smallreef October 3, 2013 Share October 3, 2013 What kind of reactor and pump, where is your output going to in the tank, what kind of pellets? What positive or negative reactions have you noticed? What kinds of corals do you have and any positive or negative effects on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 Avast MR5 run off Dart. Vertex Pellets. Discharge right above intake to ASM G-3 in sump. Positives, I attribute eradication of Bubble algae to them. have browned out some of the acros. easiest to tell on the yellow tabling. Dont think lps like them GO SLOW!!!! Started well below recom amount and gradually increased over a couple of months. GL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 Avast MR10 w/ ATB pellets. Output to sump - sort of close to the skimmer input, but not directly into the skimmer (though it should go there). I've never noticed much in the way of bacterial growth in mine, though I saw great growth of bacteria on Bill Voss's system in Alexandria a few years ago. No positives or negatives to report that I would really attribute to them (probably because I'm not seeing many bacteria grow!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taiscici October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 Hydra Quatics, BRS pellets with Mag 5 pump. Output connect directly to skimmer. Positive - excellent at removing Nitrates Negative - cyano if overdose If you have lots of live rocks and DSB you need to start out just a little pellets and measure Nitrates weekly. SPS will brown out if N & P are 0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef October 4, 2013 Author Share October 4, 2013 Awesome! Great input guys, thanks! There are alot of threads on R2R and RC but it's so much easier to get these exact answers to help me decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 I'm running Avast MR5 with biopellet nozzle and ATB biopellets feeding in to the CS1 skimmer. I put the full bag of 500ml of them in there from the start since I don't have to worry about browning out any acro or whatnot. The only affect I've seen is that I am generating stinky skimmatte. I have lots of algae, though low nitrate and phosphate. Dunno if they are working or not, but I figured if I plan to run them at all I might as well start before I start getting acro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 I use them both on my quarantine system and main system. The 100 gallon QT has anywhere from 40-90 fish in it at any one time, and has a MR5 nearly packed full of pellets fed directly into a CS1. Nitrates are around 2-4ppm and fish health is excellent. I also use a big UV which does not appear to hinder bacteria development in the pellets. The main system has a MR16 filled about halfway with pellets. Directly above the pellet layer is the thickest bunch of white feather duster worms I've ever seen. To me this is proof that the pellets are producing bacteria that make good food for filter feeders. I don't have this concentration of tube worms anywhere else in my system. I liken it to a plankton reactor, as this tubeworm population is probably pumping out eggs and/or baby tubeworms judging by how fast they grow in here. Will post a pic shortly. In short, I am a fan of biopellets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 The tubeworm/biopellet reactor sent from phone. please excuse brevity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef October 4, 2013 Author Share October 4, 2013 That's kinda creepy,lol What pellets are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 There is also a significant breeding population of saltwater mysis living in there too ATB pellets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 Woah. That is a new kind of reactor. It is filter media you cant buy, you have to grow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizzaguy October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 Kim. Awesome post I was wondering all the same questions you had. I'm trying a different method with pellets but I ain't posting it.it will be like tang police 101. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2nhle October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 Wow, that is awesome, I am doing the voka dosing right now may switch to the bio pellet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef October 4, 2013 Author Share October 4, 2013 I ordered the MR5 with the biopellets nozzle, at first was thinking about just tumbling some GfO...then Steve or Vince mentioned some problems , I looked that up, and recommended biopellets so I have been reading threads all day! My gosh there's alot of mixed information out there... But now I think I have a good grasp of the use and the possibilities so that I'm going to try it on this new tank...I've always had fairly high nitrates...haven't checked phosphates in years, need to get a kit sat. at the social for that too... And get it set up! I may start it on the 50g to see the numbers and get it populated with bacteria before I move everything over to the new 150g... