GFO and Biopellets

[Sascha D.]

Hello Everyone,

Many of us use Granular Feric Oxide (GFO) and Biopellets in our reactors and media bags. Whether it's used to maintain an ultra low nutrient system or to reduce phosphate levels due to heavy feeding, there are a variety of applications under our aquariums. Our tanks are ten times more high tech than they were when I started saltwater in the early 2000's. I'd read hundreds of build threads and tank of the month articles and nearly every one of them have two things in common; media and skimmers. I'd like to hear directly from the community. What's your experience with these media sources?

How useful is it?

Have you seen a vast improvement in the health of your corals and livestock?

Has using media made your life any easier as a reefkeeper?

Do you find the benefit outweighs the cost?

Lastly, what application do you use and why. Biopellet Reactor, Fluidized Reactor, Media Bag, etc.

Would you recommend this product?

Definitions:

Granular Feric Oxide (GFO) - GFO is a granular media that ranges in size from dust to pebble. It is a type of chemical filtration that absorbs phosphates and effectively removes it from the water.This type of media is commonly used in a tumble reactor for active filtration or placed in a media bag for passive filtration. GFO is not consumed by tank inhabitants and does not dissolve, so it must be changed periodacally.

Biopellets - Biopellets are 100% natural Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). This dense carbon material is consumed by denitrifying bacteria. A large amount of this beneficial bacteria aids in removal of nitrates and phosphates in the water. This type of biological media is consumed in the process and must be replaced as levels go down. Biopellets can only be used in a Biopellet reactor and cannot be utilized effectively in a media bag.

[Sascha D.]

In my own experience, I have used GFO and carbon media in both a reactor and media bag.

Media Bag

Recommended: No

Pros: Easy to implement. Set and forget. Takes up little space. Cheap.

Cons: I did not find it effective at removing phosphates from the water. Unsightly. It gets dirty and looks gross!

Two Little Fishes 150 Reactor

Recommended: No

Pros: Easy to install. Uses little space. Doesn't take a very large pump to tumble the media. Easy to clean.

Cons: Mine leaked like the Titanic. Media does not stay in the chamber. I've got about half a cup of Phosban in my sump right now because it sprayed out of the reactor. The fitting were inadequate for the amount of water it takes to tumble the media. On more than one occasion I found the pump or vinyl tubing disconnected and water spraying everywhere!

Phosban Media

Recommended: No

Pros: Not too expensive. GFO and Carbon mixture saves space if you want to run both types of media.

Cons: I didn't find it to be especially effective. Media did not absorb very much phosphates and needed to be changed often.

[Woods]

My experience, I have used GFO and carbon media in both a reactor and media bag.

Media Bag

Recommended: No

Pros: Easy. Set and forget. Can be in sump and out of the way. Cheap.

Cons: very litte effectiveness, set and forget too long...

BRS Dual Media Reactor

Recommended: YES

Pros: Not too expensive, a chamber for each GFO and Carbon or if needed you can double up on one for a period of time. Easy media changes. Can be run off a small pump or off a manifold from a larger pump.

Cons: still something to maintain...

Reef Octopus Bio Pellet Reactor
Recommended: YES

Pros: Set and forget most of the time

Cons: expensive, periodic maintenance required

[victoly]

GFO

How useful is it? Very. Keeps my nuisance algae at bay (combined with sparse feedings).

Have you seen a vast improvement in the health of your corals and livestock? Yes. Brighter coloration in SPS, no nuisance algae bothering zoas.

Has using media made your life any easier as a reefkeeper? Define easier.... There is additional labor/cost for the reactors/media/electricity for the pump, however my time is worth more to me than if I had to spend my home time scraping algae and worrying.

Do you find the benefit outweighs the cost? Yes, 10x.

Lastly, what application do you use and why. Biopellet Reactor, Fluidized Reactor, Media Bag, etc. I've used it in a bag and in a reactor. I had much better results using a mild tumble of BRS High Capacity GFO in the BRS housing.

