biopellets opinions and who uses them?

[treesprite]

Im looking for updated opinions on biopellets, and would like to know what kinds of hobbyists and tanks are using them.

 

Since putting these fish in a tank that was fishless for it's first 5 months, the nitrate shot up. In the past I dosed carbon via vodka and vinegar, and used Biodigest. I am now thinking it might be easier to use biopellets in a reactor. I am not sure which method starts working the fastest, aside from giant water changes (have been doing that). I was away for a few days, so I had to use an auto feeder which gave more food than I usually would use; it would actually be nice if I could keep the auto feeder on all the time without worrying about parameters.

Edited June 1, 2018 by treesprite

[wangspeed]

Biopellets take a while to kick in, but if you get a recirculating BP reactor, like the old Reef Dynamics, it’s low maintenance and really safe.

 

Things seem to have shifted away from this method lately. I have my old Reef Dynamics reactor packed away for now.

 

Warren

[madweazl]

With the minuscule cost of vinegar, I dont know why anyone would move to biopellets as a carbon source these days. 

[treesprite]

With the minuscule cost of vinegar, I dont know why anyone would move to biopellets as a carbon source these days.

It makes one less thing to worry about every day.

[mogurnda]

It makes one less thing to worry about every day.

For the price of a biopellet reactor, pellets and pump, you can get a dosing pump and dose vinegar straight out of the jug.  It's not just cheaper, but you can control the amount you put into the tank.  With pellets, you are dependent on their rate of dissolving to set the dose of carbon.  With vinegar, you can dial it up or down, depending on the demand.  I have found that to be very useful when adjusting C, N, and P ratios for growing macroalgae.  As far as hassle, I find keeping an eye on a reactor (keeping it fluidizing and not gummed up) more trouble than a dosing pump.  

 

There are plenty of people who prefer pellets.  This is just my experience.

[madweazl]

For the price of a biopellet reactor, pellets and pump, you can get a dosing pump and dose vinegar straight out of the jug.  It's not just cheaper, but you can control the amount you put into the tank.  With pellets, you are dependent on their rate of dissolving to set the dose of carbon.  With vinegar, you can dial it up or down, depending on the demand.  I have found that to be very useful when adjusting C, N, and P ratios for growing macroalgae.  As far as hassle, I find keeping an eye on a reactor (keeping it fluidizing and not gummed up) more trouble than a dosing pump.  

 

There are plenty of people who prefer pellets.  This is just my experience.

Absolutely agree. The dosing pump doesnt need to be an elaborate setup either; simple peristaltic pump connected to a digital timer is good enough. 

[monkiboy]

+3 what they said. vinegar, vodka, sugar, a mix, is much easier and less maintenance than pellets and gear necessary

[zygote2k]

I ran BP on about a dozen tanks over the past 5 years and now only use them on 2 tanks. I had initial success in reducing n03 drastically, but found that there was no way to control how much extra bacteria grew in the tank and several tanks had cyano issues. One major benefit other than n03 reduction was that feather dusters bloomed en masse. The 2 tanks that I still use them on have massive feather duster populations that depend on the BP's, but aren't producing cyanobacteria.

A BP system consisted of pricey pellets, a big water pump, and a reactor to the tune of $250 or so for an initial setup. I've dumped those contraptions and just use cheap vodka or the Red Sea Ethanol. 10x cheaper and works quicker.

[treesprite]

Well, I'm glad I asked about them. I was having trouble finding information about them that wasn't from a few years ago. The way things in this hobby go, a couple years is more like a decade.

 

I didn't realize I could use a doser for vinegar/vodka. I have actually never used one for anything.

[zygote2k]

I wouldn't advise using a doser for vodka unless you have very short line sets. If the line splits open and all the vodka pours into the tank, it could be a disaster.

[Mattb1612]

So this is interesting I was thinking of doing biopellets as well. What vinegar do you guys use then?

 

 

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[Mattb1612]

So after doing a little research it seems all natural vinager with 5% acid is the best. I did read though it lowers PH and can dull SPS and can have negative effect on anemones. Anyone want to chime in on how they started dosing vinager risk or outcomes of it. And what was methodology behind it and science. I know it’s a carbon source and it’s lower than vodka but just tell me what you ran with it (ex kalk paste and ro water).

