Bacto-pellets, any good for reducing phosphates?

[Fisherman Joe]

Hi all.

Never used bacto-pellets or any of those degradable polymer type materials.

My PO4 is up and down between 0.4 and 0.2 and I can’t get it down to >0.1 where I like it.

I was thinking of trying something different. Thoughts here?

 

[DanyL]

Not sure what bacteria-pellets is, but I assume it’s some brand name for Biopellets.

Short answer is - it wouldn’t be enough.
While Biopellets can and will reduce phosphates, and can be tuned for higher performance by dosing more nitrates and having the skimmer pull right from the reactors output, it’ll be quite slow in doing so and when you drive it too hard it can also potentially cause a bacterial bloom.

You also need to remember that while there are ways to remove phosphates, it is also bound into your rocks and sand, and through the equilibrium process - the more you remove from the water column, the more will be released from the rocks/sand.

With phosphates at this level, I suggest carefully using Lanthenum Chloride for the bulk work, you’ll need to do multiple treatments and than you can use GFO and Biopellets for maintenance if needed.

 

[Fisherman Joe]

Used lanthenum before and it made some of my wrasse breathless and it made my clam shut up.

I will keep at the water changes and cha ringing out the GFO.

 

[DanyL]

Yeah, LC can do that if you’re not being extremely careful with it.

When I used LC I ran water through a 5 micron sock and setup an IV with a dosage that slowly dripped across the span of about 8 hours.

While you can eventually achieve the end result with GFO and carbon dosing/Biopellets it’ll take quite some time, and will be costly, but it is possible and viable option to go with.

 

[sneekapeek]

Hi all.

Never used bacto-pellets or any of those degradable polymer type materials.

My PO4 is up and down between 0.4 and 0.2 and I can’t get it down to >0.1 where I like it.

I was thinking of trying something different. Thoughts here?

Why do you like your po4 at .1? Algae etc? I really don’t think it makes a difference, but pellets will achieve it with time. Finding the right amount of pellets to put in reactor and tuning the turnover flow is difficult. What’s your no3? Also the loaded po4 in substrate takes a bit to pull out.

 

[Fisherman Joe]

Why do you like your po4 at .1? Algae etc? I really don’t think it makes a difference, but pellets will achieve it with time. Finding the right amount of pellets to put in reactor and tuning the turnover flow is difficult. What’s your no3? Also the loaded po4 in substrate takes a bit to pull out.

NO3 is around 10ppm I think. I never test it tbh. Just get an IPC test now and then. It’s always in normal limits.

 

[sneekapeek]

NO3 is around 10ppm I think. I never test it tbh. Just get an IPC test now and then. It’s always in normal limits.

There are pros and cons to all of the carbon dosing methods. They generally will pull more n03 compared to p04. In my experience, I have ran bacto-pellets with good success. Pellets take time to populate and to start seeing results. It’s a guessing game when the process will translate to your test results. Like a bell curve. The initial setup tinkering is well worth the outcome in my opinion. They are set it and forget it and top up every so often. Medicating the tank is a pain with them also.