Would you recommend this product?

[jestep]

I use biopellets in a small CPR reactor that I got during a beta run and GFO and carbon in a BRS dual reactor, and a skimmer.

CPR Pellet Reactor

Recommended: No for the reactor, yes for the biopellets

Pros: Cheap.

Cons: Underpowered pump and impossible to get to stay attached to wall long term.

BRS Dual Media Reactor

Recommended: Yes

Pros: Holds a lot and is very sturdy. Easy to change out individual media.

Cons: Difficult to dial in flow rate without tumbling everything. Can be a pain to clean. Clogs easily if influent isn't well filtered.

I don't think it will fit in my sump but would really like to try the cadlights biopellet reactor over the CPR.

[victoly]

I use biopellets in a small CPR reactor that I got during a beta run and GFO and carbon in a BRS dual reactor, and a skimmer.

CPR Pellet Reactor

Recommended: No for the reactor, yes for the biopellets

Pros: Cheap.

Cons: Underpowered pump and impossible to get to stay attached to wall long term.

BRS Dual Media Reactor

Recommended: Yes

Pros: Holds a lot and is very sturdy. Easy to change out individual media.

Cons: Difficult to dial in flow rate without tumbling everything. Can be a pain to clean. Clogs easily if influent isn't well filtered.

I don't think it will fit in my sump but would really like to try the cadlights biopellet reactor over the CPR.

Jamie I've found that if you put a "Y" from the pump to the reactors, with ball valves after each reactor, that you can individually regulate flow successfully. I added an extra top sponge to my Carbon reactor to keep it firmly locked at the bottom.

[Woods]

I completely fill my internal container for the Carbon and only worry about slowly tumbling the high capacity GFO in my BRS Dual reactor... This forces water through the carbon without worrying about too much tumbling. and then I can dial it in for the GFO...

[victoly]

Not everyone has a gargantuan tank like you woods I only use like 1/4 cup per month of carbon, and thats being generous.

[Wardlaw]

anyone put GFO and biopellets in together?

[Sascha D.]

On the biopellets, it seems to me that you should have enough denitrifying bacteria in the live rock and sandbed. Do you guys find that you had/have a measurable amount of benefit to the biopellets. I suppose in a BB tank or a tank with minimal rockwork it would be extremely beneficial.

My experience, I have used GFO and carbon media in both a reactor and media bag.

Media Bag

Recommended: No

Pros: Easy. Set and forget. Can be in sump and out of the way. Cheap.

Cons: very litte effectiveness, set and forget too long...

BRS Dual Media Reactor

Recommended: YES

Pros: Not too expensive, a chamber for each GFO and Carbon or if needed you can double up on one for a period of time. Easy media changes. Can be run off a small pump or off a manifold from a larger pump.

Cons: still something to maintain...

Reef Octopus Bio Pellet Reactor
Recommended: YES

Pros: Set and forget most of the time

Cons: expensive, periodic maintenance required

Wow it looks like the BRS reactor comes recommended! Do you find it useful to run carbon and GFO at the same time? From my experience with carbon, it is useful for water clarity, it removes the yellow tinge the water can sometimes have and it removes the fishy smell.

[Woods]

Touché, yes tank size does matter lol. I was thinking for Sascha's 150g it wouldn't be much different than mine and he could use the same method if he went the BRS Dual Reactor direction... For GFO and Carbon, I personally won't use any other method after using it with its ease and effectiveness...

[Sascha D.]

anyone put GFO and biopellets in together?

I don't believe it's possible. Biopellets take 4-8 weeks to seed and become established and never get replaced. You just add more when it gets consumed. GFO and carbon media has to be changed out every 1-5 months, depending on the system. If you put them together then you would probably throw away the biopellets before they got consumed and It would be like starting your biopellet reactor all over again every time you switch out the media.

