Anyone using Biopellets or have experience with ?

[vareefer1979]

Anyone using Biopellet Reactor to control nitrates?

 

[Dan_P]

Anyone using Biopellet Reactor to control nitrates?

Are you wondering if this approach is popular anymore?

 

[vareefer1979]

Are you wondering if this approach is popular anymore?

Yes, just wondering if Bio pellets are still commonly used. I know the last few years Algae Turf Scrubber and Reactors/Refugium's are very popular. I am currently using Algae Turf Scrubber but still have Nitrates 30+ with biweekly 20% water changes. I am careful not to over fed and feed what fish consume quickly. I'm considering Bio pellets for better nitrate control.

 

[Dan_P]

Yes, just wondering if Bio pellets are still commonly used. I know the last few years Algae Turf Scrubber and Reactors/Refugium's are very popular. I am currently using Algae Turf Scrubber but still have Nitrates 30+ with biweekly 20% water changes. I am careful not to over fed and feed what fish consume quickly. I'm considering Bio pellets for better nitrate control.

My guess is the scrubber can’t keep up, though the idea of using photosynthetic organisms to consume nitrate is valid.

I have the luxury of the aquarium being located in the basement and don’t have to worry about appearances. I set up a shallow 10 gallon tub to house Ulva and circulated aquarium water through it to consume nitrate. When I needed more removal capacity, I just added another cheap spotlight. I was up to 3 spotlights at one time. Now I am down to two and harvest the Ulva more often to avoid the nitrate going below 0.5 ppm.

 

[DanyL]

I’m using both, an Algea scrubber on my frag tank and a Biopellets reactor in my main system. Biopellets is much more aggressive in terms of density (size/performance) once it dials in.

One thing some people miss when first setting it up is that for it to perform well, the output of the reactor needs to be pointed towards the input of your skimmer.
It’s common enough so I figured I’ll mention it here too, just in case.