Carbon, GFO, orBiopellets?

[rickross23]

I have 2 phosban 550s for my 120g....I currently have one gfo, one carbon....I Herr bioplastics are good for corals and they do the job of gfo.....what 2 should I use? Thanks.

 

[acrylic51]

I was just in a conversation Saturday about bioplastics at a frag swap....Very interesting indeed....I'd still stick with the carbon and GFO combo at this point.

 

[rickross23]

Have you tried them?

 

[acrylic51]

No not personally running them, but the Biology teacher that runs the tanks at a high school where the frag swap was Saturday gave me a tour behind their 5 tank setup along with huge frag tanks, and mangroves and such.....During the tour I happened to notice them, and he's been running them about 2 months and looks promising.....It been used in other areas of aquarium keeping though before with success.....

 

[rickross23]

If I try it(highly possible) should i replace the GFO or Carbon with the bioplastics?

 

[acrylic51]

Yes he replaced the GFO with the bioplastics to see the difference.....

 

[rickross23]

Oo....tempting. if i do I will tell you how they are.

 

[novahobbies]

From what I've read (no direct experience!), it's not recommended to use GFO while running bioplastics....the GFO will strip your setup of phosphates to such a degree that the bacteria won't be able to proliferate on the bioplastics. I've heard a recommendation that if you feel it necessary to run both, reduce the GFO amount to half or less of what you would normally use.

 

[rickross23]

Anyone try bioplastics? Anyone???

 

[geoj]

If I try it(highly possible) should i replace the GFO or Carbon with the bioplastics?No I don't think it is a replacement for GFO or Carbon, I have use bio-pellets and I feel that it is like auto feeding your corals with bacteria. Long term the pellets have to be replaced or they turn to mush and create a mess in the tank. So as a carbon dose, as of now it looks to be uncontrollable and at a higher cost then the liquid alternatives. I think the ideal, would be to have a bio-pellet that was used up at a rate that was consistent. What we have now is the pellets dissolve in an accelerated rate over time and that is not good in my opinion.

 

[rickross23]

Are you saying a 3rd reactor for the bioplastics?

 

[geoj]

I took my setup off line because I am lazy and did not want to spend the time and money replacing the pellets to keep them from making a mess of the sump as they turn to mush. I will try it again now that I have a Hanna checker. When I do, it will be half the recommend amount or less just as a way to feed the corals, as I did see improvement in that aspect. When I make myself feed more I see the same type of improvement but with more pest algae growth. So I would add a third reactor just as a way to be flexible.

 

[rickross23]

How often do you change the bioplastics out ?

 

[geoj]

That is the rub, :laughing:
I have not used them enough to give you a trustworthy answer, but at six months I would replace a large portion if they are turning to mush.

 

[rickross23]

O I plan on replacing them like once a month or so.

 

[geoj]

Ok let us know how it work for you. Just a guess I would think just based on how long it takes a tank to cycle that it would take 2-6 weeks to see a benefit. I also was hopping that reuse of the old pellets might be feasible, something to try.

 

[acrylic51]

Are we talking bio pellets or plastics.....

 

[geoj]

Yes :laughing:

 

[acrylic51]

Pellets and plastic are 2 different things......

 

[geoj]

You do make a good point we need to be talking apples to apples...
Bio-pellets are a type of bio-plastic and not all bio-plastics are recommended for aquarium use.
My experience is with Polyhydroxyalkanoates