About to hook up Biopellets, suggestions?

[GiddyORION]

hey guys. I'm just about to hook up a retrofitted phosban reactor with Aqua-vitro Biogen pellets. I've got a 420 gph pump which I think should be adequate for flow, and I have also purchased TLF brand bactiv8 to seed the reactor. I plan on hooking it up and then turning off GFO and skimmer for a few days to let it 'break in.'

I am doing this because I'm at my wits end with the algae problem I've had for the last year, and I have reason to believe this might help reduce nutrient in my tank.

Let me know of your experience with this! also will be updating every week or so to record progress.

[FarmerTy]

hey guys. I'm just about to hook up a retrofitted phosban reactor with Aqua-vitro Biogen pellets. I've got a 420 gph pump which I think should be adequate for flow, and I have also purchased TLF brand bactiv8 to seed the reactor. I plan on hooking it up and then turning off GFO and skimmer for a few days to let it 'break in.'

I am doing this because I'm at my wits end with the algae problem I've had for the last year, and I have reason to believe this might help reduce nutrient in my tank.

Let me know of your experience with this! also will be updating every week or so to record progress.

Tell us a little more about your system. Skimmer? Which model? How are you running GFO? How much media? Replacement schedule? High capacity GFO? How long is your photoperiod? How many fish? Water change schedule? Cleanup crew? What are your nutrient levels for nitrate and phosphate? What kits are you using to test? How have you modified the TLF150 reactor?

For your specific question, no need to kill the skimmer or GFO as the biopellets ramp up. My advice is to always start with 1/3 of the recommended amount of biopellets in the instructions. Most often, that's all you'll ever need. A little goes a long way with biopellets.

Also, once fully ramped up for the first time about 3-4 weeks in, I more often than not will get a bit of STN on some acros. Some acros will adjust to the quick nitrate drop well but some won't. For those that don't, I'm usually able to stymie any STN advance with just superglueing over the affected areas. I tell people not to panic as the corals will adjust to the new conditions and it just takes a little more time.

I'd recommend feeding the effluent of the biopellets directly to the skimmer using a simple PVC Tee, no glueing needed. Just buy a tee that will slide right over your skimmer intake nozzle and stick the tubing from the biopellet reactor into an open hole, leaving the last hole open so your skimmer can pull additional water from the sump.

Lastly, a gentle tumble is all that is needed. Just make sure they don't all clump together and not tumble. Don't blast them as you can release small fragments of solid carbon into your system and spur growth of nuisance algae, cyano, or dinos in the tank that will use the carbon.

[Sascha D.]

Don't feel bad, algae problems have put more people out of the hobby than anything else. Seriously. The recovery isn't fast, but we'll try and help. That's why Ty is asking all of the right questions.

I have what is considered a light bioload for my tank size and I hooked up a BP reactor as a nitrate export tool. The minimum recommended amount of media listed in the directions for my tank size was 1.25 liters, or 5 cups. I started with 1/2 of a cup to get the colony started and planned to ramp up from there. I had a bad GHA problem and the reactor was one part of my plan to get rid of it. I doubled the media when I started to see improvement but still 1/4 the recommended amount. Long story short, the reactor stripped the water of all available nitrates! I got about 1" of STN on every branch of hard coral and lost two flowerpots and a chalice. I talked to a friend that has biopellet experience and decided to cut the media back. It took a while, but the algae is gone and the corals are recovering. Biopellets isn't a cure-all, but it can be used effectively with your other husbandry to get results.

March 2016

August 2016

[GiddyORION]

Thanks for the replies guys! the skimmer I'm currently running is a Reef Octopus Classic 150INT. The pump on it (Aquatrance 2000) does not seem to have any obvious means of attaching an effluent (I'm assuming PVC?) from the reactor, is there a way to do this?

by retrofitting a TLF reactor I mean I just bought a finely perforated disk to sit at the bottom of the reactor as opposed to the sponge they come with, so as to allow the pellets to get uninhibited flow while also not getting sucked out of the reactor. The other TLF reactor I have online is running about a cup of phosban GFO. I switched from the BRS normal capacity because I felt I wasn't making enough of a dent with it. I've been cranking the dosage up every two weeks and it's now week 6. the tank is 65 gallons, 4 years old, and is stocked pretty light. 1 Trigger, 1 Neon Dottyback, 2 Clowns, and 1 toby puffer. No CUC, they ate them all! Photoperiod is 9am-8pm, lighting is two Kessil A360s. the only coral I have in the tank is some pulsing Xenia, which I could probably throw in freshwater and It would still survive. It proliferates almost as bad as the algae.

