biopellets- who has had luck with them

[GMGQ]

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but i'm looking into running biopellets and had a question about this.

It was my understanding that the bacteria from biopellets will get into the water column for filter feeders (like some LPS) to feed on? So shouldnt they benefit in that way?

Originally Posted by ottoman

+1...I am running biopellets without any problem...remember that not all corals like extremely low nitrate...SPS may do good while LPS may need go the opposite way because they require more nutrient as well as any filter feeder.

[daniella3d]

Some will be eated by corals yes, but the real benifit of running biopellets is to skim it out to export the nitrates.

In this thread the original poster saw no detectible nitrates or phosphate one week and the next it was really high. I don't think it was the biopellets that had caused this, especialy after 2 months of running it.

Originally Posted by GMGQ

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but i'm looking into running biopellets and had a question about this.

It was my understanding that the bacteria from biopellets will get into the water column for filter feeders (like some LPS) to feed on? So shouldnt they benefit in that way?

[globaldesigns]

Originally Posted by kat

holy crap...what brand of pellets are you using? I have read that there are some brands far superior to other brands...did you start out with a small amount and gradually increase it?

From my understanding and research, even though different brands may have different shaped/molded pellets, they are all still coming out of the same manufacturer. And that they are all the same, but some just sell for less than others.

[globaldesigns]

Originally Posted by daniella3d

biopellets are carbon source for bacteries. I don't beleive that it will produce phosphates or nitrates in your tank, quite the opposite.

I beleive something else is wrong and I don't think it's even related to the pellets.

Maybe your carbon release phosphates, because some carbon do. It is important buy good quality carbon made for marine use.

Your should run some GFO to remove the phosphates instead of carbon. Honestly carbon is not going to do anything for your tank except absorbing chiminal in the water but not the nitrates nor the phosphates.

When using pellets, skimming is very very important. Also it is best to start with a very small amount of biopellets and increase as the system adapt to it.

+1 on all the above.

[Lampshade]

I've been running them for a while on my new tank, about 4 months. I really like them, I have started to get HA though, which doesn't make sense since nitrate and phosphate are 0 (Better than my eyesight anyways, i need to get a hanna). Corals love it though, I'm not using any other additives and i have amazing growth. My valida's grown 2" in 2 months, and i have a chuck of base that was on a rock from 2 months ago that's grown many 2" arms, still trying to decide what it is, some type of acro though. Color seems to be ok in corals, i think that's more of a lighting issue than anything for me. Polyp extention is great, Day/Night they're always out. My LPS are all loving it, my hammer coral's grown more in the past 4 months that all of last year in my old tank. Zoa's are all showing great color at almost any light level, i have some over halfway up in my tank uner 250W 10K XM's, others hidden in shade.

I don't run carbon at all usually, but i recently threw a sock full in my sump to see if it'd help the HA. I have a mix of LPS/SPS/Softies which should be a bio war zone, but they seem to do well with just the pellets.

[Lance]

I have been running the pellets for about a year now and I swear by them. I have a large bio-load and was having trouble keeping nitrates below 20 (this with a 10% weekly water change). With the pellets, nitrates never go above 10 and I'm down to water changes every 2nd week. As Daniela stated, it is important to have the output from the pellet reactor near the intake to the skimmer.

[chris121277]

I'm just tagging along here

[DiverDude]

Ii started pellets a while ago and my hair algae came back with a vengance. I had other algaes as well. My corals, however, were loving it.

I pulled the pellets about 4 months ago as a desparation move and the HA has stabilized but it's not going away. Corals are alright but not as happy as with the pellets.

Disclaimer: I've been in the hobby just less than a year now so there are most likely other factors related to the results I've seen. I'm starting to plan a new tank and I'm planning on trying pellets again with that.

[dsaundry]

No problem for myself either

[Lampshade]

I should add.. i have the output into my refugium. Technically it should build back the CO2 lost during the night, and add a bit during the day to the DT. PH seems pretty balanced, no issues.