All in One BioPellets?

Hi, I've been reading about these All in One BioPellets for some time now but having trouble finding enough opinions from keepers who have experience with these and how they work long term to go ahead and try them. These I know are a newer product in our community and that we are slow to accept new technologies/products for use in our complex systems however the concept seems great! I currently run two BP reactors (Reef Octopus BR110 & BR140 with BRS brand pellets) and can't praise them enough but this product could also make my use of GFO (BRS brand) unnecessary which of course would be nice. My systems are currently working very well however and can even say too well making my Chaeto refugium unsustainable which is fine (plenty of self sustaining pod's in my DT). Here are some links below and any opinions or experience would be greatly appreciated, thank you......

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Interesting.... I need to do some more reading, but on the surface, I'd be prepared to give them a go.

Have you seen a 'swap-over' plan? i.e. would you add them on top of existing bio-pellets (in the same reactor), or do they recommend removing existing BP media and go straight to the AIO?

Only probelm - I still have about a year's supply of NP bio-pellets. Guess that gives me plenty of time to contemplate

 

I've ryanr heard next to to nothing of any swap over plan or much else for that matter as of yet but will continue my research and update this thread. My next BP change will occur in a month or so and would be willing to try these out on my newer (non-well established) 180g system since if they don't work as advertised my fish, skimmer and of course water changes can make up for it. I would rather not use them on the 125g seeing it's well established. I'd be very interested in what you find and thank you again...ttyl .

 

Quick update, there are accounts I've found of people having used this product and closely reviewing these now. As of yet I would have some concern introducing these in a established BP and GFO system due to PO4 being prevalent in the system (live rock, substrate etc...) and having no GFO online takes some time during this seeding for the new pellets to start removing the PO4 (many people report significant spikes). It takes time/effort to get things to continue on the right track in the change over time till they start taking effect as advertised. Back to reading....

 

I was looking at putting a reactor on my 75 gallon had a small phosphate issue but I am going the vodka dosing route for the moment. I'm two weeks into it and having really good results with it so far my phosphates and nitrates are almost undetectable now but will add these pellets to my reading materials. LoL

 

HI krazyone2006 the vodka dosing works great too and a big topic of debate at my Saltwater (reef) club is the different ways to deal with the nitrates and phosphates. I like the BP route 'cause you can basically set it and forget it without having to dose constantly, however others argue that it strips their tanks (redfield ratio - which ryanr fist brought to my attention) causing harm to their corals etc.. by working too well and difficult to fine tune. There are others who use the Red Sea NO3&PO4 product but not too familiar with (carbon dosing?). I'm glad your looking into BP and look forward to what your thoughts are.

 

I actually found that my tank became 'immune' to the Red Sea NO3O4-X, not sure what happened

As mentioned, bio-pellets are basically set and forget. It's minimal maintenance. Daily: check the BPs are still tumbling. Once every 3 months (YMMV), top up the bio-pellets. My daily routine is to check the skimmer cup and eye-ball the BP reactor. Too, with BP, it's advised to direct the reactor output to the skimmer. There's some good videos on Bulk Reef Supply (IIRC) about BPs, and the LA Fish Guy channel on youtube has some good videos about it.

Running Bio-pellets gets better the longer you run it. It can take a few weeks to a few months for them to become really effective. I think I've been running them about a year now, and whilst PO4 is not as low as I'd like it, NO3 is at a constant 0. Mike wrote an article for FL here: https://www.fishlore.com/biopellets.htm

I too have heard stories of BPs stripping a tank, and whilst it's only anecdotal, the evidence suggests that people have 'rushed' the BPs. Like all things, you need to start slow, and build up the amount in the reactor over weeks/months, not go the full dose straight up.

