Getting very frustrated with biopellets!

Bustyraker · Jan 8, 2017

I installed my biopellets Reactor in October of last year and I have not seen any results. I have a Reef Dynamics BPR 135 with 1000 ml of Warner Marine Pellets. I have a 105 gallon display and about 20 gallons in my sump. Over the past few months I have added 3 bottles of MB7 and my nitrates have been at 25 ppm with no reduction at all. Is it possible that I just don't have enough pellets for my bioload? I have the outlet of the Reactor entering my skimmer and have plenty of flow through the pellets. Any advice is appreciated.

N03 25ppm
PO4 .04
Kh 8.2
K 420

natas · Jan 8, 2017

Too much flow can affect the pellets. You gotta let the bacteria consume the biopellets.

What test kit are you using? You might want to check the accuracy of it.

Past that I am not sure what to tell you. They work and if your not seeing any changes then something is wrong.

redfishbluefish · Jan 8, 2017

Could it be that you don't have enough phosphate for the bacteria to get going. You need both N and P for biopellets to work. Are you using any phosphate removing things that lowered your phosphates that low?

Bustyraker · Jan 8, 2017

natas said:
Too much flow can affect the pellets. You gotta let the bacteria consume the biopellets.

What test kit are you using? You might want to check the accuracy of it.

Past that I am not sure what to tell you. They work and if your not seeing any changes then something is wrong.

I've just recently turned up the flow a week or so ago. Before that I had a pretty slow flow rate to try to allow the bacteria to colonize. After months of no nitrate reduction I decided to try increasing the flow. I use Salifert for nitrate and Hanna ULR Phosphorus for phosphate. I've used other friends nitrate tests and always get the same results.

Bustyraker · Jan 8, 2017

redfishbluefish said:
Could it be that you don't have enough phosphate for the bacteria to get going. You need both N and P for biopellets to work. Are you using any phosphate removing things that lowered your phosphates that low?

.04 ppm isn't enough phosphate? I have to clean my glass from film algae almost every day. I assumed that I have plenty of phosphate. I also do not use any kind of phosphate remover.

DeeFromBrooklyn · Jan 8, 2017

There may be other factors countering the bio pellet function like feeding or bacterial food source

natas · Jan 8, 2017

did you see a decrease at all? If everything is setup correct and your sure your test are accurate then you must have something producing nitrates that the pellets cannot keep up with. However that really doesn't make sense to me because without the pellets your nitrate should of been going higher.

Did the pellets make any change to your phosphate levels?

Another thing you can try it cut your feeding in half for two weeks. Then test and see what your parameters are.

I'm really questioning your test kit tho. What I would do is test your fresh saltwater If it shows 0 then do a test with half of fresh saltwater and half or quarter from your tank. See what you get so you can at least verify it

Bustyraker · Jan 8, 2017

natas said:
did you see a decrease at all? If everything is setup correct and your sure your test are accurate then you must have something producing nitrates that the pellets cannot keep up with. However that really doesn't make sense to me because without the pellets your nitrate should of been going higher.

Did the pellets make any change to your phosphate levels?

Another thing you can try it cut your feeding in half for two weeks. Then test and see what your parameters are.

I'm really questioning your test kit tho. What I would do is test your fresh saltwater If it shows 0 then do a test with half of fresh saltwater and half or quarter from your tank. See what you get so you can at least verify it

I've seen zero decrease in nitrate. Before I started biopellets I was using Red Sea nopox and it kept my nitrates low with no issues, but I got tired of daily dosing. I don't test P04 very often but I have tested at least once a month since I started biopellets and it had always been between .03-.04
I don't really feed very much as it is, I feed a quarter sized chunk of LRS every day and a small algae sheet 2-3 times a week.

I've always had issues with nitrate. I do 20 gallon water changes bi weekly and have lots of flow in my sump to keep detritus from settling. I have a replacement nitrate test and more biopellets arriving tomorrow. If my system is producing more nitrate than the biopellets can break down then adding more biopellets should help correct?

redfishbluefish · Jan 8, 2017

As I've given this a little more thought, I'm convinced your phosphates are too low. In addition, you've added three bottles of MB7, whose bacteria has out-competed the biopellet bacteria for the N and P. I also feel, that starting biopellets, a whole liter seems like too much. I'd easily cut that in half, and stop adding MB7.

Sabellafella · Jan 8, 2017

Bustyraker said:
I've seen zero decrease in nitrate. Before I started biopellets I was using Red Sea nopox and it kept my nitrates low with no issues, but I got tired of daily dosing. I don't test P04 very often but I have tested at least once a month since I started biopellets and it had always been between .03-.04
I don't really feed very much as it is, I feed a quarter sized chunk of LRS every day and a small algae sheet 2-3 times a week.

I've always had issues with nitrate. I do 20 gallon water changes bi weekly and have lots of flow in my sump to keep detritus from settling. I have a replacement nitrate test and more biopellets arriving tomorrow. If my system is producing more nitrate than the biopellets can break down then adding more biopellets should help correct?

Correct just please be carefull, take it slow. How bigs the tank bud?

natas · Jan 8, 2017

Wow I just saw that your using 1000ml of pellets. That's close to how much I use in my 260g.

When you were dosing nopox was it a high amount?

Check your source water. Meaning mix up a fresh batch of saltwater and see how much nitrate it has

Sabellafella · Jan 8, 2017

If your current routine(including 1000 ml biopellets and 20 g wc bi weekly) is keeping your nitrate stable at 25, then just keep it that way. Although itll take about a month or 2, why dont you just do 20g wc weekly (or a series of large water changes) untill it drops to your desired level, then resume your current routine?. Then it should stay stable at your desired level

Bustyraker · Jan 8, 2017

natas said:
Wow I just saw that your using 1000ml of pellets. That's close to how much I use in my 260g.

When you were dosing nopox was it a high amount?

Check your source water. Meaning mix up a fresh batch of saltwater and see how much nitrate it has

Test shows 0 for my source water.

It didn't take much nopox for my nitrates to go down. Less than the normal dose on the instructions actually. I think my maintenance dose was around 4-5 ml daily.

natas · Jan 8, 2017

Btw I say check your source water because something weird has to be going on. I feed the heck out of my tank (way more then you) have a little more pellets then you but with twice the amount of water and my readings of nitrates are always between .5 and 1. Now my phosphates range from .06-1 but this is intentional....in fact I am trying to keep my nitrates at 1-2

Bustyraker · Jan 8, 2017

natas said:
Btw I say check your source water because something weird has to be going on. I feed the heck out of my tank (way more then you) have a little more pellets then you but with twice the amount of water and my readings of nitrates are always between .5 and 1. Now my phosphates range from .06-1 but this is intentional....in fact I am trying to keep my nitrates at 1-2

I have had issues with keeping p04 up in the past. I was having bad stn issues about a year ago and after a triton test I found my p04 was actually 0.00 so I started feeding like crazy. But even before I started feeding more my nitrates were very high (50ppm) nitrates have never been above 25 ppm after stopping with nopox.

Bustyraker · Jan 8, 2017

Do biopellets have a shelf life? I did buy my Reactor and pellets second hand. The guy never used the pellets or the Reactor but he had them sitting for 2 years unopened.