OH MY GOD LOOK AT THIS TANK

[ErikH]

http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/65-tank-of-the-month

Absolutely breathtaking.

[Big_Pun]

look how simple his setup and filtration is, just skimmer and bio pellets, and 2 part dripping. also he uses instant ocean salt. finally someone shows how simple this hobby can be.

[ErikH]

Sorry Chris what? I had to go change my shorts.

I just can't freakin believe that tank. It's bananas.

[ramsey]

I'm selling all my gear. I can't compete!

[ACE]

Hey Erik, tell us what you really think....:sarcastic:...LOL

This aquarium is an SPS lovers dream for real... I have been googled eyed over this tank this whole month

[phippsj]

I am actually just transitioning to the NP Biopellets myself, but had not seen this tank yet. Gives me more confidence that they will work! I wanted to go that way becuase I plan on having a lot of ornamental sponges (we love sponges), but we have found some of them are hard to keep.

[Bill S]

Wow. Love that approach too.

[Europhyllia]

Fantastic! Now I feel less crazy for jumping on the biopellet bandwagon a when they first came out in the US
Like phippsj I was more interested in the bacterial plankton than SPS though ;)

[Squiers007]

Truly amazing! I love it!

[justahobby]

Fantastic! Now I feel less crazy for jumping on the biopellet bandwagon a when they first came out in the US
Like phippsj I was more interested in the bacterial plankton than SPS though ;)

I think a lot more people will be joining your crusade after this thread... maybe even me.

[RayAllen]

Keeping it simple and minimalistic. My kind of guys. Ive never been a filtration equipment fanatic to begin with.

Though you look at those reefcentral tank of the month winners and the majority of the tanks are usually Europeans or people outside the US. Maybe we are just slow at getting on the boat with the rest of the Saltwater international community.

Our very own European American may have the right idea! Karin I look forward to seeing how your tank progresses with the biopellot approach.

[ErikH]

I am going to order some as well. He seems to really like them, and with that kind of tank it's hard to not want to mimic it. :D

[Europhyllia]

Erik there is a super long thread on the pellets on RC. Might be worth reading before you do it.
The link to that is somewhere in teh first couple of pages of this thread:
http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?57606-NP-Bio-Pellets-I-m-intrigued!&highlight=biopellets
NextReef by the way makes an awesome reactor specifically for the pellets...

[txg8gxp]

awesome tank. Humm... just might have to change my setup alittle:)

[RayAllen]

Me to! I already run a reactor. Why not ad some biopellots to the mix.

[Europhyllia]

The pellets work really well for some people. Other people have reported some 'interesting' side effects and strange stuff happening. Even in the ultra long thread on RC people are still trying to put the pieces together on what works, why it works, how it works and what happened when something didn't work.
I think we are still taking part in the test phase of something very promising but keep in mind it's still very new.
I sent some questions to the guy that invented them in the Netherlands and he's been helpful in answering them. Sometimes his answers don't really match what the vendors here are telling people.
Not trying to discourage anybody but wanted to make sure people knew that it's not like GFO where you just fill the reactor and that's it. There might be some differences in how your system reacts with it, etc.
For example in the 125g I used my own mod-ed version of a pellet reactor and still had tons of algae. Then Dave (super sweet guy at Nextreef) send me some mod parts for my Nextreef reactor (had been talking to him while they were still working on a pellet reactor and I was working on my own mod-ed reactor - I don't think they usually send out mod parts to end consumers) and suddenly I got the flow just right. Gentle tumble but not so much that it would strip the coating off the pellets, etc.
Tank burst, I lost my refugium (no room in my current sump since I wanted to keep all of the liverock). I figured I was heading for huge algae bloom etc. but wham -all algae gone. My little temp tank with the well circulating pellets looks better than my big tank ever did.
In my case getting the flow right seemed to make the difference between close to worthless and fabulous. I am convinced the pellets are worth it and just ordered the XL reactor. So I am not saying the pellets don't work but I wanted to caution people that there might be some tweaking involved in what flow/ amount of pellets/ etc. works best.

[jesserettele]

simply awesome!

I see many people using dosing instead of calcium reactors, is this more of an exact science when compared to a reactor that it was in the past?

[phippsj]

The pellets work really well for some people. Other people have reported some 'interesting' side effects and strange stuff happening. Even in the ultra long thread on RC people are still trying to put the pieces together on what works, why it works, how it works and what happened when something didn't work.
I think we are still taking part in the test phase of something very promising but keep in mind it's still very new.
I sent some questions to the guy that invented them in the Netherlands and he's been helpful in answering them. Sometimes his answers don't really match what the vendors here are telling people.
Not trying to discourage anybody but wanted to make sure people knew that it's not like GFO where you just fill the reactor and that's it. There might be some differences in how your system reacts with it, etc.
For example in the 125g I used my own mod-ed version of a pellet reactor and still had tons of algae. Then Dave (super sweet guy at Nextreef) send me some mod parts for my Nextreef reactor (had been talking to him while they were still working on a pellet reactor and I was working on my own mod-ed reactor - I don't think they usually send out mod parts to end consumers) and suddenly I got the flow just right. Gentle tumble but not so much that it would strip the coating off the pellets, etc.
Tank burst, I lost my refugium (no room in my current sump since I wanted to keep all of the liverock). I figured I was heading for huge algae bloom etc. but wham -all algae gone. My little temp tank with the well circulating pellets looks better than my big tank ever did.
In my case getting the flow right seemed to make the difference between close to worthless and fabulous. I am convinced the pellets are worth it and just ordered the XL reactor. So I am not saying the pellets don't work but I wanted to caution people that there might be some tweaking involved in what flow/ amount of pellets/ etc. works best.


From what I can tell there seems to be a magic point between flow/quantity and aeration. Flow seems to be the easiest way to start, and I am just waiting for my reactor to get here. My main concerns are getting the aeration correct...

[ErikH]

Phipps I think you are spot on. The other thing that I have read was that people have been adding too much too quickly, and it's better to just slowly add the pellets in. A soft fluidization of the pellets, just enough to keep them from clumping or creating channels through the pellets is recommended. I have been staring hard at the zeovit system for several years already, but with how much we vacation, it has never been that viable of an option. Seeing as how this guy was a former full blown zeo guy and he switched over has got me to thinking. Plus I like the laziness factor of just cramming stuff in a reactor. :)

Jesse, dosing 2 part is SIMPLE. It doesn't work off PH like reactors do, and it seems that people get significantly more growth using 2 part. The only thing you need to calculate is how much CA and Alk your system is using daily. Then get some peristaltic pumps (dosing pumps) and test them too see how long it takes to fill your dosing cup to your required needs. Next you set a timer, or a controller to turn on for that period of time, and off when it's done. Then just like with a reactor, you only need to test every so often to see if your demand has changed. The big thing is not having to worry about your reactor tanking everything.

Karin,
You have to remember that not everyone on RC is that bright. I have seen some people post some pretty dumb things just out of being new to the hobby. I only pay attention to the people on there with a whole lot of posts. The proof is in the pudding, and that guys tank is proof to me! :D

[Mr Cob]

Not sure how I missed this thread....awesome tank.

The colors really are insane. When your SPS get that large it makes it that much easier to be an SPS junky! It's easy to quickly grow tired of SPS when you have a tank full of frags.

[ErikH]

It's a pastel wonderland!