Also notable is I ran carbon for a week but it has since been disabled in favor of the pellets. I figured GFO would solve Phosphate and Biopellets would tackle Nitrate.

[GiddyORION]

Some pics of the tank...

[Sascha D.]

The good news is that you're 80% there! Right now you're running a FOWLR system. Are you trying to convert into a full reef or are you sticking with this type of setup? The reason that I ask is because you're using equipment that I would expect for a full reef. IMO the skimmer is good for your tank size and the lights will provide enough intensity for any corals you want to keep, but the light period is too long. Xenia doesn't need that much light and it would benefit you to shorten the light time by 2-4 hours. An 8-9 hour light period would be fine. Lowering the light period would also lower the algae growth.

What does your skimmate look like? If it's really thick, then you can turn up your skimmer a little bit and remove more nutrients from the water. We refer to it as "wet" or "dry" and it's a good tool to control nutrients.

Do you have live rock in the sump? If not, then I think you need more rock than what you have in the tank. You have about 6 pounds of live rock in a 80ish gallon system and it probably isn't enough nitrogen capacity. The amount of food that you're feeding, plus the fish waste, is greater than the bacteria can process and the algae is picking up the rest. How much rock you need will depend on your future plans. Adding biopellets will increase the bacteria population and you won't need as much rock. If you want to add more corals or more fish, then I would double what you currently have.

Are you using filtered water? Using tap water could be the whole problem. It would be cheaper and easier to add a filter than run GFO and BP to remove nutrients. Don't worry about the CUC. I haven't bought a hermit in over 10 years and the tank I pictured above only has 3 snails in it. You can't get around cleaning the glass every week even if you filled that tank with snails. Having a CUC would matter more if you had a bubble algae or hair algae problem, but you don't have anything that bad. If you have a bunch of detritus in the sump, then it may be a good idea to siphon it out. I clean mine once a year.

So what's next? I think you should lower the light time no matter what system you're trying to keep. After that it will only take small tweaks to get where you want to be. If you want to add the reactor, then you can do that but I would start small - like two tablespoons kind of small. In about three months you should see a dramatic difference. Once you get down to base level zero then you can decide if you want to continue the FOWLR or go for a lagoon, mixed reef or SPS reef. Xenia is a classic coral and you have a lot of it. I think it looks pretty cool when it covers a big rock. If you want other corals then you can probably trade some of it in for credit or sell/trade with other members for other things you might want. Not a lot of people keep Xenia close to LPS or SPS because it can choke out your other corals. I would recommend keeping it on it's own rock separate from any other rock. After it fills up the rock you place it on, then it will start growing across the sand and you can trade the loose stalks in for credit. You'll have to keep an eye on it because it spreads easily and can detach from a rock and move across the tank. It's also a good idea to kill the aiptasia before they spread because they can sting your other corals.

[jestep]

I wouldn't switch off anything. Just start them slowly, it will take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to start seeing significant reduction.

With the TLF reactors, I highly recommend modifying them with an inverted cone or half sphere in the bottom. You need to pellets to tumble, not just to have sufficient flow. The square bottom is a horrible design for good tumbling and eventually clogs up and tumbling reduces to almost nothing. I used a clear half sphere that was meant for making homemade christmas ornaments. Cut with a dremel or whatever else you can cut plastic with without chipping it, and put it in the bottom of the reactor so the incoming flow hits it and pushes upwards. The smooth shape tumbles the pellets way better and there's no dead spots at all.

Otherwise agree with everything else posted here.

[+FluxCapacitor]

Hey Jestep can you take a picture of the half sphere setup you're talking about? Are you referring to the fact that the reactor cylinder makes "corners" when there is just a piece of round foam in the bottom?

