Can BIOPELLETS reduce PO4 and NO3 holistically?

ReefKeeperElite

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You will need a lot of GFO. I was going through 1kg every 3-4 weeks on my 120G just to MAINTAIN the PO4 under 0.1ppm for the past year or so. Anything higher than 0.1ppm was brought down diligently, cheaply with TM Elimi-Phos Rapid (Lanthanum Chloride) dosed directly into the neck of the skimmer. Do let us know how it goes?
I read here that LACL irritates tangs. I have a powder blue and a hippo tang, and do not want to add anything that will bother them. So I plan to stick with the GFO only. I'll definitely let you know how it goes.
 
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I read here that LACL irritates tangs. I have a powder blue and a hippo tang, and do not want to add anything that will bother them. So I plan to stick with the GFO only. I'll definitely let you know how it goes.
Yes, I share that concern too, as I have 5 Tangs (PBT, PT, GT, YT and WTB) in my 120G.

FWIW, I drip a total of 5-10ml of aquarium specific NOT swimming pool stuff into the neck of my skimmer over 8 hours. I believe the bulk of the LaCl is skimmed out immediately on contact with PO4. I see a 0.01-0.05ppm drop every day from 0.7ppm till 0.1ppm that's when I switched over to 2 pound GFO/month to maintain under 0.1ppm.

Before this I would exhaust 1 pound of GFO in a matter of days just to see the PO4 returned to its original state over a day. My average consumption of ROWAPHOS was 8-10 pounds per month, before turning to TM Elimi Phos Rapid (LaCl).

Good luck!
 
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I have a dosing port made to my AVAST MARINE SWABBIE on my NYOS 160 Skimmer for my LaCl dosing of 5-10ml over 8 hour period daily. With the drain port of the cup connected to a skim mate bucket, I only need to clean the skimmer cup once a month at most.

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I setup another Torq reactor yesterday for GFO, so now I'm tumbling GFO alongside my biopellets. After about 12 hours, I have busted through the 200 barrier (181 = 0.55 phosphate). I'll keep running both reactors for now and will let you know how it goes.

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Is it typical to have to dose more Alk and Ca when running GFO? I've noted a large drop in Allk, and have read a few threads that GFO causes calcium carbonate precipitation. I've also noted a smaller but not significant drop in Ca. I was not ready for this. My Alk dropped from 8.4 to 7.7. I have manually dosed Alk to return to prior levels, and adjusted my dosing schedule.
 

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Becoming a fan of Lanthanum Chloride used correctly because I can better control the drop in phosphates vs GFO or similar product which might take it down too quickly or too much. Using Phosphat-E as I'm not comfortable using pool products and based on usage haven't had any issues with my current approach. Will see how this goes. BTW, I carbon dose and it's not solving phosphates on it's own.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Is it typical to have to dose more Alk and Ca when running GFO? I've noted a large drop in Allk, and have read a few threads that GFO causes calcium carbonate precipitation. I've also noted a smaller but not significant drop in Ca. I was not ready for this. My Alk dropped from 8.4 to 7.7. I have manually dosed Alk to return to prior levels, and adjusted my dosing schedule.

A drop in alk from 8.4 to 7.7 dKH due to calcium carbonate formation would only be accompanied by an undetectable 5 ppm drop in calcium.
 
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Is it typical to have to dose more Alk and Ca when running GFO? I've noted a large drop in Allk, and have read a few threads that GFO causes calcium carbonate precipitation. I've also noted a smaller but not significant drop in Ca. I was not ready for this. My Alk dropped from 8.4 to 7.7. I have manually dosed Alk to return to prior levels, and adjusted my dosing schedule.
Yes, I dose 5ml of REDSEA ALK per day, especially when I go through 1kg/month. (2pounds) of GFO.
 
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Becoming a fan of Lanthanum Chloride used correctly because I can better control the drop in phosphates vs GFO or similar product which might take it down too quickly or too much. Using Phosphat-E as I'm not comfortable using pool products and based on usage haven't had any issues with my current approach. Will see how this goes. BTW, I carbon dose and it's not solving phosphates on it's own.
I subscribed to LaCl over GFO for the same reason. Like GFO, LaCl does lower ALK too. I only use TM ELIMI PHOS RAPID over the swimming pool stuff, granted it works, just that you have to get the dilution right. I did carbon dose with TM ELIMI NP and TM NP BACTO BALANCE for a while with mixed results, therefore I decided to try the biopellets plus bacteria route to reduce the nutrients holistically without resorting the tweaking them individually. Of course, in due process, adjust with GFO/LaCl to the bacteria nutrient consumption ratio.
FWIW, my JUN2022 ICP showed an higher than norm Lanthnum in my trace.

