Reactor??

[Badambomb79]

Ok so I went to a guys house today to buy some stuff off craigslist. Anyways he had like 5 saltwater set ups in his house he had a huge tank I'm thinking 240g and underneath he had 3 skimmers but he had this thing that looked like a skimmer but was full of these white slime beads he says it eats all the nitrites so he only has to do water changes twice a year. It said reactor on the side so that's the only thing I got out of it. Anyone have an idea of what this may be

 

[OscarFan76]

Sounds like a bio pellet reactor. They sell them on bulk reef supply. I've heard rumor they can cause your params to get out if wack. I have never used one though.

I met a guy recently that had not done a water change in 5 years. He didn't use any reactors and rarely added calc for his corals. He didnt even test. He claimed he didn't even feed his fish but they looked healthy. He said they ate pods and algae.

So I guess it is possible but I wouldn't recommend skipping water changes.

 

[danbstrong]

Sounds like a bio pellet reactor. They sell them on bulk reef supply. I've heard rumor they can cause your params to get out if wack. I have never used one though.

I met a guy recently that had not done a water change in 5 years. He didn't use any reactors and rarely added calc for his corals. He didnt even test. He claimed he didn't even feed his fish but they looked healthy. He said they ate pods and algae.

So I guess it is possible but I wouldn't recommend skipping water changes.

I dont know how people get away without water changes im wondering if some day they will crash
But yes sounds like biopellet reactor i used one for a bit seemed to work maybe to well as my xenia started shriveling up when i took the reactor off they came back maybe it was reactor maybe it was coincidense reason i took reactor off i moved it to my 150g with gfo instead

 

[Sniperhank]

In terms of the one tank, it sounds like he had set it up to be self sufficient. It is possible to do. If I had more algae growth in my 55 I could get away with it if it wasn't for my carnivorous fish, just unsure about my pod population supporting much more than my mandarin.

As for lack of water changes...I fully disagree with those that haven't done them for long periods of time. They are setting themselves up for failure like dan said. Eventually it'll crash. What the guy was running in his reactor is Purigen. I run it in my 55 and I have to admit, it keeps things under control. I have been able to skimp on my water changes, onto a bi-weekly cycle rather than weekly. This though I'm not happy about, I have just been very busy with work and turnover shifts. Just haven't been able to find the time. Everytime I have, I've had another issue pop up that needs handled.