDs for my fuge. Now I have to trim my chaeto every 3 weeks because its grows so much even with pellets. IME, you need a little more powerful of a light source that just your basic CFL bulb. If you're running DSB in your fuge, get a bunch narssisus snails to help keep the sandbed turned. I do throw some pellets in there once a week for the snails to get them out.

[Microfish]

Originally Posted by solitude127

I run both. I've been running pellets for about a year now and got little growth with my chaeto lit with a CFL sprial bulb. I was thinking to myself, wow these pellets really work well. So one day I ended up buying a DIY LED kit from China with bridgelux LEDs for my fuge. Now I have to trim my chaeto every 3 weeks because its grows so much even with pellets. IME, you need a little more powerful of a light source that just your basic CFL bulb. If you're running DSB in your fuge, get a bunch narssisus snails to help keep the sandbed turned. I do throw some pellets in there once a week for the snails to get them out.

I had some narcissist snails once. But they just sat there admiring themselves rather than doing their job churning the sand bed.