islandVib3s Posted April 12, 2023 Share Posted April 12, 2023 I just got some two little fishes biopellets and I'm think of switching from gfo to biopellets. From what I've read it's basically carbon dosing and usually replacing pellets every 2 months. I'll be using a basic 2littlefishes pump reactor and just enough flow to tumble. Any tips and tricks would be appreciated. I'll be running it on my sca 120 with sump and 2 refugiums cheato and cullerpa on 10hr timer. I'm just changing things up to make it a little easier for maintaining. I'm also switching from instant ocean to neo marine for lower alk reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eatfrenchfries Posted April 12, 2023 Share Posted April 12, 2023 (edited) Don't go overboard with the organic dosing since it can strip water of nutrients + elements relatively easily once it's dialed in. Fueling the reactor depending on size can take a bit of Nitrates to maintain appropriate Phosphate levels. Some people still run GFO to take the edge off of the bacteria while running the reactor so they don't bottom out. The refugium is a nice touch since they'll fuel each other with byproducts but I'd imagine the trace would deplete rather fast. Maybe not iron per se depending in what order the system is run. Keep the reactor away from light sources. Reactor quality is important to prevent clogging. Pellets are less particular so long as they enable good flow through. Edited April 12, 2023 by Eatfrenchfries 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandVib3s Posted April 12, 2023 Author Share Posted April 12, 2023 13 minutes ago, Eatfrenchfries said: Don't go overboard with the organic dosing since it can strip water of nutrients + elements relatively easily once it's dialed in. Fueling the reactor depending on size can take a bit of Nitrates to maintain appropriate Phosphate levels. Some people still run GFO to take the edge off of the bacteria while running the reactor so they don't bottom out. The refugium is a nice touch since they'll fuel each other with byproducts but I'd imagine the trace would deplete rather fast. Maybe not iron per se depending in what order the system is run. Keep the reactor away from light sources. Reactor quality is important to prevent clogging. Pellets are less particular so long as they enable good flow through. Sweet, lol I didn't know a light source could be a problem, good thing I asked. Yea I don't want to strip anything. My bioload is pretty heavy and another reason I'm not running a skimmer on this system. But I do plan on adding a fresh air source later via a air bubbler outside and long tube to bubble in sump. Thanks again🤙 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 Everything @Eatfrenchfries said is true, which I think is why they were very popular when they first came out a few years back, then kind of phased out more when people stripped their tanks of nutrients too quickly. They take time to dial in with a close eye on testing, I’d definitely use less than any manufacturer recommends. I also forget the reason but many ran the output line into the skimmer intake…but it’s been too many years and I stepped away from using them myself. I use Neomarine and have been satisfied with the nutrients it contains. My ICP tests for a lot of the minor elements were in the perfect range so I would attribute that to the salts overall performance (which I use AWC to assist with this replenishment vs dosing individual macro elements). Also, you are probably looking into all this based on your travel plans and leaving the tanks for a long time. Personally I would have someone (who knows what they are doing) stop in and check levels and status of the tank to avoid disasters like you experience. Self maintaining tanks are something to strive for but hard to beat even an occasional check in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandVib3s Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 49 minutes ago, Blue Z Reef said: Everything @Eatfrenchfries said is true, which I think is why they were very popular when they first came out a few years back, then kind of phased out more when people stripped their tanks of nutrients too quickly. They take time to dial in with a close eye on testing, I’d definitely use less than any manufacturer recommends. I also forget the reason but many ran the output line into the skimmer intake…but it’s been too many years and I stepped away from using them myself. I use Neomarine and have been satisfied with the nutrients it contains. My ICP tests for a lot of the minor elements were in the perfect range so I would attribute that to the salts overall performance (which I use AWC to assist with this replenishment vs dosing individual macro elements). Also, you are probably looking into all this based on your travel plans and leaving the tanks for a long time. Personally I would have someone (who knows what they are doing) stop in and check levels and status of the tank to avoid disasters like you experience. Self maintaining tanks are something to strive for but hard to beat even an occasional check in. Yea that salt has alot of positives and I don't have to worry about alk burns as much as I do now. Yea I wish there were more readers around me lol but nope now they're out of the way. It'll be sometime next yr before I go so things may change by then.thx for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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