The biopellets cannot go into a fluidized reactor, but the GFO might be able to go into the biopellet reactor. If you could get a dual chamber biopellet reactor then it might work. I've never seen one, but maybe someone else has?

[jestep]

I have very little denitrification without pellets in any tank I've owned. I run shallow sandbed so there's not a whole lot of areas for denitrification to occur. I don't like to make the miracle claims but biopellets took NO3 from consistently around 20 - 30ppm to undetectable in a month or so.

I've always ended up having to use GFO. The pellets are very good at reducing NO3 but not good with PO4 so you almost always end up with cyano without GFO or another phosphate removal mechanism.

For the reactor mod, did you just use a jaco T between the 2 reactors and then reattach them to the mounting fixture?

The biopellets cannot go into a fluidized reactor, but the GFO might be able to go into the biopellet reactor. If you could get a dual chamber biopellet reactor then it might work. I've never seen one, but maybe someone else has?

You could do a BRS dual with the pellets in the first and GFO in the second. As long as the pellets are tumbling it should work.

[Woods]

On the biopellets, it seems to me that you should have enough denitrifying bacteria in the live rock and sandbed. Do you guys find that you had/have a measurable amount of benefit to the biopellets. I suppose in a BB tank or a tank with minimal rockwork it would be extremely beneficial.

My experience, I have used GFO and carbon media in both a reactor and media bag.

Media Bag

Recommended: No

Pros: Easy. Set and forget. Can be in sump and out of the way. Cheap.

Cons: very litte effectiveness, set and forget too long...

BRS Dual Media Reactor

Recommended: YES

Pros: Not too expensive, a chamber for each GFO and Carbon or if needed you can double up on one for a period of time. Easy media changes. Can be run off a small pump or off a manifold from a larger pump.

Cons: still something to maintain...

Reef Octopus Bio Pellet Reactor

Recommended: YES

Pros: Set and forget most of the time

Cons: expensive, periodic maintenance required

Wow it looks like the BRS reactor comes recommended! Do you find it useful to run carbon and GFO at the same time? From my experience with carbon, it is useful for water clarity, it removes the yellow tinge the water can sometimes have and it removes the fishy smell.

Yes, I like to run both carbon and GFO at the same time in my reactor (they are in separate chambers) so if one needs to be changed out sooner it is simple to do. The carbon is for water clarity like you describe...

[victoly]

I have very little denitrification without pellets in any tank I've owned. I run shallow sandbed so there's not a whole lot of areas for denitrification to occur. I don't like to make the miracle claims but biopellets took NO3 from consistently around 20 - 30ppm to undetectable in a month or so.

I've always ended up having to use GFO. The pellets are very good at reducing NO3 but not good with PO4 so you almost always end up with cyano without GFO or another phosphate removal mechanism.

For the reactor mod, did you just use a jaco T between the 2 reactors and then reattach them to the mounting fixture?

The biopellets cannot go into a fluidized reactor, but the GFO might be able to go into the biopellet reactor. If you could get a dual chamber biopellet reactor then it might work. I've never seen one, but maybe someone else has?

You could do a BRS dual with the pellets in the first and GFO in the second. As long as the pellets are tumbling it should work.

http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/25904-my-brs-reactor-setup/

[Richard L]

I've tried GFO, biopellets, then Zeovit. Settled on GFO and Carbon in BRS reactors. I found that changing out all of my GFO at once creates a dramatic dip in phosphate levels that my SPS hate so I now spread the recommended amount among three GFO reactors. That way I can change one reactor every couple of weeks and avoid the drama.

[victoly]

your corals are so bitchy Richard.

[dshel1217]

Media Bag

Recommended: No

Pros: Easy.Cheap

Cons: Would forget to change it out. I don't think it did much

Two Little Fishes 150 Reactor

Recommended: No

Pros: Easy to install. Uses little space. Cheap

Cons: Terrible to clean and remove media.

