N/P reducing pellets (solid vodka dosing)

[kaskiles]

Originally Posted by tntneon

If one could measure TOC what would be an nice figure for a reeftank ?

This has some TOC levels listed for reef tanks:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/9/aafeature2/

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not sure how you'd decide what is a good TOC for a reef tank. It's probably too course of a tool, as it would not distinguish a nice invert foodstuff from a terrible toxin.

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Originally Posted by takayan

In Japan, there is a similar product made of polyethylene glycol. Is polyethylene glycol biodegradable material?
BioPellets might be similar polymer. By the way, when you put the Biopellets in the water, would it be expanded?

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is biodegradable to some extent. It is commonly used as a biomaterial for implants and has a certain amount of degradation in the body. The degradation isn't particularly fast, and I'm not sure how it compares to this polymer.

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by kaskiles

This has some TOC levels listed for reef tanks:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/9/aafeature2/

-thx kaskiles , an intresting article

Originally Posted by Randy Holmes-Farley

I'm not sure how you'd decide what is a good TOC for a reef tank. It's probably too course of a tool, as it would not distinguish a nice invert foodstuff from a terrible toxin.

-yes that`s true , so TOC can be high from the nice invert foodstuff w/o being an threat to the tank?
At my work we can measure TOC , therefore i`m getting intrested to measure it ... , not that i have issues , i`m only curious... .

greetingzz tntneon

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Measurements could be very interesting, especially as they relate to specific husbandry changes, but I can't see target levels being useful.

[tmz]

Originally Posted by tntneon

-thx kaskiles , an intresting article




-yes that`s true , so TOC can be high from the nice invert foodstuff w/o being an threat to the tank?
At my work we can measure TOC , therefore i`m getting intrested to measure it ... , not that i have issues , i`m only curious... .

greetingzz tntneon

Hi tntneon,

Measurement information on TOC would be very interesting. While toxins are certainly a concern , I think total TOC including organics that are
" non toxins"would still be a a concern in terms of potential pathogenic bacterial activity and/or other potential coral mortality issues.

[Johnwayne]

so can we buy these pellets yett? in CANADA??

[Luckylouse]

Originally Posted by Johnwayne

so can we buy these pellets yett? in CANADA??

Oakville Reef Gallery

[Bzar]

so can we buy these pellets yett? in CANADA??

got mine online from Oceanic Corals. Think they're in BC. They even have a package with a reactor.

[BKSS709]

I have been using these pellets for two weeks now i put them in my Zeovit Reactor and noticed the other day that when i pumped the reactor that i noticed small sheets of white particals clouding the tank. Has anyone else notice this in there system and do you need to pump the reactor like you do with Zeovit stones or just leave them alone and not pump the reactor. And is there a max flow rating for these pellet like you have to do with Zeovit stones i am so use to Zeovit that i have been running for over three years with good result but want to try these to try to cut down on problem with Alk shifts that can cause TN problems with SPS when using Zeovit Method.

Thanks
Brian

[sandgoby]

Originally Posted by Johnwayne

so can we buy these pellets yett? in CANADA??

Oakville Reef Gallery carries them.

S

[mm.reefs]

Originally Posted by BKSS709

I have been using these pellets for two weeks now i put them in my Zeovit Reactor and noticed the other day that when i pumped the reactor that i noticed small sheets of white particals clouding the tank. Has anyone else notice this in there system and do you need to pump the reactor like you do with Zeovit stones or just leave them alone and not pump the reactor. And is there a max flow rating for these pellet like you have to do with Zeovit stones i am so use to Zeovit that i have been running for over three years with good result but want to try these to try to cut down on problem with Alk shifts that can cause TN problems with SPS when using Zeovit Method.

Thanks
Brian

I have the biopellets in a Phosban reactor, but also noticed a crumble of the small white sheets that you mentioned floating at the top of the biopellets inside the reactor. I suppose these are sheets of bacteria bonded together.

The concept with the biopellets is to have the N/P reducing bacteria in the reactor, so there is no need to pump it. But on the other hand this bacteria is a great coral food, so doing it a couple of time a week will make no harm. About the water flow I have it around 120~150 gph. The trick is to have the biopellets in constant motion.

[salinity]

I uses these pellets too. I got the pellet/reactor combo in Canada from oceanic corals. So far I am happy with the results but I had to replace the foam piece in the reactor with a piece enkemat, the foam would just keep plugging up with mulm!

[mm.reefs]

Originally Posted by salinity

I uses these pellets too. I got the pellet/reactor combo in Canada from oceanic corals. So far I am happy with the results but I had to replace the foam piece in the reactor with a piece enkemat, the foam would just keep plugging up with mulm!

Excellent idea!!! I have the same clogging problem with the foams of the Phosban reactor. I will get some enkemat soon.

Thanks!!!

[reefkeeper2]

Originally Posted by mm.reefs

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]

The concept with hte biopellets is to have the N/P reducing bacteria in the reactor, so is not needed to pump the reactor. But on the other hand this bacteria is a great coral food, so doing it a couple of time a week will make no harm. About the water flow I have it around 120~150 gph. The trick is to have the biopellets in constant motion.

