hey whats going on reefgeek pretty good info on BP its been interesting on some of the things you have stated but i have used BP for over a year now with the TFL reactors and have had no issue what so ever. also have always started with the full dosage of BP on all three systems i've had with out any bad results when running BP you always want to have a Plus one skimmer for the extra ability to skim as much as possible from the BP's but some of the BP leak to the system is good because it good food for your coral. Also you talk about not depleting all P03 and p04 from your system but yet you are running BP,GFO,Refug,and live bac to me that a little excessive and you might want to reconsider using all those systems because if the chaeto that you have in your refug doesn't have any food to eat it will die off and release some bad stuff you don't want in your tank. also you sand bed in your refug is already dying off.
I'm glad that you have had great success using the TFL reactor and the method of introducing the amount of BP that you did. I'm just conveying information that I have collected from others that haven't had such a good experience taking that approach. I think the one thing that we all need to keep in mind that all systems are different and they will all react differently to what we put in our system. I agree that the by-product on using bio pellets is a great source of food for your coral as all as you limit the amount released back into your system (not skimmed off), which will vary based on the amount of coral you have in your system. I'm in the process of removing my refug which would include the figi mud (not sand in my refug...:)). I'm going to continue dosing waste away since I made the mistake of not curing my dry rock and the organics are breaking down in my system, also will not be adding any coral until past my curing phase. Once I'm at that point I will back off the live bac, and will re-evaluate the usage of GFO, but I agree on the benefits of using BP and will definitely continue using those. My experience is very short to this point so I'm excited to see how things will go in the future. Thanks for your input!
ReefGeekTV I just stating that i have done that way with all three of my systems that is three different systems at different times and have a bigger system as in the +1 rule help you handle the full dose. To also talk about the UV stabilizer it shouldnt affect the BP in anyway as in reproductions because the bac is only reproducing inside the reactor. also to shine some light about when having a power outage you stated to rinse off the BP i would not really suggest doing so will it hurt the BP no but you should of stated in the video to use RO/DI because i know people well rinse it with regular water which well end up bad because the chlorine is tap water will kill the bac and plus that is to much work i would just have pre-made fresh saltwater pull out the returning hose that usually go to the skimmer pull that out and lay it into a bucket and run it for a few min to get any bag die off/ nitrogen salfied or how ever you spell it because that is the bad stuff that come out when you get dead spots in your bp. after running it for a little while then shut it down place the tube back into the take to your skimmer and your ready to rock again. One last thing and don't know if you were gunna go into it but sound like your done with explaining how and why your using Bp you left out kinda a really good information on BP which is what level of parameters you should be use and what kinda salt. what im talking about is that while running PB you should only be running you ALK at 7dkh and to be careful on what salts you use to do your WC because some salt values yelled high values of dkh hint why i use the regular red sea because if you run the dkh values higher then 8dkh you will start see burnt tips on coral so they say ive pushed those limits before but every tank is different and you want to provide the best information to your viewers but anyways good deal my buddy just informed me of a thread on a form that breaks down BP to a + which he told me is over 7 pages once my buddy sends me the link ill shoot it you and hope your system come around soon so you can get some nice sps corals in that 90g
ian mcalpin Thanks for the comment, I feel we all learn greatly from other's experiences. That is a good point on the ALK, its funny after the fact all the things that you overlook. The cool thing is that in some cases the discussions that come from the videos can be just as informative as the video itself (like in this case). I would be very interested in any additional information that you can send me, always looking for good information.
Reefgeektv ya I'm not trying to bash you in any shape or form I found your vids on this subject interesting and informative but also add a little to your info as well. I've done a lot of research in BP and I mean tons of hours because like you I like to know what I'm putting in my systems.. Also done a lot of research on the difference from bp and zeo and using a hybrid system with zeo and bp which I'm doing so on my 40b system to test it out and see what the hype is about.... Ill be looking forward for your future vids
I don't know if you still watch this but here goes. I have that reactor and quite honestly im not sure where to or how to measure how much pellets to put in. heres a dumb question how many inches of the pellets would be enough to start? thanks
Great Video. I wish I would have watched it a week ago. I just setup a Reef Octopus BR70 model on my bring down my nitrates 4 days ago. I'm also running the same dual BRS GFO and Carbon reactor you have. I'm starting out with about half of the recommend amount of Bio Pellets. Do you think I should be ok with that?
All tanks are a little different, I know some that put the full dose and are fine. I think everyone just wants to be careful as do I. I would just monitor your corals and make sure your bio-pellet reactor outlet is feeding right into your skimmer and keep the skimmer neck clean. Wait until you get increased skimmate and you should notice the smell will be greater. Then wait a month and add a 1/4 dose and wait another month and add the final 1/4 dose. It is so tricky to know how each tank will react to the carbon dosing.