BRS Dual Reactor

Recommended: Yes

Pending ( I have only had it up about a week)

[jestep]

I've tried GFO, biopellets, then Zeovit. Settled on GFO and Carbon in BRS reactors. I found that changing out all of my GFO at once creates a dramatic dip in phosphate levels that my SPS hate so I now spread the recommended amount among three GFO reactors. That way I can change one reactor every couple of weeks and avoid the drama.

I've thought of doing that as well. It would definitely allow GFO to be used longer as well since you aren't having to worry as much about replacing it before PO4 creeps back up.

[Sascha D.]

I've tried GFO, biopellets, then Zeovit. Settled on GFO and Carbon in BRS reactors. I found that changing out all of my GFO at once creates a dramatic dip in phosphate levels that my SPS hate so I now spread the recommended amount among three GFO reactors. That way I can change one reactor every couple of weeks and avoid the drama.

I noticed the same thing when I changed my media. I also noticed the media would tumble very well when first changed and then slow down as time went on until it didn't tumble at all. I couldn't run any more flow to the TLF reactor or all of the media would come out of the top. Do you also see a reduce rate of tumble as time goes on?

Yes, I like to run both carbon and GFO at the same time in my reactor (they are in separate chambers) so if one needs to be changed out sooner it is simple to do. The carbon is for water clarity like you describe...

I haven't run carbon in about a month. I don't see a difference in water clarity, smell or color yet. I may wait to see how long it takes.

[FarmerTy]

First off, can I get a hooray for skimmers!? I rarely come across a Tank of the Month on those larger forums that doesn't use a skimmer. There are plenty of other ways to have a successful reef tank but skimmers sure do help.

Anyways, back on subject.

TLF 150 reactor:

Biopellets

Recommend: Yes, for the DIYer

Pros: Can tumble media adequately when modified, cheap

Cons: Has to be modified to work well without it gumming up and not tumbling anymore, fittings are loose and sometimes I fear the tubing will pop off without a crimp on it.

TLF 150 reactor:

GFO

Recommend: Heck yeah!

Pros: Not having to worry about your PO4 levels. Just change the media every month to month and a half and move on.

Cons: Having to figure out when its spent and when to replace it. Wish it would come in color changing format.

Bag:

Carbon

Recommend: Here and there usage, yes

Pros: Absorb toxins in the water and clears up the yellow tint, don't have to worry about lateral line erosion as much in fish since it is passively being used in a bag

Cons: It's a pain to rinse out all the carbon and refill that tiny bag all the time. Just complaining though... it's not terrible.

Out of the 3, I would highly recommend GFO for those with PO4 issues. Biopellets is nice to reduce mostly nitrates but I'm not sure if it'll help everyone or is needed by everyone. I would at least recommend occasional use of carbon, especially in mixed reef tanks so reduce the level of toxins that may be in the tank from chemical warfare.

[Sascha D.]

First off, can I get a hooray for skimmers!? I rarely come across a Tank of the Month on those larger forums that doesn't use a skimmer. There are plenty of other ways to have a successful reef tank but skimmers sure do help.

I ran an ASM G4X on my 200g mixed reef in Seattle. It never really pulled much out, but it could be that my stocking level wasn't high enough. You are right though, I've never seen a tank of the month without a skimmer. Sadly, I don't think do TOTM on ARC do we?

[victoly]

I think there used to be tank of the quarter.

[jestep]

If you look on nano reef almost half are skimmerless: http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/

Small, very lightly stocked tanks, are obviously easier to go skimmerless because it's easy and economical to do water changes.

[Sascha D.]

If you look on nano reef almost half are skimmerless: http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/

Small, very lightly stocked tanks, are obviously easier to go skimmerless because it's easy and economical to do water changes.

A 45 watt skimmer pump would cost me about $3.61 per month or $43.36 per year to run. That's a little bit more than a 200g box of salt, so I can see your point.