Question about biopellets

[Miami Reef]

From BRS website:

BRS Bulk Biopellets are made from 100% natural Polyhydroxyalkanoates or PHA and are an excellent solid carbon source for denitrifying bacteria in the aquarium.

Are all biopellets made with this organic compound?

Will this grow different types of bacteria than ethanol or vinegar?

Just curious. I might have more questions. I’ve never tried this type of product, and I’m curious on how it works.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It’s my understanding that they are all poly hydroxybutyrate. It’s a natural polymer used by some organism as a storage depot for organic energy just like people have fat.

 

[Miami Reef]

Thank you very much.

Do biopellets need to be replaced, or do you just replenish it once it gets depleted?

How do people tune biopellet reactors to their bioload?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thank you very much.

Do biopellets need to be replaced, or do you just replenish it once it gets depleted?

How do people tune biopellet reactors to their bioload?

Tuning is challenging and slow, typically by adjusting the amount.

Certain bacteria make enzymes that chew their way into the solids, releasing bits that are metabolized by those same bacteria. It’s like a slow release organic carbon dosing.

 

[rishma]

I have never understood why people use biopellets instead of liquid carbon dosing

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Another drawback is timing of O2 consumption is impossible.

 

[rishma]

But really, what are the pros? More equipment, less control, I must be missing something.

Another drawback is timing of O2 consumption is impossible.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I don’t know that’s it’s been demonstrated, but localization of the bacteria may be a benefit.

 

[rishma]

I don’t know that’s it’s been demonstrated, but localization of the bacteria may be a benefit.

Or having them in the water column from dosing liquids might feed corals. I assume many bacteria stay in the water column when we dose carbon

 

[00W]

Thank you very much.

Do biopellets need to be replaced, or do you just replenish it once it gets depleted?

How do people tune biopellet reactors to their bioload?

As a non scientist that I am here goes.
It is a slow release process of a carbon source, different from that of vinegar, vodka or sugar.
Due to the slow release, the process does take a few months to begin but it does/will work also without much if any ph drop, unlike vinegar and vodka.
Dosing both vodka and vinegar with your new updated chart worked for me in a week and a half whereas when I used biopellets it took about 4 months before nitrate started to drop.
Once it did it really worked.
My tank was incredibly clear and some people actually say they turn their lights down because they are burning their corals.
I have no idea if that's true.
You will have to add more to your reactor since they slough off.
There are recommendations on how many to use for tank volume.
For me, each time I added new my skimmer went haywire which I didn't like.
I'm a skimmer nut.
But you must run a skimmer using biopellets.
Upon addition of new pellets will also bring on a bacteria bloom and the mulm in the sump is a mess.
Clean your reactor regularly because it too will get clogged.
The advantages are that there is no way to miss a dose and I never saw any ph drop.
I did have a period of absolutely no algae on the glass and that was lovely but, in the end, the mess they made was awful and it wasn't for me.
Hope that helps.
Like I said I'm not a scientist.
That was my personal experience.
I also have no idea which strain of bacteria eat what the pellets slough off but I had no adverse effects on my tank and it's really hard to overdose unless you really aren't paying attention. ;)

 

[rishma]

As a non scientist that I am here goes.
It is a slow release process of a carbon source, different from that of vinegar, vodka or sugar.
Due to the slow release, the process does take a few months to begin but it does/will work also without much if any ph drop, unlike vinegar and vodka.
Dosing both vodka and vinegar with your new updated chart worked for me in a week and a half whereas when I used biopellets it took about 4 months before nitrate started to drop.
Once it did it really worked.
My tank was incredibly clear and some people actually say they turn their lights down because they are burning their corals.
I have no idea if that's true.
You will have to add more to your reactor since they slough off.
There are recommendations on how many to use for tank volume.
For me, each time I added new my skimmer went haywire which I didn't like.
I'm a skimmer nut.
But you must run a skimmer using biopellets.
Upon addition of new pellets will also bring on a bacteria bloom and the mulm in the sump is a mess.
Clean your reactor regularly because it too will get clogged.
The advantages are that there is no way to miss a dose and I never saw any ph drop.
I did have a period of absolutely no algae on the glass and that was lovely but, in the end, the mess they made was awful and it wasn't for me.
Hope that helps.
Like I said I'm not a scientist.
That was my personal experience.
I also have no idea which strain of bacteria eat what the pellets slough off but I had no adverse effects on my tank and it's really hard to overdose unless you really aren't paying attention. ;)

Thanks for sharing!