But back to the AIOs - I'm still reading, but I'm like what I'm ready

 

I will be tagging along this post to see what you decide 1971roadrunner

Like I said I will probably switch over to a reactor here down the road but I just figured since I hand dose the 2 part everyday anyways I can dose the vodka too and save some cash at the moment and still get about the same results . I know my xenia are loving it because I couldn't get them to grow/multiply to save my life now both kinds are growing like weeds along with everything else. Going to have to do some serious fraging here soon. LoL

 

I'm still possibly interested in going ahead and try this for the 180g but hoping to know what to expect some!

The PO4 is (according to my Hannah checker) .06ppm with no GFO running 'cause of my BP reactor needing to still seed and just now starting to do a well enough job of taking care of the NO3 (NO3 around 15-20 with 10% WC's every other week, eventually 10% per month). I know that the rock was just added 3 months ago, base rock was clean and the live rock added was low in PO4 due it coming primarily out of my well established 125g with low/zero numbers so no real leaching occurring there.

I have a ? as per other reports on this AIO regarding it taking months to start working on the PO4 (and also longer for the NO3 compared to standard BP) in comparison with my experience with GFO taking 2-3 weeks. I know that the BP reactor in my 125g started working on the NO3 after about 2-3 months but now after 6 months working full swing (killing off my chaeto for good) for NO3 & PO4 though I still run GFO in there.

* FYI ryanr The size of the AIO pellets are larger than standard BP and therefor seeding with currently running ones is difficult and a larger pump running the reactor could be necessary anyway long term...

 

Update...My best thinking (Ha!!!) leads me to believe that my BP reactor for the 180g is well on it's way and working well enough already (as of yet) and my PO4 level is ready for the GFO that I will continue with. If I could go back I would have tried these AIO but I'm too far along with the old tried and true that I know works well. Please, any additional comments or findings would be welcomed, thanks all.

 

HI ryanr or others, just curious? From what you've researched with this product, would you try this new product yourself or recommend this to others just starting out with a BP reactor?

We have a lot of keepers new to BP reactors in my Saltwater (reef) group and I personally feel (according to what I've read) these AIO pellets are worth trying initially. They sound great but know even more patience is required than the usual BP's but not having to deal with the trouble/mess and extra reactor of GFO would be nice long term!

* I learned a lot about how my standard BP reactors function from my research (more than what I knew before my reading) and I would suggest AIO according to what I've learned which reading I enjoyed however... they seem to be troublesome in the beginning though worth it in long run?

* any opinion would be valued !!!

 

Would I try? NO.
Will I be trying? YES

When my current stock of NP Reducing is gone, I'll switch to AIO - assuming of course I can get them here in Aus. Hopefully by the time it comes around to change (about another 6 months or so), more 'swap-over' guides might be available.
But I've been impressed enough to make the switch.

Obviously it'll be controlled, and monitored, but I see no reason not to give it a go, unless they're found to be problematic.

 

I get you ryanr (thank you) so if to start from scratch there is no real reason for a newbie not to go with AIO?

I would suggest myself according to what I've read! Would you recommend these to a friend with a newly set up system with a new BP reactor to cycle? I like them but you know my situation, I don't want to have to start all over and I've been dealing with a lot of past troubles with my 180g (diatoms etc...) which are now coming under control and I just want my normalcy with GFO etc... and time!

* BTW; If I may, dual Vortech MP40 solve ALOT of problems- amazing circulation pumps !

 

Would you recommend these to a friend with a newly set up system with a new BP reactor to cycle?

I would recommend a friend investigate them, yes. One thing in this hobby, the aquarist needs to understand how things work, and feel comfortable with the solution.

I've often advised people look into carbon dosing (liquid and solid) as an alternative to a fuge with DSB and macros. If the carbon dosing concept doesn't make sense to the person, but a fuge does, then my recommendation is they use a fuge. Kinda like you were with the Redfield ratio etc. Once you understood the concept, and how BPs work, you were happy to proceed with the solution.