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GARRIGA

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I subscribed to LaCl over GFO for the same reason. Like GFO, LaCl does lower ALK too. I only use TM ELIMI PHOS RAPID over the swimming pool stuff, granted it works, just that you have to get the dilution right. I did carbon dose with TM ELIMI NP and TM NP BACTO BALANCE for a while with mixed results, therefore I decided to try the biopellets plus bacteria route to reduce the nutrients holistically without resorting the tweaking them individually. Of course, in due process, adjust with GFO/LaCl to the bacteria nutrient consumption ratio.
FWIW, my JUN2022 ICP showed an higher than norm Lanthnum in my trace.

055C7F7C-A50E-4831-977C-A1D76AF0350E.png
Wasn’t aware lanthanum leeches into solution and thought it precipitated into fine particles that can be mechanically filtered out. Could this lanthanum be from another source.

I’m using the new MarineLand Magnum 200 with its pleated micron filter to remove the fine but this is an experimental tank and might just run it with nothing more than floss to see how over time it affects the fish. Seems often manufacturers go to great lengths to impose precautions because of fear the end user may not use it properly and only way to know is to experiment.

Not a fan of bio pellets for the same reason I’m not a fan of GFO. No way to precisely control it. Find it easier to add NoPox and adjust daily dosage based on results or just skip a day if nitrates are too low or within required levels.
 
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Wasn’t aware lanthanum leeches into solution and thought it precipitated into fine particles that can be mechanically filtered out. Could this lanthanum be from another source.

I’m using the new MarineLand Magnum 200 with its pleated micron filter to remove the fine but this is an experimental tank and might just run it with nothing more than floss to see how over time it affects the fish. Seems often manufacturers go to great lengths to impose precautions because of fear the end user may not use it properly and only way to know is to experiment.

Not a fan of bio pellets for the same reason I’m not a fan of GFO. No way to precisely control it. Find it easier to add NoPox and adjust daily dosage based on results or just skip a day if nitrates are too low or within required levels.
Can’t think of any other source of lanthanum but from at LaCl additions, could be that I added too fast at times to the skimmer neck and the skimmer couldn’t remove all the bonded lanthanum phosphate in time. Lanthanum was absent from the ICP prior to the last one.

IMHOespecially when the PO4 is below 0.1ppm, the margin of error is even smaller, therefore GFO would be more suited for maintaining 0.03-0.09ppm.

Insofar as livestocks are concern, they are not bothered. I would however be either spreading out the LaCl with a dosing head into the skimmer neck over a 24hr period, or dosing directly into a 5 micron filter sock as per discussed elsewhere in this forum.

Carbon dosing with liquids such as NOPOX or TM NP Bacto Balance would be my next try, should the biopellets fail.
 
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I’m seeing a steady drop in NO3 but nothing on PO4…I’m getting a lot of gunk choking up the sponge on my NYOS TORQ reactor, need to clean every other day, maybe it’s not the right one for biopellets…not sure I would run without the sponge. Anyone done that?

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I’m seeing a steady drop in NO3 but nothing on PO4…I’m getting a lot of gunk choking up the sponge on my NYOS TORQ reactor, need to clean every other day, maybe it’s not the right one for biopellets…not sure I would run without the sponge. Anyone done that?

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I'm using the Torq for biopellets, and had the same issue. But I took out the sponge, and am just careful to not let the pellets tumble too close to the top. I haven't had an issue after that. It would have to be one magic pellet to make it's way out through the top. Even if one did, it would just fall to the bottom of the sump and eventually just get eaten up by bacteria there.

An added benefit is I can dose MB7 directly into the biopellets without having to go through the sponge. I just turn off the reactor, add the MB7 right through the top, then turn it back on a few minutes later. I added MB7 today for the first time in about a week. Will make that a weekly task.

On my progress with GFO and biopellets, like you, I am seeing a consistent drop in nitrates. Slow after the initial big drops, but still going down consistently.

Mixed feelings about GFO, since it works well, but a mess in changing it out. The initial 2 cups depleted yesterday after 5 days, and I waited until today for confirmation, and phosphates continued their ascent. So I switched out the GFO with 1.5 cups today.

I use the Torq for GFO as well, and some got stuck in the grating on the bottom, and took awhile to clean it out. Then the rinsing of the Torq and sponge and GFO, some fines in the sump, etc.. Looking for a larger size GFO with less dust and won't clog the bottom Torq grate. I'm using AquaMaxx Phosphate Out Pro at the moment. It's old, but I had a whole canister of it laying around.

Screenshot 2022-09-27 at 8.27.06 AM.png


Screenshot 2022-09-27 at 8.25.40 AM.png
 

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I'm using the Torq for biopellets, and had the same issue. But I took out the sponge, and am just careful to not let the pellets tumble too close to the top. I haven't had an issue after that. It would have to be one magic pellet to make it's way out through the top. Even if one did, it would just fall to the bottom of the sump and eventually just get eaten up by bacteria there.

