Is there a best Bio-pellet?

[Bblinks]

I have been trying the "all in one" biopellets from npx and it's probably one of the best out there. I have had experience with numerous types of pellets and as long as they don't have impurities, they should function all the same except for the "all in one", it has phosphate absorbent material (GFO) combined with the pellets so it will up take more phosphate in the water column. I put quotation on the all in one because its still not the end all product that most has hoped for, you will still need to run GFO if your phosphate level is too high (if you feed really heavy) but if its not than these pellets might just be perfect for your tank. Anyways, there is a good youtube video made by american reef dot com. check it out, it's pretty cool.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Bblinks

I have been trying the "all in one" biopellets from npx and it's probably one of the best out there. I have had experience with numerous types of pellets and as long as they don't have impurities, they should function all the same except for the "all in one", it has phosphate absorbent material (GFO) combined with the pellets so it will up take more phosphate in the water column. I put quotation on the all in one because its still not the end all product that most has hoped for, you will still need to run GFO if your phosphate level is too high (if you feed really heavy) but if its not than these pellets might just be perfect for your tank. Anyways, there is a good youtube video made by american reef dot com. check it out, it's pretty cool.

What is your consumption rate with these NPX pellets, Rich?

[Bblinks]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

What is your consumption rate with these NPX pellets, Rich?

Hard to say right now, I do run a filter sock and have no sand so 300ml will last me 6 months give or take 100ml. Those 1000ml bags should be good for a year.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Bblinks

Hard to say right now, I do run a filter sock and have no sand so 300ml will last me 6 months give or take 100ml. Those 1000ml bags should be good for a year.

What I've noticed with my bio pellets, is that once they get down to about a cup or 2 left in the reactor, they seem to last forever, with very little consumption. Last time, before I filled the reactor again, I went almost 2 years without adding any. And all that time, nitrates remained at zero.

I actually disconnected the reactor for a few months, and then watched my nitrates gradually climb. So the pellets were obviously still working, even with very low consumption.

My concern with the npx pellets might be that if the consumption is too slow, then there wouldn't be enough GFO released to bring down the phosphates.

[Bblinks]

Hence why I think running GFO is still crucial. Mind you, it will last a lot longer in my opinion if you use in conjunction AIO pellets.

[asylumdown]

I'm presently using the Nitraguard cubes. I much prefer them to the biopellets for two reasons:

1. They are relatively cheap compared to the pellets. 40 bucks for a year's supply at the rate my tank is using them

2. I believe the bacterial action is actually taking place to some degree on the cube, as opposed to in the tank.

I have biopellets that I accidentally dumped in to the skimmer chamber of my sump over 2 years ago. They're still there. They haven't shrunk, changed shape, nothing. To me this says there's very little bacterial action taking place on the pellets themselves, I think the tumbling of the pellets in the reactor wears them down and releases microscopic quantities of whatever plastic they're made of in to the water (which would explain why it takes so long for them to start "working"). With the biocubes I'm sure there's still some amount of sloughing, but they're made from a much spongier material that actually seems to biodegrade. Within a couple of weeks they change colour and start to shrink – think a block of swiss cheese melting from the inside out. The ones that have been in there the longest look nothing like the cubes that originally went in went from a mixture of red/brown to brown/dark brown.

[jason604]

does it just remove nitrates from water or does it do anything else special to help corals?

Originally Posted by asylumdown

I'm presently using the Nitraguard cubes. I much prefer them to the biopellets for two reasons:

1. They are relatively cheap compared to the pellets. 40 bucks for a year's supply at the rate my tank is using them

2. I believe the bacterial action is actually taking place to some degree on the cube, as opposed to in the tank.

I have biopellets that I accidentally dumped in to the skimmer chamber of my sump over 2 years ago. They're still there. They haven't shrunk, changed shape, nothing. To me this says there's very little bacterial action taking place on the pellets themselves, I think the tumbling of the pellets in the reactor wears them down and releases microscopic quantities of whatever plastic they're made of in to the water (which would explain why it takes so long for them to start "working"). With the biocubes I'm sure there's still some amount of sloughing, but they're made from a much spongier material that actually seems to biodegrade. Within a couple of weeks they change colour and start to shrink – think a block of swiss cheese melting from the inside out. The ones that have been in there the longest look nothing like the cubes that originally went in went from a mixture of red/brown to brown/dark brown.

[ReEf BoSs]

Originally Posted by asylumdown

I'm presently using the Nitraguard cubes. I much prefer them to the biopellets for two reasons:

1. They are relatively cheap compared to the pellets. 40 bucks for a year's supply at the rate my tank is using them

2. I believe the bacterial action is actually taking place to some degree on the cube, as opposed to in the tank.

I have biopellets that I accidentally dumped in to the skimmer chamber of my sump over 2 years ago. They're still there. They haven't shrunk, changed shape, nothing. To me this says there's very little bacterial action taking place on the pellets themselves, I think the tumbling of the pellets in the reactor wears them down and releases microscopic quantities of whatever plastic they're made of in to the water (which would explain why it takes so long for them to start "working"). With the biocubes I'm sure there's still some amount of sloughing, but they're made from a much spongier material that actually seems to biodegrade. Within a couple of weeks they change colour and start to shrink – think a block of swiss cheese melting from the inside out. The ones that have been in there the longest look nothing like the cubes that originally went in went from a mixture of red/brown to brown/dark brown.

So nitraguard cubes don't have to be tumbled in a reactor ? If that's the case that is real easy.