Biopellets and haze!

[DevilBoy]

I just started running biopellets on Thursday July 8th, this morning i woke up to a hazy bacterial bloom in my tank. Has anyone else experienced a bacterial bloom when starting these? If so how did you get rid of it? I am tumbling correctly, i sent a video to the retailer i bought the pellets from and they told me i am tumbling perfect. Thats not the issue. I have noticed a increase in skimmate. I do have the outlet of the reactor going in to my filter sock with the drain of my tank. Should i maybe place the outlet somewhere instead of in the filter sock?

[Stuart60611]

Two things you need to do. Yes, the outlet from the pellet reactor should not be directed in your filter sock. This will cause large amounts of bacterial mass to be deposited in the filter sock causing the sock to clog and the bacteria to be spread throughout the system which is probably why you are having the bacterial bloom. Move the outlet from the pellet reactor to as close as possible to your skimmer intake. This will allow your skimmer to pull out as much of the bacteria as possible and reduce the bloom you are experiencing.


Also, if this does not do the trick, you may want to reduce the flow in the reactor a bit. Too much flow sometimes causes too much bacteria to sluff off the pellets and get into the system water causing the bacterial bloom.

[reef_doug]

I had the bacteria bloom for 3 days, many people have.
It will clear up to crystal clear within a week on it's own. It did not have any ill effects on corals or fish. The skimmer will get very foamy during the period, once cleared the skimmate will be quite dark and smelly.

Some things to do are change the filter socks daily, you will be surprised how quickly they will clog up. Keep the skimmer running and position the outlet from the BP reactor to the skimmer intake. Empty skimmer cup daily.

[bertoni]

I agree that a number of people have reported a haze. I'd watch for signs of oxygen depletion, and perhaps check that all the pumps were clean and the skimmer inlet was clear. I wouldn't worry too much just yet, though.

[Hoyden]

I had the bacteria bloom for 3 days, many people have.
It will clear up to crystal clear within a week on it's own. It did not have any ill effects on corals or fish. The skimmer will get very foamy during the period, once cleared the skimmate will be quite dark and smelly.


This mirrors my experience. I had cloudy water for three days and needed to clean my socks/skimmer cup daily. After 3 days, all of this settled down and I have a clear tank now.

Jackie

[mal1099]

Yeah i run Vertex biopellets. After day 3 i got a bacterial bloom and couldnt even seen my rocks from the front of the glass. took 3-4 days and cleared up and havent had it since. Been running this since june 4th. Nand P are below elos test kits ability to read.

[Genetics]

With a rapid addition of material for bacteria, it would make sense that they may cause a haze for a few days. Once it settles out and your skimmer settles down your water should be crystal clear. You will probably not need to worry about this occurring again.

[DevilBoy]

I had the bacteria bloom for 3 days, many people have.
It will clear up to crystal clear within a week on it's own. It did not have any ill effects on corals or fish. The skimmer will get very foamy during the period, once cleared the skimmate will be quite dark and smelly.

Some things to do are change the filter socks daily, you will be surprised how quickly they will clog up. Keep the skimmer running and position the outlet from the BP reactor to the skimmer intake. Empty skimmer cup daily.

This seems to be what i am experiencing right now. It is not real hazy, i can still thru the tank from end to end, but it is definitely not as clear as it was before i started the BP. Yes, i have noticed as of yesterday i am starting to see alot more foam in the skimmate then previously. I emptied the cup yesterday, and now it is about 3/4 full already. Not so much with skimmate itself but alot of foamy bubbles coming up thru the neck. My filter socks have been clogging up very quickly compared to before running the BP. I have moved the outlet of the BP reactor from the sock to right in front of the skimmer intake. I will wait a few days and see what happens. I will be adding the rest of the dosage on Friday, since the package said run half the dose for a week, then add the other half after week.

[reef_doug]

This seems to be what i am experiencing right now. It is not real hazy, i can still thru the tank from end to end, but it is definitely not as clear as it was before i started the BP. Yes, i have noticed as of yesterday i am starting to see alot more foam in the skimmate then previously. I emptied the cup yesterday, and now it is about 3/4 full already. Not so much with skimmate itself but alot of foamy bubbles coming up thru the neck. My filter socks have been clogging up very quickly compared to before running the BP. I have moved the outlet of the BP reactor from the sock to right in front of the skimmer intake. I will wait a few days and see what happens. I will be adding the rest of the dosage on Friday, since the package said run half the dose for a week, then add the other half after week.

