biopellet users

++++1

 

yep they are worth it.i have been slacking since i started using them but my tank was horidly over grown with gha. now im trying to grow it and i cant(crazy over feeding, put old bulbs in). i no longer run gfo.

 

well with everything that has been going on in the past week, we just now started up the biopellet reactor. My nitrates right now are 15 and will be dosing microbacter starting tomorrow.

I only used half the recommended starting dose, and I have a lot of tumble in the pellets. I am very excited to see how this works!

 

Good luck, I use NP pellets they work great.

You will find the pellets will tumble less with time as bacteria makes them sticky.

 

From all the research I have done, the pellets will take about 6 weeks or so to truly Kick in . I installed mine just before christmas so I am about there. I have had some issues with the reactor I am using and had to remove and clean the tubes the pellets are in as they got clogged. I noticed this last time, they are much more slimy and getting close to being fully colonized.

 

well quick update! I am on day 5 of the biopellets and day 3 of the microbacter dosing. I tested the nitrate level on day 3 for the hey of it and as I suspected there is no change yet (was 15 prior and still 15). What I have noticed is the skimmate. Starting on day 2 the skimmer has gone wild and is now requring emptying every day! I have had to adjust the flow of both the pellets and the skimmer a couple times now. The biggest thing with these pellets is to keep them rumbling to prevent hydrogen sulfide gas. I was over zealous at first and on day 2 the pellets were all the way at the top of the reactor!

I have talked to some other people that have used this product and they have all said they saw a dramatic nitrate reduction in a matter of days...from 40 to 5 in under a week. I do find that hard to believe and am actually glad that it did not drop that fast. I did these same people say they noted a severe bacterial bloom on day 5 to the point that it was very stressful on their fish. They were not using microbacter and they did not only use half the recommended total dose to start with (as the directions state!) So I am guessing that is why they had such a dramatic drop in their nitrates as it just caused havoc on their tank. I do not plan on adding any more pellets at this point and will plan on running only half dose at least until I get a much heavier bioload!

One of the local clubs is having a meeting in a couple weeks on the use of this specific pellet and I am planning on attending to hear more info on it.

 

Schackmel,

one lesson I just learned is that GFO will strip your water of phosphates SUPER FAST and hard. be careful with it and if you notice burnt tips, kill the gfo for a bit. give your pellets a good 6 weeks to colonize and hit their stride.

also, dont let your alk swing above 9 or you can also burn the tips of the acro's. be sure to check your phosphate regularly as the pellets should remove that as well.

I have been battling a massive HA issue. I have been running just under 2 cups of it for my 220 water volume knowing I had a good ammt of P in there. well i guess it stripped out because on a hanna ppBillion meter I got an 11 reading. doesnt even detect on my salifert. I kept it runnining and my poci's would not open. noticed a few of my new acro's were burning at the tips. UGH!!!!

 

It think it took mine 2 weeks to start working then after that my nitrates dropped 5ppm a week until they hit around 2-3 ppm. Then the reduction began slowing down and stopped when I hit low tenths of a ppm.

 

day 7 or 8 of the pellets and day 6 of microbacter and the nitrates are down from 15 to 5. No waterchanges or anything. My skimmer is going insane and I have had to adjust both the skimmer and reactor levels. You are supposed to dose the microbacter daily for the first 2 weeks but I am going to go to every other day for this week as the instructions did not include directions for using with biopellets. My kH is at 9 (which seems awful low to me but according to everyone elses post wtih pellets that is where it should be

 

So are you starting to turn into a believer