Pax bellum biofilter vs GFO, opinions?

[scooter86]

Have always used GFO on my 180 and was considering using a Pax Bellum Chaeto filter instead. Would appreciate any thoughts based on your own experience.

[Vinny Kreyling]

Scooter86,
try contacting JBNY on his thread, I know he has one.

[scooter86]

Thanks, I will!

[pecan2phat]

I don't personally think that a Chaeto reactor will replace GFO per say.
It does a great job reducing nitrates and I'm sure your knowledgeable about the Redfield Ratio when it comes to N03 & P04.
I would compare it more with a Bio-Pellet reactor vs GFO.

[mcgyvr]

Do you have a big phosphate issue?

[scooter86]

Don't have a big phosphate issue, but tired of dealing with GFO.

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by scooter86

Don't have a big phosphate issue, but tired of dealing with GFO.

Then stop using it...work on addressing the overfeeding too which is usually one of the big reasons people have phosphate issues..

[scooter86]

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

Scooter86,
try contacting JBNY on his thread, I know he has one.

Looks like JBNY is no longer a member

[pecan2phat]

I think he started his own forum by invitation only.

[paal]

I guess the biggest difference is that you will remove both N and P with the Reactor. Not really sure what you want to know but here is some info from my system:

I'm running a PaxBellum Arrid N24 in a 100g. Works great / Would buy again

I have non-detectable phos using Salifert. (havent measured P in months though tbh)
Nitrates at roughly 5.

I feed the below fish 2-4 mysis cubes each day. The wife feeds them flake food now and then (tbh: not really sure how much :P )
All the fish are fat and look healthy.

4 chromis
2 percula clowns
2 flame hawkfish
2 pseudochromis
1 coris wrasse
1 fairy wrasse
1 purple tang

I know many people dose nitrates when using algae reactors since they will typically empty the tank faster of N than P. I have not done so myself and don't see any need. (My reactor came with a bottle of Nitrates for this reason)

Random Arrid-related pictures that i had laying around: (cause every thread should have some pics :P )

Successful harvest #1:



Successful harvest #2:












Slightly outdated tank pic:

[tdhnry]

Originally Posted by paal

I guess the biggest difference is that you will remove both N and P with the Reactor. Not really sure what you want to know but here is some info from my system:

I'm running a PaxBellum Arrid N24 in a 100g. Works great / Would buy again

I have non-detectable phos using Salifert. (havent measured P in months though tbh)
Nitrates at roughly 5.

I feed the below fish 2-4 mysis cubes each day. The wife feeds them flake food now and then (tbh: not really sure how much )
All the fish are fat and look healthy.

4 chromis
2 percula clowns
2 flame hawkfish
2 pseudochromis
1 coris wrasse
1 fairy wrasse
1 purple tang

I know many people dose nitrates when using algae reactors since they will typically empty the tank faster of N than P. I have not done so myself and don't see any need. (My reactor came with a bottle of Nitrates for this reason)

Random Arrid-related pictures that i had laying around: (cause every thread should have some pics )

Successful harvest #1:



Successful harvest #2:












Slightly outdated tank pic:

Your tank looks great! Not trying to hijack this conversation but do you have a thread for your set up?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[scooter86]

Thanks for the info paal. Really looking for opinions ,like yours ,of people who have used the Pax bellum alone, or have used GFO in the past as well as the pax bellum.How easy is cleaning and how often?

[paal]

Originally Posted by tdhnry

Your tank looks great! Not trying to hijack this conversation but do you have a thread for your set up?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Thanks, tdhnry.
I wish I had made a thread in the beginning. It would have been a great way of organizing photos and look back at the tanks' progression. I thought about it when I started it, but never took that final step. I regret that now! :|

Originally Posted by scooter86

Thanks for the info paal. Really looking for opinions ,like yours ,of people who have used the Pax bellum alone, or have used GFO in the past as well as the pax bellum.How easy is cleaning and how often?

In my opinion, both cleaning interval and time needed during each cleaning will depend on quite a few things.

If you have the required nutrients in your water and run the reactor to it's maximum capacity, you can go from two tiny, tiny handfuls (The N24 is split into 2 chambers) to my above pictures in 12 days. That was the time it took me in those exact photos (I only know cause I wrote so in a post back then )
Ideally, I could have generated a LOT more algae by starting each round with more and simply harvesting more often, since starting out with close to nothing obviously makes for a slow start regardless of the algaes' conditions.
Back then, I ran the reactor lights on for over 12 hours every day and ran quite a lot of water through the unit.

Since then, my nitrates have dropped even though the bioload has increased. Today I run the unit for 7-8 hours, and have a non-ideal amount of water going through it. (In order to simplify everything in the sump as much as possible, the Arrid is connected to my UV-unit's output. Ideally, I think I should have had maybe 3 times the flow through the Arrid)

With those settings + my current bioload, I keep nitrates at 1-5. I clean the reactor roughly twice per month. At that time it is close to full, but not as packed as in the above picture. Also, in the center there is always some slimy goo and overall nutrient build-up which I ASSUME is caused by the low flow-rate.

My tank is in my livingroom and I have a standard sump-in-cabinet-under-tank-layout. In order to avoid any small spills, I always just disconnect the entire unit and move it to the bathroom. I throw out ALL the algae, and then rinse the goo off the unit in the sink (roughly every 3rd time i clean it quickly with a brush). I then take two small chunks of the freshest looking algae back in the unit and reconnect it to my system. Overall... lets say 10 minutes.
If it wasnt for the "goo" and if my reactor's placement made it possible to just open the unit where it stood... pfffffth, 3 minutes?

Also worth noting: I ran the tank without a single water change for over 6 months. No problems in regards to N/P, but my SPS were staring to grow slower and slower, so I am now back to 10% every 14 days. (Growth was rpobably caused by good stuff missing; not an accumulation of the bad stuff )

I'm rambling now, but hopefully some of that was useful, or could trigger some followup-questions

[scooter86]

VERY useful, thanks!