Hang in there. Next week you'll have a crystal clear tank. even clearer than day 1.

On day 2 & 3 I had more foam than skimmate, day 4-5 produces some dark smelly skimmate with less foam.

[bmwaaron]

This seems to be what i am experiencing right now. It is not real hazy, i can still thru the tank from end to end, but it is definitely not as clear as it was before i started the BP. Yes, i have noticed as of yesterday i am starting to see alot more foam in the skimmate then previously. I emptied the cup yesterday, and now it is about 3/4 full already. Not so much with skimmate itself but alot of foamy bubbles coming up thru the neck. My filter socks have been clogging up very quickly compared to before running the BP. I have moved the outlet of the BP reactor from the sock to right in front of the skimmer intake. I will wait a few days and see what happens. I will be adding the rest of the dosage on Friday, since the package said run half the dose for a week, then add the other half after week.


I would guess that the next couple of days your tank will get very cloudy as others have described. Mine started with a haze then turned completly cloudy the next day.

[Toadally]

You will see an increase in your PH from placing the outlet from the reactor in front of your skimmer.

[DevilBoy]

You will see an increase in your PH from placing the outlet from the reactor in front of your skimmer.

Oh cool, i have always struggled with a lower pH. 7.8 - 8.0 was my range. Hope it gets about 8.0 - 8.2 range.

[Toadally]

Don't get your hopes up too high. I was talking about an increase at the time you moved it. I noticed a jump in mine as soon as I moved it.

[DevilBoy]

Should i do a water change while this is going on? Or just wait for it to take its course then do my normal water change. I dont want to slow down the process any by doing a water change.

[reef_doug]

Should i do a water change while this is going on? Or just wait for it to take its course then do my normal water change. I dont want to slow down the process any by doing a water change.

A partial water change maybe a good idea too as far as oxygen level is concerned and export of some nutrient. The bloom is extra bacteria anyway.

[HighlandReefer]

With a bacterial bloom, you may want to run a filter bag to collect out the bacteria quicker.

[beefcake78]

I was just about to ask the same question about the haze. I love RC

[kevinpratt823]

Funny, I just had this conversation with somebody this afternoon. He set up a new large system, and just after the Biopellets went online, the glass got a white hazefrom the bloom. He said the water still looked clear, though. Def run the output of the reactor near if not directly into the skimmer.

[DevilBoy]

thanks everyone. Does anyone run carbon and or gfo while running the BP?

Does anyone piggyback 3 reactors together with one running BP, one running carbon, and one running gfo?

[reef_doug]

I run carbon. I'm waiting a month to see if I'll need GFO.

If you run 3 reactors together, I would put the BP in the last one since they will clog any foam sponges "downstream". The BP may need stronger flow than GFO, so going with seperate may be the best idea. You could have a good pump and rig up an intake manifold with ball valves to supply the 3 reactors.

[DevilBoy]

would i be able to run the BP by themselves and piggyback 2 reactors with carbon and gfo? Would you place the carbon before the gfo or after?

I tested my nitrates this morning and they are down to 10ppm from 30ppm before starting the BP.

[solitude127]

Do think it's because of the high nitrate initially causing the haze?

[bertoni]

Possibly. The higher the nutrient load, the more bacteria I'd expect to see. Some of the carbon from the media might be leaching into the water, allowing bacteria to grow and cloud the tank.

[daveonbass]

I guess my BP's have just always been broken. I had very high NO3 and added all the pellets at once, and put the effluent as my new skimmer intake. And still nothing to report after months. No haze, no bloom, no reduction in a d@mn thing...just a bunch of money down the drain. I'm wanting to know why I didn't get anything similar in my results? This is frustruating.

[bertoni]

The system might be phosphate-limited, I guess.