Great video, super detailed and very informative! Totally off topic, how deep is the water in the first chamber of your modified Ruby sump and how many inches do you have your Omega 150 submersed in water? How deep is the water in the third chamber?
Hi, the first two chambers run at ~10 inches, the third I have running at 7 inches, and the skimmer is running at 7.5 inches. I think the manufacturer recommends between 7 - 8 inches of depth for the best operation.
Great vid. I've been waiting for a good video on bio pellets. . I been running my pellets over a year now with the 2 little fishes reactor, and also I have cheato in my refugium area in my sump. My cheato grows like weeds. My question is, dont you have to replace the pellets when they dissolve? Well mine hasn't dissolved since I started them more than a year ago, and im starting to notice cyno in my refugium. What should I do??
Yes, as the bacteria breaks down the bio pellets you should have to replace them. Since my reactor has only been up and running for 3 weeks I have little experience to draw from as far as how fast they are consumed, but you would think that every 2-4 months you would need to add some pellets. If you are running your reactor for that long without any consumption I would assume that there are little to no bacteria in your system to consume the pellets. I'm attempting to prime my system with bacteria using Dr. Tim's Waste Away, but I haven't came across many people talking about if you need to add bacteria to your reactor.
Since you have been running your bio pellets for a year and you haven't to this point experienced cyano, you could rule out the adding of too many pellets too fast, but it would be interesting to get other's opinions on that. Are you using GFO and what is the size of your system and your water change amount/schedule?
I would remove the Cyano from your sump and monitor it. Are you feeding your bio pellet reactor outlet to your skimmer, how is your skimmer working in your opinion. Your water change schedule seems good!
From what I'm experiencing, you are correct. I think you either fight Algae with Algae or Bacteria, not both. My Chaeto has been dying off over the last month.
great video! i built my own bio pellet reactor and always looking to improve. thanks for the info
that's a great explanation of the reactor.
Nice video, like you're past videos also. But is that crystal blue on the right there? What kind of hobby did I just get myself into?
hey whats going on reefgeek pretty good info on BP its been interesting on some of the things you have stated but i have used BP for over a year now with the TFL reactors and have had no issue what so ever. also have always started with the full dosage of BP on all three systems i've had with out any bad results when running BP you always want to have a Plus one skimmer for the extra ability to skim as much as possible from the BP's but some of the BP leak to the system is good because it good food for your coral. Also you talk about not depleting all P03 and p04 from your system but yet you are running BP,GFO,Refug,and live bac to me that a little excessive and you might want to reconsider using all those systems because if the chaeto that you have in your refug doesn't have any food to eat it will die off and release some bad stuff you don't want in your tank. also you sand bed in your refug is already dying off.
I'm glad that you have had great success using the TFL reactor and the method of introducing the amount of BP that you did. I'm just conveying information that I have collected from others that haven't had such a good experience taking that approach. I think the one thing that we all need to keep in mind that all systems are different and they will all react differently to what we put in our system. I agree that the by-product on using bio pellets is a great source of food for your coral as all as you limit the amount released back into your system (not skimmed off), which will vary based on the amount of coral you have in your system. I'm in the process of removing my refug which would include the figi mud (not sand in my refug...:)). I'm going to continue dosing waste away since I made the mistake of not curing my dry rock and the organics are breaking down in my system, also will not be adding any coral until past my curing phase. Once I'm at that point I will back off the live bac, and will re-evaluate the usage of GFO, but I agree on the benefits of using BP and will definitely continue using those. My experience is very short to this point so I'm excited to see how things will go in the future. Thanks for your input!
