Bio Pearls

Bio Pearls are one of the most talked about products on the market at the minute(well apart from ULNS),
so like most people out there I wanted to know more.A bit of searching the interweb turned up a lot
of positive views on using them.So I though I would post a quick thread on my findings....to save you the google work


PRODUCT INFORMATION:
Our Marine Bio Pearls have been carefully and specifically designed to reduce Nitrates and Phosphates in a marine environment. Here at Bio Aquatek Ltd we have designed a formula tailored to the needs of hobbyists and commercial operations alike. Marine Bio Pearls contain no unwanted ingredients and are none polluting.
Marine Bio Pearls work by encouraging the growth of bacteria and enzymes on their surface, by providing essential nutrients required for growth. By multiplying, the bacteria and enzymes break down the Marine Bio Pearls whilst consuming both Nitrates and Phosphates from the water column. Once these unwanted nutrients have been reduced to trace levels, the bacteria can no longer feed on the Marine Bio Pearls, and a stable state is reached. If the levels of feeding or waste production increase in the tank, the Marine Bio Pearls will start to consume them again.
Whilst skimming remains an effective solution in marine aquaria, it has its weaknesses. Only approximately 30% of the unwanted nutrients in the water can be captured by a skimmer. The rest are not capable of sticking to the surface of the skimmer bubbles. Marine Bio Pearls help in two ways. Firstly, they consume these nutrients and convert them into slime coated bacteria, which can be skimmed, and secondly, the sticky surface of the bacteria capture minute particles of waste from the water column as they pass through the skimmer, thus removing them before they break down. You will see a marked improvement in water clarity and colour, as a result.
DIRECTIONS FOR USE:
Use 100 - 150ml of Marine Bio Pearls per 100 litres of tank volume (You may not need them all at once)
Marine Bio Pearls should be placed in a fluidising reactor, with sufficient flow to keep them simmering such that all of the pearls are moving. If they start to clump or slime up, they will be less effective and may turn anaerobic, producing hydrogen sulphide. Normally, a larger pump will be required than is normal for phosphate removing media, as the Pearls are much heavier. Tall and narrow reactors are the most effective with Pearls. Any sponges normally used in the reactor should be removed as they will clog quickly.
In cases where you have high nutrient levels to start with, the powerful action of the Marine Bio Pearls may overrun your skimmer and possibly bring down levels in the tank too quickly. In such cases, it is better to start with half or less of the Marine Bio Pearls until your nutrient levels reduce. At that point, the rest can be added. Please note that your skimmer may stop working for between 2 and 7 days (depending on the skimmer) while the Marine Bio Pearls “run in". This is similar to the running in period you experience with a new skimmer and is nothing to be concerned about. The skimmer will quickly catch up again once the Marine Bio Pearls start to do their work. It may take between 2 and 6 weeks for the Marine Bio Pearls to become fully functional and is partly dependent upon the level of nutrients in the system, the more nutrients, the faster the Marine Bio Pearls will start to work.
In order for the process to be effective, it is necessary to operate an efficient skimmer, capable of capturing the bacterial waste produced by the Pearls. It is essential that the Pearl’s reactor waste is positioned close to the skimmer inlet in order to capture the maximum amount of waste produced. Any small amounts of bypass will get consumed by a wide range of corals.
Your Marine Bio Pearls will be effective until they completely disappear, which will normally take in excess of 12 months. However they should be lightly topped up every 3 months, back to their original quantity, to maintain maximum effectiveness.


so thats what the company say...what about the people??

Pearls well and truly fluidizing now with the new lid from Pete. Skimmer is producing a full cup in 24-36 hrs and I have had to raise it right up on the MCE600. Po4 was 0.03 as of Sunday.

Will check again at weekend. Nitrate was always sat around 25-35 so it will be good to test after the pearls have been in 3 weeks. .....................................
Well I'm shocked!! I get it around 10ppm. Never been that low even with the nitrate reactor!

Ive been running them a few months now as I was lucky enough to get some pre launch, They take a few weeks to bed in especially if your starting with lowish nitrates and I currently have nitrates around the 1-2 mark although thats probably due to a sea hare rotting somewhere in the system :-( as they are normally 0-trace, Initially I ran them without using Phos remover and my phosphates were steady at 0.015 but as my system is SPS dominated I panicked and put another reactor running rowa back on line to bring the level to 0.
I am tempted now they have been running a while to take the rowa offline again to see how it goes so may do so this week.
My outlet from the pearl reactor goes as close to the intake on my tunze 9410 skimmer as to take as much of the bacteria as possible.

I honestly believe you need to fluidise the bio pearls enough to avoid a mulm as it kind of defeats the object of skimming out the bacteria, Please bear in mind I havent tried np biopellets but it may be different with np biopellets but faster definately works better with pearls.

In conclusion and this is just my opinion on my system, I have clearer water,Less detrius in the substrate and on the rocks?,Lower nitrates and phosphates,Better polyp extension and just happier looking corals if that makes any sense whatsoever lol. Are these the holy grail of reefing......You decide :-)

Still continuing to use Pearls having exllent results

Corals look great and NO2/NO3 = 0

Loads of dark skimmate coming out which stinks, so so far impressed!!

I have been using bio pellets for about a month now...

You need a decent pump to get them fluidising. Not seen the fantastic results people claim elsewhere if I am being honest.

Make sure you do a gradual transition from nitrate reactor to pearly to allow bacterial levels to build up/colonise the pearls and start with a small amount of pearls and build up slowly to recommended amount.

the Hair algea started to break away from the rocks after about two weeks,my nitrate levels were at about 5 so no change really phos still zero bearing in mind I was growing Haire Algea like it was going out of fashion and my cheato was growing faster than I could harvest it,

My skimmer went nuts at one point it filled the most of my sump with really thick dry foam had to scoop this out by hand, now calmed down a bit although still skimming like crazy
before




after



All things considered since march when I had the wipe out plus all the set backs I have suffered since in one way or another I am very happy as Iv'e said I have tried everything
and the only thing that has actually started to work is the Bio Pellets, I am not expecting a miracle although it is Christmas you never know....!,

so thats just a quick rundown of what people think.
I for one will be using them but I have a new upgrade
so there is no reason to run them just yet.
but the main point I see time and time again about them
is without good flow they wont work.

Just received my 2000ml Of Bio pearls (£150 worth) so Ill tell you's what there like in 6-8 weeks

bio pearls running now