[jestep]

I'll see if I can still find it. I switched to a dedicated conical shaped reactor a few years back, but I think I might still have the TLF one.

Drew this up really quick, this is basically a profile of the reactor.

The foam or mesh is at the top to allow for sufficient room for the pellets to tumble. The dark blue is the plastic sphere that is cut to fit in the bottom. I think I had to slightly modify the red intake holding plate as well, but it wasn't anything crazy.

I used something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Seekingtag-Clear-Fillable-Plastic-Ornaments/dp/B00QRGO048

But they were less than $1 at a local craft shop if I remember correctly. Any half sphere or cone that you can cut to fit should work.

It Makes a huge difference in tumbling, I think I even had to reduce my pump size once I switched.

[FarmerTy]

I'll see if I can still find it. I switched to a dedicated conical shaped reactor a few years back, but I think I might still have the TLF one.

Drew this up really quick, this is basically a profile of the reactor.

The foam or mesh is at the top to allow for sufficient room for the pellets to tumble. The dark blue is the plastic sphere that is cut to fit in the bottom. I think I had to slightly modify the red intake holding plate as well, but it wasn't anything crazy.

I used something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Seekingtag-Clear-Fillable-Plastic-Ornaments/dp/B00QRGO048

But they were less than $1 at a local craft shop if I remember correctly. Any half sphere or cone that you can cut to fit should work.

It Makes a huge difference in tumbling, I think I even had to reduce my pump size once I switched.

+1, did the exact same thing with my old TLF 150. I've since switched to a conical reactor as well.

I used the other half of a silly putty container as my conical bottom.

[GiddyORION]

The good news is that you're 80% there! Right now you're running a FOWLR system. Are you trying to convert into a full reef or are you sticking with this type of setup? The reason that I ask is because you're using equipment that I would expect for a full reef. IMO the skimmer is good for your tank size and the lights will provide enough intensity for any corals you want to keep, but the light period is too long. Xenia doesn't need that much light and it would benefit you to shorten the light time by 2-4 hours. An 8-9 hour light period would be fine. Lowering the light period would also lower the algae growth.

What does your skimmate look like? If it's really thick, then you can turn up your skimmer a little bit and remove more nutrients from the water. We refer to it as "wet" or "dry" and it's a good tool to control nutrients.

Do you have live rock in the sump? If not, then I think you need more rock than what you have in the tank. You have about 6 pounds of live rock in a 80ish gallon system and it probably isn't enough nitrogen capacity. The amount of food that you're feeding, plus the fish waste, is greater than the bacteria can process and the algae is picking up the rest. How much rock you need will depend on your future plans. Adding biopellets will increase the bacteria population and you won't need as much rock. If you want to add more corals or more fish, then I would double what you currently have.

Are you using filtered water? Using tap water could be the whole problem. It would be cheaper and easier to add a filter than run GFO and BP to remove nutrients. Don't worry about the CUC. I haven't bought a hermit in over 10 years and the tank I pictured above only has 3 snails in it. You can't get around cleaning the glass every week even if you filled that tank with snails. Having a CUC would matter more if you had a bubble algae or hair algae problem, but you don't have anything that bad. If you have a bunch of detritus in the sump, then it may be a good idea to siphon it out. I clean mine once a year.

So what's next? I think you should lower the light time no matter what system you're trying to keep. After that it will only take small tweaks to get where you want to be. If you want to add the reactor, then you can do that but I would start small - like two tablespoons kind of small. In about three months you should see a dramatic difference. Once you get down to base level zero then you can decide if you want to continue the FOWLR or go for a lagoon, mixed reef or SPS reef. Xenia is a classic coral and you have a lot of it. I think it looks pretty cool when it covers a big rock. If you want other corals then you can probably trade some of it in for credit or sell/trade with other members for other things you might want. Not a lot of people keep Xenia close to LPS or SPS because it can choke out your other corals. I would recommend keeping it on it's own rock separate from any other rock. After it fills up the rock you place it on, then it will start growing across the sand and you can trade the loose stalks in for credit. You'll have to keep an eye on it because it spreads easily and can detach from a rock and move across the tank. It's also a good idea to kill the aiptasia before they spread because they can sting your other corals.

