Confused wether to use NPX Biopellets

I disagree the pellets are not nearly as effective against phosphate as GFO. They don't replace GFO IMO. They are can help against phosphate, but are better at reducing nitrate IME.

For the OP, I think with mostly soft corals and such, low nutrient levels may not be such a good thing. You could try some and slowly build up to see how it goes though.
Again, , lime vodka certainly seem to drive cyano in some cases. I can't say what it will do in your particular system though, I'd just say if you want to try it, just use a little bit to start... Does't seem like it would be ideal though for your system, but you never know. Some soft corals do surprisingly respond well to very low nutrient levels. Zoas for example seem to IME, however, others may not.


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You are correct but i was answering the question of where it was to be used cause you really do not want to run GFO and Pellets kind of overkill. I run GFO and carbon for like 4-6hrs a night while im asleep and never anymore dont have one bit of cyano.

IMO you should find the source of the problem and then fix it from there.

 

I agree, for his tank, it is probably overkill. For sps tanks I don't think so. Remember the ocean averages around .005ppm phosphate. It takes a lot to get down anywhere close to that number. Soft corals often like some nitrate though and BP is very effective against nitrate. Also it is not as effective against cyano. This is a very over simplified, but more or less, cyano is a bacteria and therefore can consume organics. BP is a source of organics. The best way to eliminate cyano is to reduce phosphate and GFO is very effective against phosphate. So, IMO, GFO alone should be sufficient and probably better than BP in this case, but if he has some he could try them. That's a personal preference, but I don't think the situation really calls for pellets.


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I still want that coral in your display picture lol been looking all over for it.

 

cheato and mangroves may eventually wither due to out competition. GFO kind of becomes needless as the BP's will remove phosphates along with nitrates . . .
but with heavy enough feeding they may still survive with enough nutrients. . .

 

Just to add, I should clarify my comment, as looking again, you did actually say high nitrates. With soft corals, nitrates are really not an issue. However, if they are above 25ppm or so, I might consider running the pellets. Otherwise, GFO should be sufficient. If you add hard corals, then you may want to get the nitrate lower, but nitrate is not toxic per say. It can slow hard coral skeletal growth though, however, it can increase tissue growth. As softcorals do not have a skeleton and are all tissue, some nitrate can be beneficial.
So, what is your nitrate level?

 

nitrate has never done below 25, it stays between 25-30. my plan is to use carbon, gfo with bio pellets, with bio pellets reactor outlet close to skimmer intake + a DSB and cheato and mangrove. what say?

 

Should be okay, but watch your nitrates and corals. With just softcorals, you may want to back off a bit once it get to around 5ppm nitrate, there really isn't a need to go much lower, unless algae is still a major issue. Also if the corals seem to wilt or bleach, or if the cyano stars growing faster. With nitrates that high, it seems worth a try though... Be patient though, people get into trouble with BP when they go too fast or too aggressively with them.

 

mine is 15 gal, with approc 12-13 gal of water volume. should i start with 20ml BP, 20ml gfo and 20ml act. carbon?(my water remains crystal clear with no yellow ting too) i just have 1 chromis, afraid to add fishes due to nitrates

 

Read the thread carbon dosing, short version here BP, GFO and Vodka was close 2nd, Reef/bio fuel was last and waste of time and money.