3reef Community Bio Pellet Review

no cloudiness, and yes i run a swc 120cone on a 35 gallon tank with25 gallon sump. i was wet skimming. i found the wet skimming to remove more nitrates.

after this problem started i did a lot of reading on the effects bacteria can have and how it consumes a lot of oxygen . maybe i was running to many pellets? maybe the add of the probotic caused a problem? i was told it could be used with bio pellets though.


another thought is..... could my fish have ended up with a bacterial infection from this?
since the corals and inverts seem unaffected

 

Tank water volume: Approximately 90 gallons.

Filtration: BRS Carbon & GFO Dual Reactor, Approximately 100lbs/Rock, 125 Coralife Skimmer

Lighting:
36" 1 X 250W MH w/ 4 X 39W T5 Odyssea Fixture w/ Phoenix 14k bulb
1 X ATI Purple Plus T5 HO
1 x ATI Purple Plus T5 HO
2 X ATI Blue Plus T5 HO
24" 4 X 24W T5 Odyssea Fixture
3 x ATI Blue Plus T5 HO
1 x ATI AquaBlue Special T5 HO

Water Parameters: Hanna Calc= 360-380, Hanna Alk= 6.6-7.2, Salifert Mag= 1440, API Nitrate= 0, Hanna PPM Phosphate= 0

Fish/invert stock: Male & Female Maroon Clowns, Royal Gramma, Yellow Coris Wrasse, Purple Dottyback, Neon Dottyback


Feeding schedule: Every other day.

Additives being used:BRS Kalkwasser (Calcium Hydroxide)

Types of corals in your system: Medium SPS, Medium/Low LPS, Medium/High Soft

Brand of BP's being used: BRS

Type/brand BP Reactor: BRS

How much BP's are you using: Approx. 500ML

How long have you been using BP's: Since 10/14/11

Reason/reasons for using BP: To accomplish undetectable traces of Nitrates.


Please share your experience with BP's: When first introducing the pellets, it appeared to induce a coral shock for a brief period of time. Losing a few pieces of SPS shortly after that period. However, I can not undoubtebly attribute this to just biopellets. There could have been other factors involved. However, it is highly recommended to slowly transition into the use of the appropriate amount of pellets. This I didn't do. If I were to do it again, I would follow that instruction. In addition, since, micro-algae has a difficult time surviving. Of course, this is expected. To add, more skimmate is produced than an aquarium without pellets.

Since I've been running pellets, I can say that I will never return to running a tank without them. I decided to even run a reactor on my FOWLR, which has proven to be an invaluable means of removing the highly added Nitrates often seen and challenged within FOWLR aquariums. I would highly suggest anyone running a FOWLR, do not hesitate, act now! Additionally, I've had great success with SPS. I've seen excellent growth and color. Growth is noticeable on a weekly basis.

 

Yes the addition of probiotic in combination with too many pellets could definitely cause a low oxygen level. I do not run the recommended ammount of pellets. I am using only 75% of the recommended ammount.
As for the bateria affecting fish that I do not know.

 

Quoting myself so that the two posts are tied together...

I pulled my pellets at just under 100 days of use.

I never increased the volume of pellets being dosed and at around 95 days I began to see disturbing signs that my system was not happy with it's new environment.
Branching SPS began to let shaded areas of flesh die. No matter how much or what I fed would improve that situation.
pH began to decline. A steady 8.2-8.4 during the day became 8.2, 8.1, 7.9,...
On the 98th day I woke up to find my JF meteor shower had shed all it's flesh overnight. It literally looked like a peeling sunburn flapping in the current.
That day I noticed every fish was cruising just below the surface and hanging out in the spots where the surface tension was being broke by the MP40 and return line. The clam was closed up tight and even the brittle star that normally never moves from its opening under a rock was attempting to climb the walls in a corner.
The next day things had become worse. Another acro had RTN'd to complete skeleton in less than 9 hours. The fish would not leave the surface even after lights out. Cyano was beginning to form in the sump and my frag tank. I pulled the reactor and pellets that day.
The water was tested with Hanna checkers three days later and they showed 0's for both NO3 and PO4.
Within a couple hours of pulling the pellets my pH began to slowly increase on it's own. The fish began to return to their normal levels in the aquarium. Corals began to have good PE again and the clam began to open.
Now over a month later those SPS that had lost flesh but live have since overgrown bare skeleton with new flesh. For once in my life it was a good thing to be lazy, I never took the "dead" chunk of cyphastrea out of the tank and a couple weeks ago noticed three pink dots fluorescing in the moon light. It's since regenerated out to the size of a nickel and has about 10 or 12 pink mouths.
The cyano went berserk in both the sump and the frag tank. But I've gone back to good old dependable GFO and am slowly getting a handle on it. I've eliminated enough of it that I can use the frag tank again.
I'm afraid that I'm going to have to agree with Randy Holmes-Farley when he says that carbon dosing is best left to liquid form only. The reason being that changes to dose, both minor and major, can be made quickly and more accurately.

 

bio pellets are not to be taken lightly, they are not set and forget as most think. i lost 5 goni's when i first started pellets, a few ric's and now at the end 5 fish. since the removal of the pellets and damage control i tried ... i can see the fish that are left are eating with more gusto, and i feel at least 4 will make it. one the last anthias the smallest the female, still hasn't eaten. thats never a good sign. I'm hoping she turns around and begins to eat. she lost her partners I'm sure this is adding to her stress.
i have always had an over stocked tank and never had a problem with oxygen depletion .
for those thinking of starting pellets think twice. read reefmoneys review also. not only is there coral issues, but there is a chance of killing your fish. from the bacteria using up all the oxygen


there is no control of pellets, only one person has a reactor i seen is addressing this issue, it has a pump that keeps pellets spinning nicely and a separate control valve for how much water gets threw the pellets for adjustment. i read about last night when searching for answers. and trying to figure out what to do, and how to save my fish that were left.

for those who run into this get more water movement going... throw an emergency air stone into your tank. keep your skimmer going. do all you can to get air in the water. and hopefully you will save your fish.

when this first started i didn't have a clue what was happening. also the smaller your tank the faster things happen. for those with smaller tanks as mine is, i say stay away from bio pellets.

 

Did you have the water from the reactor depositing near the intake of your skimmer? That should help with the oxygen issue.

 

In my case yes. The return from the reactor was laying right next to the skimmer pump intake.

 

yes i did it was right next to the intake of the skimmer. my sump has 3 compartments, it was in the compartment with the skimmer with the flow going right into the area of the skimmer intake.... i was as most, i wanted to believe this was the answer to no gfo, 0 nitrates. its not its worse than vodka dosing. at least with vodka dosing you have control.

watch your fish if they are jumping, hanging at the top or breathing heavy. look to your pellets.

 

i am knocking on wood as i say this but i haven't experienced any of these issues since i began running a bio-pellet reactor last August. i still consider it to be early though so i am not doing any celebrating. i am not overstocked on fish though so this could make a difference.

 

This is the reason I don't use pellets. It works great for some people, but if i'm not one of those guys im not chancing it.