bio pellets and carbon

JackoChang · May 29, 2012

I'm currently in my 4th week of bio pellets (1cup brs in nextreef smr 1). I've noticed my po4 and no3 going down (and up) during this time. I do feed heavy though. That's not the issue I'm addressing though. I heard that running a carbon reactor can interfere with the bio pellets. Something to do with the carbon competing with the bio pellets for a bacterial colony. Is this a reefing myth? I took my carbon reactor offline a few weeks ago and the po4 did drop, coincidence?

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Dowtish · May 29, 2012

That is a myth. The bio pellets are a substrate and a food source for the naturally occurring bacteria. They will show up and colonize on your pellets even if you run carbon. This question has been asked about using UV at the same time as well. Imagine tha becteria live in their own little world within the reactor, and whatever leaves the reactor gets skimmed, eaten by coral, or taken out by the UV. But in no way is carbon or UV going to stop bacteria from forming and feeding on the corn/sugar based plastic polymer we know as bio pellets.

Typed from my phone because I have nothing better to do.