 

 

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[madweazl]

For things like this, Randy Holmes-Farley is a wealth of information. I started carbon dosing (vodka) at about eight months to reduce nitrates and I continued to do so for a few months until they started to fall naturally. I only dosed two part at the time (still the only thing I dose) and noticed no negative effects at all (likely the opposite as the bacteria probably ends up a food source for the corals). I didnt note any measurable differences to pH. 

Edited June 8, 2018 by madweazl

[Matt LeBaron]

So I have been both dosing vinegar and running biopellets for a few years now. I'm actually in the process of increasing my vinegar dosing to remove the biopellets now. I haven't had any problem with the pellets and I originally got them as a curiosity and to try something new. Honestly I didn't notice much of a difference and I have just kind of left them running and added more every 6 months or so as needed to keep the level even. But the reality is that it's one more thing to take care of so I decided to remove them but I am slowly increasing my daily vinegar dosing to offset their removal.

 

Vinegar dosing would be my recommendation. Pick up one of the BRS dosers, go to Costco or your warehouse store of choice spend a couple dollars buying a huge bottle of vinegar, drill a hole the size of the dosing hole in the top, poke another hole so air can get in as the vinegar is removed, and let an auto doser do it's thing. if you have a controller of some sort (I use a Reef Angel) it's even easier as you can adjust the dosing without having to mess with a timer but I am sure a timer would work just fine also. It's cheap and easy, for less than $75 you are up and running. Just take it slow.

[mogurnda]

So after doing a little research it seems all natural vinager with 5% acid is the best. I did read though it lowers PH and can dull SPS and can have negative effect on anemones. Anyone want to chime in on how they started dosing vinager risk or outcomes of it. And what was methodology behind it and science. I know it’s a carbon source and it’s lower than vodka but just tell me what you ran with it (ex kalk paste and ro water).

 

 

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On the reef tank, I am dosing 45 ml per day.  Any dosing pump will do.  I am using a standalone dosing IceCap pump at the moment, and used a BRS pump controlled by my Aquacontroller before I dropped it in the sump.  Any white vinegar is fine.  I buy 5% vinegar by the gallon jug from Giant.  The tank also has a Ca reactor.  The fuge in the sump with chaeto and caulerpa, and in-line seagrass tank with Bryopsis, turtle grass and manatee grass generate a high demand for dissolved carbon.  The pH dips a little when the vinegar goes in, but goes right back up.  Neither the SPS nor the anemone, which now owns half the 90-gallon tank, are affected in any way.

 

I am also dosing 50 ml/day in the macroalgae culture system, using one channel of a Bubble Magus doser.  I probably should add more, but the system is stable at the moment, and I don't feel like messing with it.

 

As far as the science, I needed a carbon source, because the growth of benthic macroalgae is limited more by carbon than by nitrogen or phosphorous (Atkinson and Smith, 1982, "C:N:P Ratios of Benthic Marine Plants" Limnol. Oceanogr. 28:568).  In a reef system, the food and poo provide a lot of N and P, but less C.  To encourage plant growth, adding vinegar, which is metabolized to CO2 by bacteria, gives the macros an edge.  

Edited June 8, 2018 by mogurnda

[treesprite]

I have used vodka and vinegar in the past, no problems. Both work. Supposedly, vodka is more likely to somehow cause cyano, but that did not happen to me.

 

I still haven't started anything yet. I was going to do a big water change last nigh (since I had no sooner time to fit it in my schedule), and then start dosing vinegar, but I broke my arm instead.

[mari.harutunian]

I have used vodka and vinegar in the past, no problems. Both work. Supposedly, vodka is more likely to somehow cause cyano, but that did not happen to me.

 

I still haven't started anything yet. I was going to do a big water change last nigh (since I had no sooner time to fit it in my schedule), and then start dosing vinegar, but I broke my arm instead.

Oh my. That’s going to make reefing awfully difficult. Wish you a quick recovery.

 

 

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