Thank you for the very in-depth response! Indeed my goal for the last 4 years I've had this tank was to sustain a full blown mixed reef. I actually had more rock in the system a month or so ago, but I rid of it after a terrible cyano infestation that I have just recently cured with chemiclean. After stupidly removing these rocks and washing them with freshwater every few months in an attempt to 'clean' them off, and consequently with each algae population growing back more vigorous than the last, I figured they were doing more harm than good. I now realize that washing these rocks was essentially resetting them of their bacterial populations, and supplying existing algae with a nutrient source.

I make all my water changes with water purchased from Aquadome. I never invested in an R/O system. I do a 20% every other weekend. my skimmer is a workhorse- the skimmate typically is tea colored as I skim pretty wet. I have also just recently nuked my sump, which used to be a phosphate and nitrate factory. I did this after I was forced to relocate 8 snails, 9 hermits, and two fish to the sump after the trigger snapped one day and raised hell in the display. I had since never seen the fish again (My sump used to be so dirty I'd lose track of where livestock in it was), and the snails went one by one due to lack of food in the sump. I admit this is terrible husbandry and quite frankly inhumane, and I have since resolved to stay on top of tank maintenance. I refuse to buy anymore livestock until I can prove to myself that I am capable of sustaining them. The sump is now bare except for equipment. I think in that respect I have narrowed down that the nutrient abundance rests in the display. The algae problem I face today is more a monument to my sins than is a chance happening.

I will also definitely reduce photo-period, although I plan on ditching Kessil in the near future. I actually attempted another reef tank with all the bells and whistles, only to have all the coral brown over time due, in my opinion to the Kessil's quality of light. this is just my experience.

The pump and bactiv8 just shipped this morning, can't wait. After about a month or two of running them I think I will then consider how much live rock I need restored to the display. This time I'll actually let it mature lol.

[Sascha D.]

I started my last two tanks with completely dead rock and it takes a good six months to colonize enough to make an impact. I also run an equipment only sump and I like it better than my previous setups. Did you already buy new lights? Off the top of my head I can think of three members using Kessils with success. I think you'll have better luck with them after you adjust a few other things. I bet some new live rock would give you a good setup. You have all of the colors, now you just need to paint a picture.

Are you planning to start over or doctor this system? There are pros and cons to both. It's not hard to keep a puffer or trigger in a reef system if you're willing to sacrifice the inverts.

[GiddyORION]

It would be ideal for me to doctor the system. I have not purchased alternative lighting yet. bio-pellets go online this weekend.

[Sascha D.]

If the live rock absorbed a lot of phosphates over the last four years, then it could be several months before the GFO and BP draw it all out. I would keep the lights unless you don't like the color or something. Like everyone else said above, BP won't show any impact for at least three weeks. The flow to the reactor will need to be adjusted 1-2 weeks after initial set up, but don't mess with the media. Clean the glass and keep track each time you have to clean it again. You should see a decrease in algae growth. You may start to see a change in the Xenia. If it shrivels or turns brown then you may be pulling too much out.

[GiddyORION]

Bio pellets are going. I actually removed the ball valve on the reactor because it was inhibiting the flow (420gph). I know this is probably unsafe, and I am looking into other reactors. For now this should do. I added some Bactiv8 as well and will daily for 10 days, per instruction. I also hope this tumble keeps up even when the bacteria gets going.

https://vid.me/TmTC

[FarmerTy]

That's a good looking tumble right there. It'll gum up a bit once the bacteria colonize so just keep an eye on it and make sure it never stops tumbling.

[GiddyORION]

Week one has passed. Tumble is still steady and all the pellets are moving. Should I let what I have in the reactor run for a month or so before adding more? what schedule should I follow for ramping up the amount in the reactor? currently there's just under 1/4 cup, which is the instructed starting dosage for 70 gallons as stated on the can.

[FarmerTy]

Run it for a couple months and see where your nitrate levels are at. I'd be surprised if you need to add more.

[Sascha D.]

When mine kicked on the algae started to turn white. Keep an eye on your Xenia too.

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