TrueTricia November 6, 2014 Share November 6, 2014 If you feed pellets exclusively your fish are definitely missing something. Pellets are made with "everything" fish need, then they are processed, cooked, dried and loaded with preservatives. The vitamins and oils are gone even though they are listed on the package. I question any un refrigerated food with a shelf life of 6 months or a year. If you look on the disease threads that dominate these boards, that is what the people feed on those threads. Dry foods. Dry foods will not get fish into breeding condition except maybe some clownfish and they will spawn on cardboard as long as it has a picture of a fish on it. Fish that are not in breeding condition are just about living and are susceptible to every disease known to man including the heartbreak of psoriasis. I am writing a book and I have a whole chapter on this subject. Paul and Isaac After thinking about it, I agree with you. I don't eat overly processed foods bc of stomach issues. So I understand the issue. But that being said, I'm not convinced that anything we feed is going to mimic the real ocean food chain. I should probably feed frozen more, and maybe something else. I mean, I do feed algae too but I don't count that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTricia November 6, 2014 Share November 6, 2014 What kind of reactors are you guys using and what kind of pumps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed November 6, 2014 Share November 6, 2014 Reef Dynamics for me. Pricey but worth it having easy to modulate recirculate. I would not use a non-recirculating reactor. -- Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulcosta November 6, 2014 Share November 6, 2014 Got a question for everyone...I am very new to reactors and just picked up the avast MR5 that i use for bio-pellets. I soaked the pellets as directed for about 36 hours. when i turned on my pump and the pellets started to move chunks of dissolved pellets ended up in my display. is that normal? also my tank is very cloudy and wondering if that is normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt LeBaron November 6, 2014 Share November 6, 2014 What kind of pump are you using on your MR5? And did you put the plastic mesh in to catch the pellets? That mesh should have prevented any pellets from making it into the tank. I have a MR5 with bio-pellets running on my tank and have never had cloudy water or many of the pellets escape. (I have had a few sneak out after they were used up so much that they were about 1/4 their beginning size) I use a MJ900 on my MR5 with a bit of a modification in that I put a funnel open size up at the bottom of the reactor to encourage tumbling. The bio-pellet nozzle that I bought with it didn't really move the pellets much but with the funnel I get excellent movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTricia November 6, 2014 Share November 6, 2014 Reef Dynamics for me. Pricey but worth it having easy to modulate recirculate. I would not use a non-recirculating reactor. -- Warren Why not? What do you think the difference/benefit/risk is between the two? What kind of pump are you using on your MR5? And did you put the plastic mesh in to catch the pellets? That mesh should have prevented any pellets from making it into the tank. I have a MR5 with bio-pellets running on my tank and have never had cloudy water or many of the pellets escape. (I have had a few sneak out after they were used up so much that they were about 1/4 their beginning size) I use a MJ900 on my MR5 with a bit of a modification in that I put a funnel open size up at the bottom of the reactor to encourage tumbling. The bio-pellet nozzle that I bought with it didn't really move the pellets much but with the funnel I get excellent movement. Matt, I've read that a lot of people use a mesh sock on their output, and also make sure that their output for the reactor is near the intake for the skimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b November 6, 2014 Share November 6, 2014 What kind of reactors are you guys using and what kind of pumps? I don't have any reactors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulcosta November 6, 2014 Share November 6, 2014 What kind of pump are you using on your MR5? And did you put the plastic mesh in to catch the pellets? That mesh should have prevented any pellets from making it into the tank. I have a MR5 with bio-pellets running on my tank and have never had cloudy water or many of the pellets escape. (I have had a few sneak out after they were used up so much that they were about 1/4 their beginning size) I use a MJ900 on my MR5 with a bit of a modification in that I put a funnel open size up at the bottom of the reactor to encourage tumbling. The bio-pellet nozzle that I bought with it didn't really move the pellets much but with the funnel I get excellent movement. i am using the MJ1200 on the MR5...I do have the plastic mesh installed. Let me ask you are there different size pellets? could i have bought the wrong size pellets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt LeBaron November 7, 2014 Share November 7, 2014 I bought pellets twice over the two-ish years I've run pellets, the second type I bought were larger than the initial batch I bought but I don't remember the brands. My original pellets are mostly used up at this point but neither was small enough to make it through the mesh until they were mostly used up, I run my reactor right into my skimmer now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulcosta November 7, 2014 Share November 7, 2014 I bought pellets twice over the two-ish years I've run pellets, the second type I bought were larger than the initial batch I bought but I don't remember the brands. My original pellets are mostly used up at this point but neither was small enough to make it through the mesh until they were mostly used up, I run my reactor right into my skimmer now. Is running the reactor to the skimmer better? I have my pump in the middle chamber of my sump and and the other tube to my return chamber. Is that not the correct way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed November 7, 2014 Share November 7, 2014 Why not? What do you think the difference/benefit/risk is between the two? The most common problem with pellets is that the amount of pump needed to keep the pellets from clumping is likely more water being processed than you want. This results in the corals starting to die. I prefer being able to dial in the effluent while having independent tumbling of the pellets. Malady has a recirc kit too now. -- Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt LeBaron November 8, 2014 Share November 8, 2014 Is running the reactor to the skimmer better? I have my pump in the middle chamber of my sump and and the other tube to my return chamber. Is that not the correct way? The bacteria that the pellets grow and eventually falls off the pellets if you have proper movement of the pellets needs to be removed some how to truly be beneficial, you skimmer is how that happens so it helps if that bacteria finds it way directly into the skimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTricia December 23, 2014 Share December 23, 2014 Here is another well documented experience with biopellets...pages 7 and 8 have the long-ish terms observations from the user: Http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6/biopellets-myth-busters-185835.html Bumping for myself.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country December 23, 2014 Share December 23, 2014 What kind of pellets is everyone using? I've been running pellets for quite some time and still have algae issues, really wonder if the pellets I have are just snake oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTricia December 23, 2014 Share December 23, 2014 What kind of pellets is everyone using? I've been running pellets for quite some time and still have algae issues, really wonder if the pellets I have are just snake oil. A lot of people have switched over to those new All-In-One bps. I've seen people love them, and others hate them on RC. I'm still debating... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed December 24, 2014 Share December 24, 2014 Warner marine ecobak plus. I'm definitely ULNS. -- Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 24, 2014 Author Share December 24, 2014 I have found through the experiences of the different setup, that clumping or no clumping seems to make no difference in the overall performance of the pellets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 December 24, 2014 Share December 24, 2014 I've been running bp's on my tank for about 8 months now with a Phosban 550 retrofitted. I had issues trying to get the pellets to tumble for the first 2-3 months. To get it to tumble better, I streamlined the tubes and minimized the restricted flow by adding a stronger pump. I have noticed my skimmer taking out some nasty gunk as well as an improvement in water clarity once it have better tumbling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 24, 2014 Author Share December 24, 2014 the only way to prove that tumbling does something different than non-tumbling is to set up 2 identical systems side by side and see what tumbling vs non gets. The previous post is anecdotal evidence at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 December 24, 2014 Share December 24, 2014 the only way to prove that tumbling does something different than non-tumbling is to set up 2 identical systems side by side and see what tumbling vs non gets. The previous post is anecdotal evidence at best. I agree that side by side comparison is the best way to test if tumbling makes a difference. I am just noting that when I had very little/ restricted flow, there was no difference in my skimmate for 2-3 months. When I increased the flow and the pellets began to tumble, within days, there was a noticeable difference in what my skimmer was taking out. Once again, it might be "anecdotal" evidence, but it's enough evidence for me to believe a little tumbling helps vs. no tumble at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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