Ditching my refugium-good idea?

[carey]

Carey, I believe I posted earlier that after installing GFO/GAC alongside my bio-pellet reactor that my cheato in the sump started disappearing. Just not enough nutrients to support it.

Between work obligations and back issues I was not performing regular maintenance (GFO/GAC changes; PWC's etc.) and I started having algae issues to the point that I added cheato back to the sump and now it's growing quickly again.

I just did my semi-annual maintenance and replaced the GFO, added new bio-pellets, did several PWC's so I expect I will start to see the cheato start to disappear again in a few weeks.

You may want to take the same route. Leave it in place for now while you add your bio-pellet reactor and watch for changes.

You no longer have a decision to make. Hopefully the decision is made for you.

I think that's what I will do. i won't be getting the bio pellet reactor until the end of the month at best and then i will just run it and see what goes on in the refugium. It says it can take up to 2 months to see any noticeable difference so I guess i will take this slow. lol

You also mentioned I think that you stopped running gfo with the biopellets, is that right? Or is it just what I've read?

Also, when the bio pellets are first started do water changes affect it at all? So I just continue my maintenance schedule as if the bio pellets arent there?

Thanks so much!

 

[cmor1701d]

The biggest thing with the bio-pellets is to direct the reactor outflow to the skimmer input. That will clear up the bacteria coming out and help prevent the white tank syndrome some people have seen. Start with half the recommended amount of pellets, wait a month and then add the rest. That also helps. Everything happens within the reactor, so water changes won't affect it.

Other than that continue with all other normal maintenance.

Due to my back problems I was unable to do any work under the tank. I was also working 14+ hour days and some work on weekends for a business project on a very tight schedule so even pwc's suffered, as did my tank.

I am now running both GFO and bio-pellets again. I'm expecting my back problems to start getting better in a few weeks due to a new procedure, so I expect to be able to keep up with my normal maintenance activities.

Keep having fun. The one thing to keep in mind is that we are by nature tinkerers. There's always a new and sometimes better way to do things in our home bit of the ocean to make it more natural. Bio-pellets is one of them. DSB were the thing 10 years ago. Last year I replaced my MH with LED's. No more fans for cooling.
I'm thinking about 'cooking' my LR now (it's 10 years old). That will give me the opportunity to buy some new LR (uncured) to re-seed the tank with some new life. I also buy new detrivores at least once a year to reseed the sand bed, etc. It never ends.

 

[mrbee2828]

If I understand correctly what I have been reading over the past few months, the refugium should be a lower flow rate to be more effective no? You have yours in the center (or so it looks). What if you just switched the pump and refugium locations and T'd off the return like I did in my FW build? That as an alternative to removing it completely... maybe worth another try to rule it out not being a viable solution? That's how I'm planning my 40g for the SW.

 

[mr_X]

I don't think the flow has anything to do with nutrient export. It's simply contact.

 

[mrbee2828]

Good to know then.

 

[carey]

I was wondering the same thing about the flow. I have a pretty intense flow going through the sump so was worried I was negating the potential benefits.

 

[mr_X]

No. As long as the plant is making contact with water, it's using nutrients. Fast or slow doesn't matter. It's not like the algae is pulling nutrients out of the water so fast that it needs to be in high flow.
Some would argue that pods do better in slower flow, but I don't think there's any hard data either way yet.
I do see pods and mini brittles and things inside power heads when you open them up to service them. I don't think high flow is a problem.

 

[ccCapt]

I'll just make a quick comment on my experience with bio-pellets. Last year I had a situation similar to Cmor where I knew I would be working 10-12 hrs/day - 6 days a week for a few months and I wouldn't have time for my normal tank maintenance routines. I thought I would just run the bio-pellets in addition to the GFO and ROX carbon and that would keep any excessive nutrient problems at bay. Since I was leaving for work before the lights came on and was getting home when they were already out, I didn't really have a chance to see what was happening. Being I wasn't home when the lights were on I didn't feed the fish nearly as much as normal. What happened was, I believe, the bio-pellets made my water too clean and I lost a few big acro colonies. They went from looking beautiful 1 weekend to the next weekend being totally bleached with the "skin" literally sloughing off. I took the bio-pellet reactor offline and everything started to improve drastically.