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 I have mostly BRS biopellets, probably some ATB and Warner pellets still in there somewhere, in a Avast Marine MR5-18 reactor, at least that's what I seem to remember it to be, don't see it on the site anymore was a taller model of their MR5. I just shortened the tube a little like instructed by Dan for the biopellets and they move well. I get some tubeworms in my reactor but nothing like the concentration in Justins. Does the biopellet nozzle make that much of a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 Does the biopellet nozzle make that much of a difference? Yes! Night and day difference from the stock rig. I will let Justin chime in on any scientific benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 Get a reactor that can separately adjust the most important factors, the effluent and pellet action. Having the flexibility to completely adjust the reactor will avoid some of the problems hobbyists face when implementing bio-pellets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 I have mostly BRS biopellets, probably some ATB and Warner pellets still in there somewhere, in a Avast Marine MR5-18 reactor, at least that's what I seem to remember it to be, don't see it on the site anymore was a taller model of their MR5. I just shortened the tube a little like instructed by Dan for the biopellets and they move well. I get some tubeworms in my reactor but nothing like the concentration in Justins. Does the biopellet nozzle make that much of a difference? If you just cut off the tube square to the bottom with no lower media plate, then no need for a biopellet nozzle. The nozzle is mainly to prevent back siphoning the pellets into the pump if the power goes out. I doubt the nozzle is the reason for the tubeworms, more likely due to the amount of growth from the pellets. I have a lot of fish, so I have to add a considerable amount of mysis, cyclopeeze and SA pellets (4x/day). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 Yes! Night and day difference from the stock rig. I will let Justin chime in on any scientific benefits. Just mechanical benefits, which I suppose leads to better aeration & mixing, hence better metabolism on the pellets. Get a reactor that can separately adjust the most important factors, the effluent and pellet action. Having the flexibility to completely adjust the reactor will avoid some of the problems hobbyists face when implementing bio-pellets. We tried a few different recirculating designs as we kept getting requests for one. I tested a few right next to the one pictured above, and none of them performed better than the single pass design. While in theory I agree with you that independently controlling mixing and system water throughput is desirable, in practice it doesn't seem to matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 Get a reactor that can separately adjust the most important factors, the effluent and pellet action. Having the flexibility to completely adjust the reactor will avoid some of the problems hobbyists face when implementing bio-pellets. Oh, meant to add, I am planning to try out our new Vibe reactor with pellets. Allow them to sit undisturbed with a zeovit-style slow water flow rate, then shake them every so often to dislodge the bacterial film. I wonder if this will help create larger particles of bacterial mulm, hence feeding animals better, versus constant tumbling. It should be easy to see what comes off the pellets this way, but difficult to quantify compared with tumbling pellets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 I have the nozzle and mr5, here is a video of the tumble with an mj1200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef October 4, 2013 Author Share October 4, 2013 Oh, very nice tumble... My feeder pump gets in Tuesday so I'm excited to get everything plumbed and set up next week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neto October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 I ordered the MR5 with the biopellets nozzle, at first was thinking about just tumbling some GfO...then Steve or Vince mentioned some problems , I looked that up, and recommended biopellets so I have been reading threads all day! My gosh there's alot of mixed information out there... But now I think I have a good grasp of the use and the possibilities so that I'm going to try it on this new tank...I've always had fairly high nitrates...haven't checked phosphates in years, need to get a kit sat. at the social for that too... And get it set up! I may start it on the 50g to see the numbers and get it populated with bacteria before I move everything over to the new 150g... Do you mind sharing the problems that you discussed with Steve & Vince? I currently run BRS GFO and do have problems but I am not sure if they are related. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country October 4, 2013 Share October 4, 2013 If you just cut off the tube square to the bottom with no lower media plate, then no need for a biopellet nozzle. The nozzle is mainly to prevent back siphoning the pellets into the pump if the power goes out. I doubt the nozzle is the reason for the tubeworms, more likely due to the amount of growth from the pellets. I have a lot of fish, so I have to add a considerable amount of mysis, cyclopeeze and SA pellets (4x/day). That's what I did, I cut it off about 1" above the bottom and took out the lower media plate, I have the screen in the top of the reactor to keep any floaters in the reactor. Have a nice even rolling of the pellets in the reactor. Always seeing pods and tubeworms in my reactor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef October 4, 2013 Author Share October 4, 2013 Do you mind sharing the problems that you discussed with Steve & Vince? I currently run BRS GFO and do have problems but I am not sure if they are related. thanks! They just said they have seen problems,Researching it I have read about the GFO breaking up clogging the reactor plates and outlets and possibly causing a multitude of miscellaneous issues...there were no specific one of a kind reproducible problems...I saw a few threads on RC and R2R about possible nitrate issues, phosphates, misc algae outbreaks, possible hlle, and cyano nothing conclusive but enough questions for me to decide not to use it that way, I've always used it in media bags and never had a problem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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