The caveat here is, in Aus, many of the common macro algaes are actually considered noxious weeds, and chaeto for example was recently outlawed. In my state, I'm not permitted to be in possession of chaeto, nor can shops sell it (go figure :rolleyes

It's a bit like keyboard shortcuts vs using a mouse. Whilst I'm very much a keyboard shortcuts person, a lot of people I know aren't comfortable, and prefer to use the mouse. Neither approach is right or wrong, but as long as the person is comfortable, then it's the best solution for them.

 

Thank you ryanr . I was a 20 gallon successful full 20gChaeto refugium (also 'wanna be DSB) enthusiast though until you and Mike turned me on to these BP reactors then ran one can't imagine anyone ever running the others (vodka or Red Sea NO3 & PO4 product etc..) consider me a convert! I'm definitely SOLD!!! I'll recommend the AIO to my friend and help him set up the reactor - yes I know how to do but also have to set up a calcium reactor with a separate de-gassing chamber - thanks ryan !

*Ughhh...?



*just the beginning - help !?!?

 

LOL - what type of setup is your friend running? (maybe a separate thread)

The concept and setup is quite simple but can be tricky to get right from what I've read. I typically see them on SPS dominated reefs where calcium uptake is quite high and can't be maintained by liquid dosing (or it's economically unviable to use liquid). For my tank, I dose AquaVitro Calcification as required.

From what I've read, it's easy to overdose when using a Ca reactor. Also, research Kalkwasser (same thing but a more common term). If you want to discuss further, we'll start a new thread

 

He has upgraded from a 90g cube to a 225g standard size. He has gone with this and we both have researched it well I hope. This was a very well established 90g and the new tank has been running three months and seems to have stabilized very well, he is going straight to SPS (LPS gone since the tank change). I question why you like the "set it and forget it for BP" though not a calcium reactor? This is not my tank but enjoying learning especially seeing it's not my $$$

I'll start a new thread when it's my own tank here...ttyl Ryan

* no interest in a reef yet !?!?

 

I didn't say I don't like calcium reactors, I just said they can be tricky to get right. CO2 rate, flow rate, volume of media etc. Once setup, and tweaked nicely, they're brilliant

Also, as I mentioned, I typically see them on SPS dominated (Ca reactors). For my setup, 1 SPS, but primarily LPS and softs, the Ca uptake is not high, Thus constantly dripping Ca seems silly to me. My corals are fine in a window (400-450ppm), as long as I maintain the window, they're great. But it takes weeks/months for them to deplete Ca.

With SPS dominated, they can quickly deplete Ca in a day. If I had SPS dominated, I'd run a Ca reactor

I'm all for set and forget.... Aquariums should be about enjoying the setup and the ecosystem, not managing every last bit, to the point you don't get to see your fish/corals anymore.

 

Sorry ryanr, didn't mean to come off too strong, I do that ! Yes, this tank is a forest of SPS and does deplete Ca quickly, were trying to keep it at 450. I find it interesting that really only SPS dominated/only tanks use up Ca enough to justify a Ca reactor so I need to look this up now....thanks Ryan

 

Last update but off topic, sorry! After researching the information and taking a close look at where the levels have been at for the past few months and since upgrading the tank size (though not much more in the amount of coral so far) we have determined that a calcium reactor is quite unnecessary for now, thank you .

*BTW, we're going with standard BRS BP's (Reef Octopus reactor) and GFO/carbon like my tanks because there is too much $$$ in coral to play games with, thanks again.

 

Thank you for this thread. With my being home for three months I have decided to learn as much as I can about the reef systems, methods and need (real and perceived) for the equipment out there. It has been a year now since we brought home the 150 gal and it still sits empty in the living room. I have learned a massive amount in that year. The one thing I can say for sure is this "the more I learn the less I know"

It is a good thing I did not have the money to jump right in last year I would be double spending on equipment at this point. This truly reminds me of people just getting to photography. There is so much equipment, programs and opinions being presented as fact the beginner can quickly be overcome by it all and invest poorly.

Boy am I glad you good people are here to lend a guiding hand to a babe in the woods