An added benefit is I can dose MB7 directly into the biopellets without having to go through the sponge. I just turn off the reactor, add the MB7 right through the top, then turn it back on a few minutes later. I added MB7 today for the first time in about a week. Will make that a weekly task.

On my progress with GFO and biopellets, like you, I am seeing a consistent drop in nitrates. Slow after the initial big drops, but still going down consistently.

Mixed feelings about GFO, since it works well, but a mess in changing it out. The initial 2 cups depleted yesterday after 5 days, and I waited until today for confirmation, and phosphates continued their ascent. So I switched out the GFO with 1.5 cups today.

I use the Torq for GFO as well, and some got stuck in the grating on the bottom, and took awhile to clean it out. Then the rinsing of the Torq and sponge and GFO, some fines in the sump, etc.. Looking for a larger size GFO with less dust and won't clog the bottom Torq grate. I'm using AquaMaxx Phosphate Out Pro at the moment. It's old, but I had a whole canister of it laying around.

Screenshot 2022-09-27 at 8.27.06 AM.png


Screenshot 2022-09-27 at 8.25.40 AM.png

Just did an intra-day check and phosphates have plummeted from 0.33 to 0.12 over the past 8 hours, or 0.025 per hour. I have turned off the GFO reactor for now. Apparently it is quite effective in my tank. I have to evaluate running a smaller amount of GFO and/or turning on the reactor only for a certain amount of time per day.

Screenshot 2022-09-27 at 2.20.45 PM.png
 

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My BioPellet reactor from ReefOctopus doesn't have a sponge, it has a plastic screened top that's too small for the pellets to get through... my pellets stay at the bottom though and swirl around quickly down there...
 
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I'm using the Torq for biopellets, and had the same issue. But I took out the sponge, and am just careful to not let the pellets tumble too close to the top. I haven't had an issue after that. It would have to be one magic pellet to make it's way out through the top. Even if one did, it would just fall to the bottom of the sump and eventually just get eaten up by bacteria there.

An added benefit is I can dose MB7 directly into the biopellets without having to go through the sponge. I just turn off the reactor, add the MB7 right through the top, then turn it back on a few minutes later. I added MB7 today for the first time in about a week. Will make that a weekly task.

On my progress with GFO and biopellets, like you, I am seeing a consistent drop in nitrates. Slow after the initial big drops, but still going down consistently.

Mixed feelings about GFO, since it works well, but a mess in changing it out. The initial 2 cups depleted yesterday after 5 days, and I waited until today for confirmation, and phosphates continued their ascent. So I switched out the GFO with 1.5 cups today.

I use the Torq for GFO as well, and some got stuck in the grating on the bottom, and took awhile to clean it out. Then the rinsing of the Torq and sponge and GFO, some fines in the sump, etc.. Looking for a larger size GFO with less dust and won't clog the bottom Torq grate. I'm using AquaMaxx Phosphate Out Pro at the moment. It's old, but I had a whole canister of it laying around.

Screenshot 2022-09-27 at 8.27.06 AM.png


Screenshot 2022-09-27 at 8.25.40 AM.png
Just the reply I need. I too was dosing Waste Away directly onto the pellets and letting it sit, while I unclogged the sponge. Nice idea I must say removing the sponge totally!

As for GFO, I’m using ROWAPHOS, as long as I’m using the finer screen I don’t have the problem of GFO getting jammed in them. GFO fines in the sponge is unavoidable though, some fines even made their way out of the reactor into the sump. Another excuse to stop using them totally for me. Cheers!
 
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Saltees

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Just did an intra-day check and phosphates have plummeted from 0.33 to 0.12 over the past 8 hours, or 0.025 per hour. I have turned off the GFO reactor for now. Apparently it is quite effective in my tank. I have to evaluate running a smaller amount of GFO and/or turning on the reactor only for a certain amount of time per day.

Screenshot 2022-09-27 at 2.20.45 PM.png
Instead of turning off the GFO reactor totally at times, you may try turning down the flow so that you can only see the top layer moving ever so slightly, so they process less water and last longer.
 
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Saltees

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My BioPellet reactor from ReefOctopus doesn't have a sponge, it has a plastic screened top that's too small for the pellets to get through... my pellets stay at the bottom though and swirl around quickly down there...
Does the screen gets clogged with gunk/detritus too?
 
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Saltees

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Just the reply I need. I too was dosing Waste Away directly onto the pellets and letting it sit, while I unclogged the sponge. Nice idea I must say removing the sponge totally!

As for GFO, I’m using ROWAPHOS, as long as I’m using the finer screen I don’t have the problem of GFO getting jammed in them. GFO fines in the sponge is unavoidable though, some fines even made their way out of the reactor into the sump. Another excuse to stop using them totally for me. Cheers!
Done! Another plus point to not having to wash the sponge on the NYOS TORQ, I can throttle the flow back by a quarter and still achieve the same tumble!
 
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