I don't understand why the pellets need to be in motion. Shouldn't having adequate flow thru them suffice? I have mine in a bucket and they are not moving, but plenty of flow moves thru them. I stir them up daily to release the mulm for the corals and this seems to work fine.

[mm.reefs]

Originally Posted by reefkeeper2

I don't understand why the pellets need to be in motion. Shouldn't having adequate flow thru them suffice? I have mine in a bucket and they are not moving, but plenty of flow moves thru them. I stir them up daily to release the mulm for the corals and this seems to work fine.

Having the pellets in motion will keep them more cleaner and in a maintenance free mode, not like zeolites that you have to move manually every day. But what you are doing should work fine. As long the pellets are not clogged with bacteria and water flow channeling is avoided, I think there will be no problem.

[BKSS709]

Originally Posted by salinity

I uses these pellets too. I got the pellet/reactor combo in Canada from oceanic corals. So far I am happy with the results but I had to replace the foam piece in the reactor with a piece enkemat, the foam would just keep plugging up with mulm!

I am using the emkemat and am having problems keeping the pellets from falling through the holes in my Zeovit reactor i am going to try another layer of it and see if that helps. And wow there is a lot of mulm that comes off these pellets a lot more then zeovit stones do. I pumped my reactor once today and clouded my tank wow and the sps corals were loving it from what i could see.

[reefkeeper2]

Ha anyone observed abrasion taking place from the pellets in motion? Could the clogging of the foam filters that people are talking about be particulate matter from the pellets along with the bacteria? It would be great if someone could look at the stuff under a microscope.

[mm.reefs]

Originally Posted by reefkeeper2

Ha anyone observed abrasion taking place from the pellets in motion? Could the clogging of the foam filters that people are talking about be particulate matter from the pellets along with the bacteria? It would be great if someone could look at the stuff under a microscope.

I don't think that the clogging is particulate from the pellets. In the Phosban reactor I use the top and bottom foams pads that came with it, and both got clogged with the same mulm. Also I didn't notice any significant decrease in the pellets size and I'd been using them for almost a month. I think that any probiotic system have greater bacterial growth that can cause this kind of clogging.

Definitely I would also like to look at the stuff with a microscope!!!

[BFG]

I've been reading a bit of this thread and some suggested that the output of a reactor filled with the biopellet should be directed to the skimmer. What if I ran the output of the reactor to the main tank where the bacteria would do it's job and subsequently ended up in the sump and into the skimmer, would I encounter any problem with this setup? Has anyone tried it this way?

[mm.reefs]

Originally Posted by BFG

I've been reading a bit of this thread and some suggested that the output of a reactor filled with the biopellet should be directed to the skimmer. What if I ran the output of the reactor to the main tank where the bacteria would do it's job and subsequently ended up in the sump and into the skimmer, would I encounter any problem with this setup? Has anyone tried it this way?

Some people have the output of the reactor to the main tank with great results. This is my opinion and I may be wrong, but as long as the N/P readings are near 0, the bacteria out of the reactor should be minimum and it is a good source of food for the corals. Also, periodically blowing away with a powerhead any extra mulm and detritus from the main tank so that it goes back to the sump for proper filtering will greatly help to keep the whole system clean.

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by reefkeeper2

I don't understand why the pellets need to be in motion. Shouldn't having adequate flow thru them suffice? I have mine in a bucket and they are not moving, but plenty of flow moves thru them. I stir them up daily to release the mulm for the corals and this seems to work fine.

-You only have to be sure there`s enough O2-rich water flow thru the BP media , they don`t need to be flying all over the place .
-Gently swirling pellets and an open outlet or overflow are enough to keep them clean and providing constant feedings for corals.

Originally Posted by mm.reefs

[COLOR=black].....

Definitely I would also like to look at the stuff with a microscope!!!...

-yeah , would like to see that too (white bacterail suff) may be something tatuvaai could show us....
I know he`s got an microscopes and he also uses the BP`s

Originally Posted by mm.reefs

Some people have the output of the reactor to the main tank with great results. This is my opinion and I may be wrong, but as long as the N/P readings are near 0, the bacteria out of the reactor should be minimum and it is a good source of food for the corals. Also, periodically blowing away with a powerhead any extra mulm and detritus from the main tank so that it goes back to the sump for proper filtering will greatly help to keep the whole system clean.

I share the same opion and observation as you are

greetingzz tntneon

[DJREEF]

I'm wondering if nylon screen would be adequate in place of the sponges. You know, something a little less flow restrictive.

DJ

[catman78]

Yeah, It seems like my Phosban sponges are getting clogged up. I have a maxi-jet 1200 full throttle through a 550 reactor with 500 ml's of pellets.

If anyone replaces sponges please post

[mm.reefs]

I had been using the biopellets for almost a month and I have cleaned the sponges twice to my Phoban 150 reactor. Also remember that these were designed for a much lower flow. As suggested before by "salinity", replacing them with Enkamat or other coarse filter material should work much better.