Reef Discussion

MQ-9

Member
Nov 25, 2014
281
108
1l Bioplastics Into A Phosban 550?
Just how much can I run in a 550 reactor? Ideally want a 1L in there after the upgrade.
Can it be done in a single 550?
 
DON'T DO IT.... I have done this and from that day till the day i bought a JNS reactor i was forever struggling to keep the pellets suspended and tumbling. And once they reduce in size you will find you have too much flow and you will find beads in your sump rotting. I had endless issues with dead spots which creates H2S and once you disturb it you have a water column full of floating rubbish.
 
E

ezza

Guest
I use spherical biopellets from @Morphology. I put pellets and spherical seachem matrix carbon in the reactor at the same time and I have some frag plugs down the bottom of the reactor turned side ways (so they make little air pockets ) around the base. I have enough flow from a really cheap crappy reactor to reduce my nitrates from 50 to the approx 5 that it is now. Couldn't have done it any other way.

The things I have learnt are that you need to have the carbon to stop the pellets sticking together. It needs to be spherical or the stick type pellets get stuck in the reactor air holes. You need the T shaped frag plugs around the bottom to provide some air holes to allow the flow through. I arranged them so they were alternating the way they faced around the circle. One stem to the centre, one to the outer edge, one to the centre, one to the outer etc. always leaning like a triangle so the flat top can't block the bottom.

Then you just add pellets over time. Start with 1/4 the max rate and leave a few weeks between each addition until you're at max strength. If you overdose, you reduce the available oxygen too much and everything will die. I found you also end up with a white film all over the inside of the glass. When my reactor looked like it was sluggish and too blobby inside, I changed the carbon and gently rinsed off the beads (the pain in the arse part was carefully straining them and separating them, but it was possible). The pipes for flow were full of what can only be described as snot. I backed off with the beads, returning only the equivalent of a quarter dose for a few weeks before adding more.

This is just what I've found is an effective way of saving money and not needing to buy a recirculating reactor which I currently can't afford. It does the job.
 

Sam Parker

Moderator
May 6, 2013
4,802
2,397
Geelong
Sorry - totally missed the pellets thing, just thought media :)

Yeah - as others have said, if your going to run 1L of pellets, get a good reactor. Otherwise it will be a constant pain...
 

bimbo

Member
Oct 7, 2014
150
111
Newcastle
Oh that's hot! Gosh fish street are good.
it does a good job too - that is the one I am running. Spins them well and never had any issues with clumping etc.
FYI 1L of pellets is quite a lot - not sure on your tank size but I am running 200-250ml of vertex pellets on 550L moderately stocked tank
 

MQ-9

Member
Nov 25, 2014
281
108
Its a 2000 Litre display. The reason I ask is I already have a phosban 550 I can dig out and put on it.
Client has told me they want a litre of media on the go at one time.
 

Morphology

Not all mushrooms are kept in the dark...
Oct 6, 2013
36
40
Aspendale
I use spherical biopellets from @Morphology. I put pellets and spherical seachem matrix carbon in the reactor at the same time and I have some frag plugs down the bottom of the reactor turned side ways (so they make little air pockets ) around the base. I have enough flow from a really cheap crappy reactor to reduce my nitrates from 50 to the approx 5 that it is now. Couldn't have done it any other way.

The things I have learnt are that you need to have the carbon to stop the pellets sticking together. It needs to be spherical or the stick type pellets get stuck in the reactor air holes. You need the T shaped frag plugs around the bottom to provide some air holes to allow the flow through. I arranged them so they were alternating the way they faced around the circle. One stem to the centre, one to the outer edge, one to the centre, one to the outer etc. always leaning like a triangle so the flat top can't block the bottom.

Then you just add pellets over time. Start with 1/4 the max rate and leave a few weeks between each addition until you're at max strength. If you overdose, you reduce the available oxygen too much and everything will die. I found you also end up with a white film all over the inside of the glass. When my reactor looked like it was sluggish and too blobby inside, I changed the carbon and gently rinsed off the beads (the pain in the arse part was carefully straining them and separating them, but it was possible). The pipes for flow were full of what can only be described as snot. I backed off with the beads, returning only the equivalent of a quarter dose for a few weeks before adding more.

This is just what I've found is an effective way of saving money and not needing to buy a recirculating reactor which I currently can't afford. It does the job.
That is ingenious! Is that with a TLF reactor? We tried the pellets by modding the TLF550 reactor and it just wouldn't work ideally. For our 1500L system we just use this: http://www.bubble-magus.com/productinfo.aspx?id=487 and run a minimal amount of pellets (@300-400ml). Keeps things on an even keel but doesn't take out too much.