N/P reducing pellets (solid vodka dosing)

[skibum9884]

my understanding is that you'll want to take the UV off-line at least to start, and after several weeks you can bring it back on. If it's left on to start it can hinder the bacteria starting up.

I was wondering how much flow you guys have going through the biopellets (in a reactor). I'm running mine in a GEO with about 250 gph, and am wondering if this is enough.

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by skibum9884

my understanding is that you'll want to take the UV off-line at least to start, and after several weeks you can bring it back on. If it's left on to start it can hinder the bacteria starting up.

I was wondering how much flow you guys have going through the biopellets (in a reactor). I'm running mine in a GEO with about 250 gph, and am wondering if this is enough.

+1 , UV will destroy the bacteria that are continuesly relased from the biopellets and destroy the benefits of them , maybe like skibum saids maybe you can try to start the uv back after several weeks but i don`t have experience with it , only heard of no results when both where combined.

- about the GEO , how big is the diameter of this type reactor and what kind of volume of BP`s you have ?

greetingzz tntneon

[Bzar]

skibum9884: my brs reactor is currently holding about 800ml and I have a rio 600 (200 gph) dialed just back so I'm thinking about 150 gph through the pellets in that reactor. It's enough to keep the entire bed active, like a large line of people slowly walking into a theatre, not enough to look like a biopellet rave is happening.

[GT_Jacket]

skibum

Is that 800ml in BRS's Standard Carbon/GFO reactor that uses the modified 10” Refillable inner cartridge for the media? If so, is 800ml a comfortable maximum capacity for it?

Thanks,
Brett

[Bzar]

Yup that's a standard BRS carbon/GFO reactor, and I put the BP in the inner cartrige (just no sponges on top or bottom). With about 800ml I have around 1.5" of space at the top, so I could put a bit more. With the space I can see the pellets top motion. I'll take a video later on and post it.....pics say 1000 words, video say 1,000,000

[GT_Jacket]

Bzar - that would be great. I have BRS's 2 stage model (GFO / Carbon). I've taken my GFO offline since I began the full NeoZeo method. I'm thinking of going with the pellets instead of the zeo rocks / bio fuel. 800ml sounds like it would be about right for my 90gal.

[jmoney]

I got my brs deluxe reactor...but ups quit on me friday for some reason and I wont be getting my pellets until monday...not cool, Can't wait to see the effects...

Also I know that people have said to have the output placed near where the skimmer will pick it up, but would it really be that detrimental to have the output near the return pump so that the coral can eat all the goodies that come with the effluent

[Bzar]

sorry for the video delay. Lent out the camera for a week, wont have it back till the 5th of Feb. When I get it I'll post asap. I'm using the BRS reactor on my 90 Gal....if my system was bigger I'd feel the reactor is a little small, at least with the insert.

[DJREEF]

Originally Posted by jmoney

I got my brs deluxe reactor...but ups quit on me friday for some reason and I wont be getting my pellets until monday...not cool, Can't wait to see the effects...

Also I know that people have said to have the output placed near where the skimmer will pick it up, but would it really be that detrimental to have the output near the return pump so that the coral can eat all the goodies that come with the effluent

Only, if in fact the corals do eat it. I don't think this has been proven.


Look, I think in a nutshell, so much is theory


Pellets are a stand in for carbon dosing

Bacteria, presumably the same or some facsimile that feed on ethanol-sugar-vinegar (liquid organic carbon), feed upon the pellets (solid organic carbon)

As they do so, they uptake nitrates and phosphates to fuel and increase their bio-mass

Said bacteria slough from the pellets as a result of brisk agitation of the media and become a part of the bulk water

Bacteria may become a planktonic food stuff for some organisms

They are skimmed out long with the nitrogen and phosphates that have been incorporated in their physical structures

Phosphates and nitrates are reduced in the system, overall as a result of exportation of these bacteria via skimming or consumption by other organisms


DJ

[jmoney]

I was just curious i'm gonna try feeding it to the return section first, but i there is an issue with ph then I will move it to the skimmer, although i am ordering a new external beckett skimmer that has a port that is meant for calcium reactor effluent i may just try the same thing with the effluent form this device, so we will see which one works the best i will keep u updated

[reggiepe]

Today is day 14. I will do run through some tests this evening of the water paramaters as I am at work now. One of the things that I wanted to mention was that I am getting algae growing on the glass at what seems like twice the rate of before. It seems that a day to a day and a half I have to clean the glass, before it was on the average of 3 days. The other thing I noticed, and I think it has already been mentioned, the skimmers output is crazy, and stink?!?! Good God that stuff stinks. I would assume that this is the excess bacteria in the water as I have the output of the reactor right at the input of the skimmer pump. No detrimental affects of any of the inhabitants. Just a bit more cleaning of the glass is it. So, I would believe that there is still Nitrates and / or phosphates present to allow the algae to grow. Just my observations after 2 weeks.

[jmoney]

my pellets are coming in today, I will be using 500ml on a 75 gallon 95 total system volume setup, will be sure to post daily progress shots

[solos2]

I've posted part of this idea on another thread and posting it here to spark further discussion of this idea of mine.

I'm currently using 300ml of NPBP in my system, but NPBP aren't the best bacteria housing media, simply because bacteria can only colonize the surface area and I don't think the pellets are that porous.

And unlike vodka dosing, most of the bacteria should only colonize the surface of the pellets as it's where they'll get their food.

So in order to boost the bacteria housing capabilities of the NPBP, I propose of using another media that's more porous than the pellets, in this case, I proposed the use of sugar grain sized coral sand.

The reason why I chose this media is because of the grow of carbon source utilizing bacteria is very fast, in the ZEOvit system, users need to pump the ZEOvit reactor everyday to dislodge some bacteria so that it won't clog up all the surface area of the zeolite media.