Maybe if I was able to keep feeding the fish heavily, which is what you should be doing when running the bio-pellets, I wouldn't have had that problem, but in my situation I couldn't. Many people do have success with bio-pellets but they didn't work well, or maybe they worked too well for me.

 

[carey]

Hmm good points. I already probably am overfeeding so I hope to avoid that pitfall. lol

I'm at the point that i just want to try new things and see if they can work for me. I know everyones experiences can be different but overall it seems like a good piece of equipment that might work for me. always looking for a newer and better way LOL

 

[cmor1701d]

@Larry, it could also have been the problem seen when adding to much of the bio-pellets to start a/o not feeding the outflow to the skimmer. Some folks have experienced a bacterial bloom in the DT that affected sps.

I never had that particular problem, but when I refreshed my pellets recently I only added half the package. I'll add the rest in a month.

@Carey, I have my macro sitting in my sump. I made a small box out of acrylic (with hundreds of holes) to cage my return pump's (external) intake. No problem with growing macro with the high flow through the sump.

 

[ccCapt]

Cmor, the reactor output went right to the skimmer intake pump. I added 1/2 the recommended dosage and about 2-3 weeks later added the rest. I ran them for about 3 months and took it offline. I think the use of GFO, ROX carbon and the bio-pellets, along with very little feedings just made my water too clean. In about 2 months I'll be going back to the 10-12 hrs/day - 6 day work schedule for a few months (nuclear reactor refueling time) and I'm not running them this time.

 

[cmor1701d]

Larry, I agree with your desire to devote your attention to the nuclear refueling and doing what you know works in the tank. Would not want you worrying about that during that time.

 

[Gti_Leo]

Cmor, the reactor output went right to the skimmer intake pump. I added 1/2 the recommended dosage and about 2-3 weeks later added the rest. I ran them for about 3 months and took it offline. I think the use of GFO, ROX carbon and the bio-pellets, along with very little feedings just made my water too clean. In about 2 months I'll be going back to the 10-12 hrs/day - 6 day work schedule for a few months (nuclear reactor refueling time) and I'm not running them this time.

if thats the case then why not just feed more, i'm sure you fish and corals would benifit more from the feedings and the softie corals would grow in nicer with the extra organics in the water

 

[cmor1701d]

The science shows that ail animals live longer, healthier lives on a 30% reduced caloric intake. It also helps keeping nitrates low.

 

[Crazycajun]

Cmor, the reactor output went right to the skimmer intake pump. I added 1/2 the recommended dosage and about 2-3 weeks later added the rest. I ran them for about 3 months and took it offline. I think the use of GFO, ROX carbon and the bio-pellets, along with very little feedings just made my water too clean. In about 2 months I'll be going back to the 10-12 hrs/day - 6 day work schedule for a few months (nuclear reactor refueling time) and I'm not running them this time.

That is the thing with bio pellets. You have to find the right flow for your system. The bacteria will eat all it can so you have to control the flow. Once you do this you should be able to maintain a healthy system. You can control the flow with new designed reactors or the amount of pellets in the reactor. You just have to test and find your sweet spot.

 

[cmor1701d]

@Carey, sorry for the thread hijack. Do you have other questions about your fuge?

 

[carey]

Hey, no hijack at all, i found every response to be helpful and informative.

For now, since i can't get the reactor yet I am gonna leave things as they are. Once I get one I will let it run along side the refugium and see what results I get. I'll also keep running my gfo reactor too so I can see the difference if there is any.

I want to thank everyone who answered though, I really appreciate the input. Makes deciding what to do much easier and I didn't do anything rash like take the refugium apart like I was almost ready to!

Thanks again, I'll post when i get the reactor, of course, lol, and then we can go from there.