ReefGeekTV I just stating that i have done that way with all three of my systems that is three different systems at different times and have a bigger system as in the +1 rule help you handle the full dose. To also talk about the UV stabilizer it shouldnt affect the BP in anyway as in reproductions because the bac is only reproducing inside the reactor. also to shine some light about when having a power outage you stated to rinse off the BP i would not really suggest doing so will it hurt the BP no but you should of stated in the video to use RO/DI because i know people well rinse it with regular water which well end up bad because the chlorine is tap water will kill the bac and plus that is to much work i would just have pre-made fresh saltwater pull out the returning hose that usually go to the skimmer pull that out and lay it into a bucket and run it for a few min to get any bag die off/ nitrogen salfied or how ever you spell it because that is the bad stuff that come out when you get dead spots in your bp. after running it for a little while then shut it down place the tube back into the take to your skimmer and your ready to rock again. One last thing and don't know if you were gunna go into it but sound like your done with explaining how and why your using Bp you left out kinda a really good information on BP which is what level of parameters you should be use and what kinda salt. what im talking about is that while running PB you should only be running you ALK at 7dkh and to be careful on what salts you use to do your WC because some salt values yelled high values of dkh hint why i use the regular red sea because if you run the dkh values higher then 8dkh you will start see burnt tips on coral so they say ive pushed those limits before but every tank is different and you want to provide the best information to your viewers but anyways good deal my buddy just informed me of a thread on a form that breaks down BP to a + which he told me is over 7 pages once my buddy sends me the link ill shoot it you and hope your system come around soon so you can get some nice sps corals in that 90g
ian mcalpin Thanks for the comment, I feel we all learn greatly from other's experiences. That is a good point on the ALK, its funny after the fact all the things that you overlook. The cool thing is that in some cases the discussions that come from the videos can be just as informative as the video itself (like in this case). I would be very interested in any additional information that you can send me, always looking for good information.
Reefgeektv ya I'm not trying to bash you in any shape or form I found your vids on this subject interesting and informative but also add a little to your info as well. I've done a lot of research in BP and I mean tons of hours because like you I like to know what I'm putting in my systems.. Also done a lot of research on the difference from bp and zeo and using a hybrid system with zeo and bp which I'm doing so on my 40b system to test it out and see what the hype is about.... Ill be looking forward for your future vids
I don't know if you still watch this but here goes. I have that reactor and quite honestly im not sure where to or how to measure how much pellets to put in. heres a dumb question how many inches of the pellets would be enough to start? thanks
Great Video. I wish I would have watched it a week ago. I just setup a Reef Octopus BR70 model on my bring down my nitrates 4 days ago. I'm also running the same dual BRS GFO and Carbon reactor you have. I'm starting out with about half of the recommend amount of Bio Pellets. Do you think I should be ok with that?
All tanks are a little different, I know some that put the full dose and are fine. I think everyone just wants to be careful as do I. I would just monitor your corals and make sure your bio-pellet reactor outlet is feeding right into your skimmer and keep the skimmer neck clean. Wait until you get increased skimmate and you should notice the smell will be greater. Then wait a month and add a 1/4 dose and wait another month and add the final 1/4 dose. It is so tricky to know how each tank will react to the carbon dosing.
Great video, super detailed and very informative! Totally off topic, how deep is the water in the first chamber of your modified Ruby sump and how many inches do you have your Omega 150 submersed in water? How deep is the water in the third chamber?
Hi, the first two chambers run at ~10 inches, the third I have running at 7 inches, and the skimmer is running at 7.5 inches. I think the manufacturer recommends between 7 - 8 inches of depth for the best operation.
Thank you. Planning on setting up my Ruby 36S in the near future.
Great vid. I've been waiting for a good video on bio pellets. . I been running my pellets over a year now with the 2 little fishes reactor, and also I have cheato in my refugium area in my sump. My cheato grows like weeds. My question is, dont you have to replace the pellets when they dissolve? Well mine hasn't dissolved since I started them more than a year ago, and im starting to notice cyno in my refugium. What should I do??
Yes, as the bacteria breaks down the bio pellets you should have to replace them. Since my reactor has only been up and running for 3 weeks I have little experience to draw from as far as how fast they are consumed, but you would think that every 2-4 months you would need to add some pellets. If you are running your reactor for that long without any consumption I would assume that there are little to no bacteria in your system to consume the pellets. I'm attempting to prime my system with bacteria using Dr. Tim's Waste Away, but I haven't came across many people talking about if you need to add bacteria to your reactor.
Since you have been running your bio pellets for a year and you haven't to this point experienced cyano, you could rule out the adding of too many pellets too fast, but it would be interesting to get other's opinions on that. Are you using GFO and what is the size of your system and your water change amount/schedule?
Thanks for the info.. love the vids keep em coming.
No GFO.. I have a 57 rimless, and I do a 10% water change every week..
I would remove the Cyano from your sump and monitor it. Are you feeding your bio pellet reactor outlet to your skimmer, how is your skimmer working in your opinion. Your water change schedule seems good!
Is this a coral only system i dont see much filter media?
Wont your cheato die eventually? I read that using biopellets will out compete not only nuisance algae but beneficial algae as well.
From what I'm experiencing, you are correct. I think you either fight Algae with Algae or Bacteria, not both. My Chaeto has been dying off over the last month.
Nice Nice!!great video!!Like and suscribe!!