In the case of NPBP, the addition of coral sand to the NPBP reactor will probably allow a greater number of bacteria to be housed in the reactor, similar to the black-n-white ball denitrators.

However we may still have the similar problem that zeolite had - bacteria growth clogging all the surface area of the media. In the case of coral sand inside a NPBP reactor, the constant movement may help to dislodge some bacteria, furthermore, it may be possible that the bacteria could alter the local environment such that the pH is lowered and thus the coral sand may slowly dissolve. Eventually more coral sand will need to be added to the reactor, and this will eliminate the need to use a zeolite reactor for the daily pumps.

So to test my theory, I just added some 50-100g of fine grain coral sand into my reactor, it may boost the bacteria housing capability of my NPBP reactor by a few folds, who knows ;p

[coffeenut]

ok for 600 gal of water system.. how much of this stuff is needed?
I have never run vodka, sugar, or any thing like this in my system.. i cold use this in the bulk reef sup duel reactor. I saw some one saying 800 ml would fit in the one chamber of the reactor, what do you put in the other?

[jmoney]

800ml would not fit in the reactor, I just filled mine up today and 500 Ml fit with just a little bit of room to spare, I had to take out the top sponge to make sure it would fit, and even though i lost a few pellets on the start up its still pretty full

[coffeenut]

Originally Posted by jmoney

800ml would not fit in the reactor, I just filled mine up today and 500 Ml fit with just a little bit of room to spare, I had to take out the top sponge to make sure it would fit, and even though i lost a few pellets on the start up its still pretty full

do you put it in both canisters or just one? r u running maxijet or bigger pump?

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by solos2

I've posted part of this idea on another thread and posting it here to spark further discussion of this idea of mine.

I'm currently using 300ml of NPBP in my system, but NPBP aren't the best bacteria housing media, simply because bacteria can only colonize the surface area and I don't think the pellets are that porous.

And unlike vodka dosing, most of the bacteria should only colonize the surface of the pellets as it's where they'll get their food.

So in order to boost the bacteria housing capabilities of the NPBP, I propose of using another media that's more porous than the pellets, in this case, I proposed the use of sugar grain sized coral sand.

The reason why I chose this media is because of the grow of carbon source utilizing bacteria is very fast, in the ZEOvit system, users need to pump the ZEOvit reactor everyday to dislodge some bacteria so that it won't clog up all the surface area of the zeolite media.

In the case of NPBP, the addition of coral sand to the NPBP reactor will probably allow a greater number of bacteria to be housed in the reactor, similar to the black-n-white ball denitrators.

However we may still have the similar problem that zeolite had - bacteria growth clogging all the surface area of the media. In the case of coral sand inside a NPBP reactor, the constant movement may help to dislodge some bacteria, furthermore, it may be possible that the bacteria could alter the local environment such that the pH is lowered and thus the coral sand may slowly dissolve. Eventually more coral sand will need to be added to the reactor, and this will eliminate the need to use a zeolite reactor for the daily pumps.

So to test my theory, I just added some 50-100g of fine grain coral sand into my reactor, it may boost the bacteria housing capability of my NPBP reactor by a few folds, who knows ;p

-Sounds intresting solos 2 , keep us informed about your findings .
Althought i don`t have any problems with clogging , it sounds very logical what you explaind .
I`m especialy intrested in the part that the lowered Ph could dissolve the fine grain coral sand and so providing some alk and Ca to the system as well .
But due to high flow (400 g/h) in my reactor i think i would go for slightly larger grain.


greetingzz tntneon

[jmoney]

Originally Posted by coffeenut

do you put it in both canisters or just one? r u running maxijet or bigger pump?

I have the deluxe, so it is just one of the standard canisters, and 500ml of the pellets almost went to the top, I run it on a Mj1200 and it is on full blast to get proper agitation of the biopellets, maybe 20 little pellets came out during the first few minutes, now everything is in perfect agitation.

[jason2459]

Sorry if this is in a back post but how long are these pellets lasting in general?

[wsurf4me]

I just added 500ml of pellets in a NextReef canister to a 150 gallon system last week, the output was directed in the general area of the return pump. In the last two days I have seen my 25 micron filter socks in my sump clog up in anywhere from 12 to 24 hours.There is no visible sign of anything other than a slightly yellow discoloration. Normally it takes days and the socks are visibly dirty.

Has anyone else experienced this? Total guess here but could bacteria be clogging the socks? I switched to some old 100 micron socks and redirected the output to the skimmer to see if it makes a difference.

[coffeenut]

Originally Posted by jmoney

I have the deluxe, so it is just one of the standard canisters, and 500ml of the pellets almost went to the top, I run it on a Mj1200 and it is on full blast to get proper agitation of the biopellets, maybe 20 little pellets came out during the first few minutes, now everything is in perfect agitation.

are you running in the first chamber or 2nd? what (if anything) are you running inthe other chamber?

[jmoney]

There is no first OR second chamber in mine, I'm simply telling you that 800ml wont fit in just one chamber, I run a two other deluxes, one full of gfo and the other full of carbon, but none that are plumbed together

[jmoney]

Originally Posted by jason2459

Sorry if this is in a back post but how long are these pellets lasting in general?

about a year is what i think he said

[liver]

Originally Posted by jmoney

There is no first OR second chamber in mine, I'm simply telling you that 800ml wont fit in just one chamber, I run a two other deluxes, one full of gfo and the other full of carbon, but none that are plumbed together

I have this same setup, we need a double deluxe BRS reactor for the pellets!

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by jmoney

about a year is what i think he said

That would be pretty good then. So, if I'm thinking right in a 55g I would only need to use about 250ml of these?