[Toadally]

I guess my BP's have just always been broken. I had very high NO3 and added all the pellets at once, and put the effluent as my new skimmer intake. And still nothing to report after months. No haze, no bloom, no reduction in a d@mn thing...just a bunch of money down the drain. I'm wanting to know why I didn't get anything similar in my results? This is frustruating.

Did you ever dose any bacteria? If not, give it a try...nothing to lose at this point.

[daveonbass]

yeah I'm doing that now. I got 20ml from DJREEF, who told me to dose 5ml once a week directly on the BP. So now I'm just waiting. I really don't see any of my pellets ever starting to work. My new theory is that if I buy some NEW pellets...i bet those will work. This hobbly just wants my moo-lah. :P

[DevilBoy]

Dave. are you using enough pellets? are you maybe tumbling too fast and giving the pellets enough dwell time in the reactor to get bacteria on them? like i said i have only been using mine for 8 days and my nitrates have dropped 10ppm without doing a waterchange this week. did you ever get a verification from another test kit that the kit you are using is accurate?

[daveonbass]

ok first off...i am only saying this cause I find it funny.

BUT...

I find it humorous that everyone first assumes that the poster is completly wrong first...

to recap. It's been about three months. I have had the bp in low, med, and high flow. Currently it's in the mid-low area of flow...any less and there would be no tumbling...which never worked in the beginning. My test kits are new enough, bought just for this testing...and they mirror my old kits. As well as confirm other params that are known. I started with 500ml of pellets, and that amount was recommended for 100g tanks...mine is 58g. I have recently reduced it to 250ml of BP in order to see if I had too much pellets to be seeded efficiently. And I have now added a second skimmer...just to see if I am not getting proper use out of the one I normally use.

all in all...no change. Except through water changes. :/

[bertoni]

What sort of skimmer is on the system? Has it been checked? I don't see a mention of the phosphate level in the system, although maybe that's in another thread.

[daveonbass]

I have a DAS EX-1 that is fed the effluent from the BP reactor. I don't have a clue what you mean by "checked" but it has always run great. I also justput a Aqua C Remora onto the sump for a second skimmer to see if it would pull anything extra out...and nothing yet.

as stated elsewhere my phosphates test at 0 from an API kit...but I don't persume that they are actually 0...I'm sure it's anywhere from 0 to .25 or maybe more. They are not great test kits for that. But I'm sure there is some PO4.

[bertoni]

Sorry for the slow response; I've been away.

I might check the air intake for signs of clogging, maybe, and check that the pump isn't clogged up at all.

[daveonbass]

there's no clogging...the skimmer works great...theres just no EXTRA skimate from adding the BP.

[bertoni]

Well, I don't know how to help. :(

[teambutterfield]

Can biopellets decrease or increase cyano? If the organic p depleted, cyano should disappear right?

[HighlandReefer]

Cyano can live on both organic P and phosphate, like bacteria. Plus cyano can use photosynthesis unlike bacteria (although some research indicates that some bacteria may have some capability). If both phosphate and organic P are low in your tank, then this will help control cyano as well as bacteria. However when you feed the tank and fish excrete, there is phosphate and organic P added to the tank, which can be used up quickly by which ever gets it first. Cyano tend to grow on rock and sand beds which do harbor both organic P and phosphate. Keeping the rock and the sand bed clean will help reduce this reservoir. Also removing the cyano regularly will mean it has to start over again and compete with the bacteria and coral for the available nutrients & space. :)

Running additional filters like filter bags and diatom fitlers will also aid in removing small suspended organic debris before the cyano can get to it in addition to a good skimmer.

[Genetics]

@devilboy, how did the tank fair after the bloom with the biopellets?

@daveonbass, it may be beneficial for you to start a thread on your own to discuss your nitrate issue. A nice summary of your tank setup, equipment, parameters, and maintenance may help in trying to figure out why your nitrates will not fall.

[DevilBoy]

So far so good. I have recently added the remaining 250ml of pellets to the reactor. Haze is gone water seems to be clearer. Getting more skimmate, more filter socks clog up faster running then pellets then when i didnt run the pellets. Tufts of hair algae seem to be fading away. They have gone from the green color look to the clear strands of hair. So overall i would have to say the pellets are working. :thumbsup: