Confused wether to use NPX Biopellets

well iv been reading reviews of bio pellets since a long time now and still confused. i use to dose vodks but cayno are taking over my tank. well iv heard that they do the the same work what vodka does. iv read people saying that biopellets killd everycoral in the tank that was 5yrs old and at the same time im reading reviews of people using them since 2 yrs without any prob. please help me. ( or should i just go for a rowaphos with carbon only)

 

II loved my biopellets and ill be starting them again on my new set up. The biggest difference to me is vodka dosing doses the entire tank in a more blanketed fashion.bio pellets generally are run before the skimmer.this helps to actually skim out the bacteria that you have created by adding the carbon.

 

I had NPX Biopellets didnt really like them as well as GFO and carbon cause after a month the Bio pellets stopped tumbling and clumped up and then they where useless. I would suggest finding out why you have cyano bacteria and adjust accordingly, rather its more flow or stronger lighting, skimming wetter. A reactor with row phas and carbon will help but wont totally cure your cyano problem.

 

Any carbon source, biopellets, vodka etc.. can potentially drive cyano as some cyano strains are mixotrophic and can consume organic carbon. In theory if the carbon was limited to the pellets, that wouldn't necessarily be true, as you wouldn't be introducing carbon into the system, but instead it would remain in the reactor. This doesn't seem to be the case though, as numerous hobbyists, with all brands of pellets report bacterial blooms. This shouldn't occur with pellets if the carbon is really remaining in the reactor. It has to enter the system to drive bacteria in the display.

That said, they should not kill corals if used properly. Corals need food. Likely with the elevated nutrient levels in our systems, many corals obtain nutrients from the water. In nature, this is less likely as levels are MUCH lower. In nature, corals need to eat to get nutrients, which is why most corals are essentially massive walls of mouths. When you drop nutrients in the tank, IME, this becomes more true in our systems as well. When you drop the nutrients low and don't provide a food source, it seems that corals can starve. Many may be able to consume the bacterioplankton even, but certainly not all. And bacterioplankton needs food too, at some point even this could become limited, when levels are low. (also, BTW, you don't want carbon to build if there is a nutrient limitation as that could drive a bloom if the nutrient limitation is removed - see below). Also, some corals need other sources of food though. So, it appears that if you drop your nutrients more, you need to feed more. This is based on my experience, the comments of others and my understanding of the scientific literature. All seem to correspond, so, I feel comfortable about this statement.

Another theoretical consideration from the literature is organic carbon itself. No inorganic nutrient has ever been shown to be strongly associated with coral mortality. Organic carbon however has. This appears to be due to its ability to drive bacteria living in the corals mucus, some of which is potentially harmful. However, based on the (somewhat limited) data available regarding organic carbon levels in our systems, it does not appear that this should be a problem with good protein skimming and GAC usage.

Another potential issue is the actual form of carbon. Some forms may be more detrimental. Some believe that sugars can be harmful and there is some evidence that they are (although I am not aware of evidence that they are more so than more reduced forms of carbon). Pellets start off as carbohydrates and break down into sugars, so this is possible. Other sources, such as Vinager are already more reduced, so this is less of a theoretical issue.

However, no one knows and many people, especially those who filter their aquariums well and feed well, do not seem to have issues with pellets. I don't dose pellets, but I have found huge improvements with the usage of vodka and vinegar.

 

well i use to get cayno problems when i use to dose vodka. when i stopped, they started decreasing immidiately. i still hav a bit of cayno left. i have salled for rowaphos and carbon and TLF 150 reactors. i also have 200ml biopellets but just afraid of using. i just have softies but are surviving in high phosphates and nitrates. just 1 chromis as fish. nitrates and phosphates are due to dead snails.

 

I heard that, its only a theory, that when you vodka dose and your nitrates reach zero that you are suppose to go to the maintenance dose which is half of what you were dosing when your nitrates went to zero. When you don't then that's why the cyano and other algae that consume carbon take over.

 

well im still confused about bio pellets. can i use these things in my sump : DSB(5"), cheato, mangrove, GFO and carbon?

 

The pellets would replace the GFO so you would have pellets and carbon in 2 reactors.

 

I am surpised noone posted this theard yet.

Read this theard and make the call, but its pretty clear:

http://www.3reef.com/forums/water-chemistry/carbon-dosing-method-testing-started-107232.html

 

well but iv heard people saying that pellets crashed theri tanks, bleached all the hard corals and stuff, so instead should i go for what iv earlier replied?