Bio Pellets

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by reefermadness

Your right....never is a strong word and you cant draw hard lines in this hobby. Peoples can have different experiences but the fact remains that many people have had problems adding biopellets to tanks with high NO3 and PO4.

I still dont recommend it ...but yes it can be done. Did you have many corals at the time? Also did you use less biopellets than recommended?

Biggest problem people have with bio pellets is clumping, mulm, and bacteria blooms. All of those can be prevented with the proper use of MB7.

I like bio pellets, just fill up my reactor, and then not touch it again for at least 3 more months to top up some pellets. Can't get any simpler than that. Even my GFO, don't have to change it now until at least 2 months.

Before that I tried all kinds of things, incl a refugium full of chaeto. Barely made a dent. But the bio pellets and MB7 totally cleaned up my tank. Having said that, it didn't happen over night. I started gradually, and it took several months before I was adding the full load of bio pellets. But it sure worked after that.

Amazingly, even with the high nitrates and phosphates before, I was still able to keep all kinds of softies and LPS. But had to do a lot of tank cleaning with a toothbrush and sand vacuuming. with all the algae and gunk that kept growing in there.

Now it is nice and clean, and even detritus seems to have disappeared. I still blow with a turkey baster and brush my rocks here and there to make sure no detrius builds up, but the rocks for the most part stay clean, and just grow coralline algae now.

[pinkreef]

I USE TWO LITTLE FISHIES BRAND, AS IT IS CHEAPER, BUT I THINK THEY ARE ALL SIMILAR. I HAVE TRIED OTHER WAYS TO CONTROL NITRATES AND BIOPELLETS ARE THE EASIEST.

[Parker]

Vertex here as well. As others have mentioned, go slow and take your time with them and you should be fine.