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cruelle

Bio-pellets- to use or not to use??

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by
cruelle
, 04-11-2011 at 09:50 PM (3834 Views)
Hello everyone.
What would be the best solution to get rid of a nitrate issue? I Have been thinking of using vertex bio-pellets with a Two Little Fishies Phosban Reactor 150 with a max jet 1200 pump. Would the pump be strong enough for this use? My tank (75 gallon) is now 2 years old and would just like it to be more stable and get rid of the up and down cycle i seem to be in for the last year. My nitrates cause me the most headaches and phosphates have always been close to zero or just above I dose with PO4 minus when it creeps up. I have ruled out my salt mix and water---0 on TDS meter and tested a newly mixed batch of salt all zero for the bad stuff-- I do a water change every 2 weeks 25%. I also Have a sump 20 gallon long with a fuge/ protein skimmer areas. Any and all ideas are welcome. thanks Chris

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Categories
‎ Water Chemistry , ‎ Questions - Need some input

Comments

  1. melev's Avatar
    What is the current NO3 and PO4 levels?
  2. cruelle's Avatar
    NO3 is 40 and PO4 is .25 as of 10 pm tonight
  3. melev's Avatar
    You can kick the PO4 down to zero overnight with Phosphate Control. And if you do a 50% water change, nitrates will be 20. Do another 50% water change in a couple of days and it'll measure 10ppm. Do one more, and you'll be at 5ppm.

    Yes, the biopellets could help your tank, but I don't know if the TLF reactor is big enough to handle it. They have a larger one (model 300) or you could get a NextReef reactor instead.
  4. cruelle's Avatar
    thanks melev...dosed for phosphates last night. which Nextreef reactor would be a good fit for my tank total water vol of 85 gallons and what kind of pump would i need to run it?
  5. melev's Avatar
    The smaller one. I'd have to check their site to find the model number. You might call Dave up and ask him directly. He'll guide you along.
  6. cruelle's Avatar
    thanks for the info...called and talked to dave gave me all the info I needed now I just have to get it ordered
  7. melev's Avatar
    Be sure to post all about it and what you got and how you'll run it. Others will learn from your experience.
  8. David W's Avatar
    Which pump did you get because I need one for the reactor im using so just wondering.
  9. cruelle's Avatar
    David...I will be using a maxjet 1200 with a NextReef SMR1 reactor the smaller one. Here is there website http://www.nextreef.com/index.html for more reading. It just seemed like a better way to go with this reactor than using a Two Little Fishies Phosban Reactor for bio-pellets.
  10. Reefster66's Avatar
    The maxijet 1200 will probably be a little underpowered for the volume of pellets you need for the 75. I have a TLF150 with about 2 cups / 500ml of vertex biopellets on my 65gal and needed to upgrade to a magdrive pump. The 1200 barely turns it over and in a day or two the pellets will clump together and the water will channel around it. I had a spare mag 7 so I used that. I'd recommend using a mag 3 or mag 5 pump and adjusting the flow with the valve included with the TLF 150 reactor kit. The maxijet 1200 will do fine if you only had a cup of pellets. I'm using it just fine on my 20gal nano and the same reactor.

    You will also probably need to replace the foam pads with a more open grill or screen. The foam will end up getting clogged once the bacterial mulm starts to develop and slough off.