Biopellet Reactor not working, not sure what to do next :)

[nldemo]

Hello,

I purchased and set up a biochurn recirculating biopellet reactor in my 300g fowlr tank back in July. I had a trouble ticket opened earlier with Reef Octopus, but was told to give it more time. I have given it several months now, and my nutrients are higher than ever (NO3 > 75, PO4 > 2.5). I do not think it's working at all and I am not sure on the best course of action moving forward. I used to use a combination of sulphur reactor and canister filters (with GFO) to fight both NO3 and PO4 respectively. This did work, but the sulfur reactor was not ideal because the sulfur would clog up after a few months and I'd need to restart the entire process, not to mention daily dosing of Alk.

Here is a quick video I took a while back of my reactor. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ink7EV0ZwbQ

The flow has slowed down a bit over time, i would guess because of the build up within the reactor. It is being fed by a Syncra Sicce 2.0 pump, which has a max flow rate of 568gph. I think it may be too strong for the reactor, which is why the biopellets at the top are where they are. I'm not sure. The reactor paperwork suggest for 270-530gph feed pump, and i have mine open just a smidge, so in theory should be in that range. Maybe the feed tube is too wide, with 3/4" internal diameter.

I also initially tried seeding the reactor with Brightwell Microbacter7. This ended up causing a bacteria bloom in my tank for a couple days, but cleared up on its own after that.

I am not sure what the best course of action is now. For those of you with successful biopellet stories, what would you recommend?

1. Should I restart this reactor with new media?
2. Should I get a smaller feed pump?
3. Should I try more seed bacteria?
4. Should I try a different biopellet reactor?
5. Should I just go back to the sulfur/GFO combo?

Any help is appreciated, thanks!
danny

 

[blaxsun]

Yes, I'd restart it at this point - you've got way too much algae growth in the reactor. You might be able to get away with just rinsing the biopellets.

You definitely don't need to seed it with MicroBacter7 next time... I'm not intimately familiar with how everything runs on this reactor, but all the videos I could find have the bio pellets swirling around at the bottom - so yes, you could try reducing or increasing the flow on the Sicce to see if this makes a difference.

 

[nldemo]

i found another post suggesting using gate valves or ball valves to reduce flow, so I'm planning to pick up one of those from my local hardware store and try that if/when i restart

 

[Aspect]

i found another post suggesting using gate valves or ball valves to reduce flow, so I'm planning to pick up one of those from my local hardware store and try that if/when i restart

The biopellet reactor outlet needs to be feeding directly next to the protein skimmer pump intake or it will not make a difference. The protein skimmer ultimately removes the bacteria that's bound to the nitrate.

 

[nldemo]

oh interesting, i'm not sure if i can pull that off or not. but i'll see what i can do

 

[Aspect]

oh interesting, i'm not sure if i can pull that off or not. but i'll see what i can do

If you can't then I would shut the unit off as it's never going to remove anything.

 

[Saltyanimals]

Below is a different thread where several people are running a BP experiment. Myself included. Maybe it'll be helpful.

My kneejerk reaction to your case since you've already said it's been running for months, is the flow through the reactor. Make sure there is flow meaning you see the tumble of the BP and you can visually see the reactor export flow out. I say this because someone else had the same problem where he wasn't seeing results and it turned out that the BP water wasn't flowing through. Tumbling in place in the reactor, but never out. The speed I don't think matters as much as long as it tumbles as mine is running like a light boil. If you have problems with flow, try reducing to 1/2 tubing to increase pressure. This may not matter as much for you if you have a dedicated pump. For me, I can't afford a 3/4 running off a manifold because I lose too much pressure across the other heads even being driven by an L2. Don't go down this rabbit hole if you see sufficient exit flow and tumble. I personally would not restart since you've already dedicated months and may have already seeded your BPs at some level. You can rinse in your next WC water, but I wouldn't fresh water clean them which likely will kill the bacteria population.

As far as seeding with the bacter7. I did the same as it was one of those that couldn't hurt, but really no different than just dosing your tank and that water eventually making to the BPs. The flip side here is the strains in the Bacter7 is of certain type and not clear if that's the type that is expected to seed and populate on the BPs. Sure why not, but no hard evidence to support without going through the analysis of bacteria type.

See if anything below helps your journey.

Can BIOPELLETS reduce PO4 and NO3 holistically?

You can try the NoPox, but do a bit more reading to see if anyone else has NoPox benefitting PO4. Things in this hobby are antidocal and often vary by tank. Just didn't work for me which was why I even when down this BP route over the past 2 months hoping to get carbon dosing to address both...

www.reef2reef.com