I never miss a dose with my dosing pumps :)

If it takes months to start working I wonder how you know if you have enough pellets?

 

[00W]

Thanks for sharing!

I never miss a dose with my dosing pumps :)

If it takes months to start working I wonder how you know if you have enough pellets?

It's sort of a system you build up to.
I started with half the recommendation and added each month until I got to my limit.
Some swear by them.
Vodka/vinegar is a lot easier but not everything is for everyone or every tank.
It's like carbon dosing on the chill, relaxed method.

 

[Miami Reef]

Thanks everyone!

This thread was made because I saw this video:



I was curious how biopellets worked after watching this tank use them. I learned a lot by making this thread. Thank you again everyone!

 

[rishma]

Thanks everyone!

This thread was made because I saw this video:



I was curious how biopellets worked after watching this tank use them. I learned a lot by making this thread. Thank you again everyone!

Oh ya, sure. If you want bright colors and a lot of growth or whatever

 

[sixty_reefer]

Another drawback is timing of O2 consumption is impossible.

What would be using oxygen?

 

[Otago]

It's been a while but I remember dosing pumps being quite expensive and not very reliable when biopellets first came out. I suspect that and the marketing that they "just worked" compared to zeovit, which was the other big carbon dosing system at the time, makes them a product of their time. I maybe misremembering though, please correct me if I am!

 

[Doctorgori]

I use biopellet reactors ... honestly the time it takes to notice any effects is so long I can't reliably say it has any actual noticeable effect one way or another....
....that said I "think" the Tropic Main beads seem to perform "better" than the BRS stuff; or at least they are lighter, tumble easier and appear to be made of a different material (allegedly)
...unrelated: TM's "Reef Actif" does "seem" have a measured/faster effect on N&P (again, take that with a whole 16oz can of Mortons Salt)

 

[Miami Reef]

(again, take that with a whole 16oz can of Mortons Salt)

Haha

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What would be using oxygen?

The metabolism of the organic, which is the process that drives nutrient reduction, consumes O2 and lowers pH just like other organic carbon dosing methods.

 

[GARRIGA]

@Lasse opened my mind to a better approach to carbon dosing where he feeds a reactor and monitors the effluent to adjust dosing. At least that's how I interpreted it.

Seems like the best of both worlds with Bio-pellets and dosing in that you target dose into media to get the accelerated benefits without dosing the display having less impact on co2 creation.

In place of bio-pellets fill it with a media to house bacteria then dose directly into this reactor ensuring there are detectable results to avoid hydrogen sulfide as best I understood him. Caveat being he uses a large reactor similar to my approach and not sure how small it can go. Have assumed reason I didn't see bacterial blooms even when overdosing at 2x to 5x recommended being my media was 25% total display volume.

Had looked into bio-pellets in 2015 when getting back into the hobby as nitrate maintenance part of the reason I exited due to time constraints due to life and work and it look extremely promising until I discovered carbon dosing although having not used it was still a learning curb such as it's impact on co2 and my struggles with pH I hadn't yet correlated until @Randy Holmes-Farley made that clear to me.

This co2 impact had me once again going back to macroalgae as a means of managing that final step in aquarium decomposition but with this new learned approach to direct dosing then perhaps I can avoid the hassle of a refugium or ATS or at a minimum reduce the size of either as they still hold benefits yet dosing media which can be controlled and monitored seems more fool proof.

Food for thought on reactor size needed being one can potentially replace socks, roller mats and space needed for said refugium or ATS and flexibility in utilizing several reactors in series to provide the needed media volume required. Also adds flexibility for those lacking a sump as this can be plumbed similar to running a canister filter. Key being ability to dose directly and issue I'm still working on solving with my attempt at replicating this approach.

Plus lack the patience to wait months for pellets to start working or the potential constant tuning needed as life grows or conditions evolve.