Poly reactor with biopellets question

ANyone have this or try this yet? the guy at my LFS is real easy going and so far has had great advice. He told me he thought biopellets were just another waste of money and when he finally used them with a reactor his nitrates, phosphates, and red/purple hair algae was gone! I was sold and since it was only 50 bucks I picked it up. Good buy? feed back fellas! and ladies

 

a good buy IMHO

they have been used with great success (reducing Nitrate and Phosphate) by many reef aquarists

Steve

 

Thanks steve! Do you recommend adding anything else? Do these biopellets work better than carbon or should I still use it? I forgot to ask the guy at the LFS these questions. I had a canister filter with bio rings and carbon just for extra filtration and my tank would clear up in no more then 30 mins after I did water changes. I just got tired of cleaning and replacing the sponges in the canister every two weeks. what do you think or advise?

 

They do a different job than carbon los1980
so I would and do continue to run carbon

bio pellets - what they do - simple summary

a bio pellet is a bio degradable plastic material that is a source of free carbons (not the same thing as the black carbon used in filters)

the free carbons are building blocks for all life forms
in the reef tank enviroment, this means your bacteria colonies can increase in number due to the additional free carbon available

these extra bacteria help to process through the nitrogen cycle, nitrate and phosphate
which under most circumstances the average number of bacteria in a tank not running a free carbon source cannot keep up with

hence running bio pellets can help to reduce those 2 nutrients

activated carbon on the other hand does not encourage additional bacteria, but instead removed toxins from the water, such as chemicals released by corals (defence and attack chems designed to maintain territory) and also carbon can remove other impurities that typically can make the reef take on a yellowy appearance when viewed across the lenght

so running both is ideal IMHO

Steve

 

thanks steve, learn something there as well. Two types of carbon.

 

thanks really appreciate the explanation! This is why i love this forum. I will have to reconnect my canister until I get my hands on a sump and move all the HOB under the tank. I really appreciate it makes perfect sense now. I have taken all the advice you guys have given and my tank has been solid for 5 months now!