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More good news on the NP-reducing BioPellets we brought you earlier. Reef Builders’ sponsor Aquarium Specialty is bringing the BioPellets to North America in mid-November and they are taking pre-orders today. Aquarium Specialty expects the shipment to arrive the second week of the month and will offer the product in 500 ml and 1000 ml quantities which will run $52.95 and $99.95 respectively. The Reef Builders staff is expecting a batch of this exciting new bacterial filtration substrate in the coming weeks for evaluation on a variety of applications. We’ll be sure to report back with updates and our first impressions with the product in person.
This is what Aquarium Specialty is saying on the site:
We at Aquarium Specialty are expecting our first shipment of these exciting new pellets the second week of November 2009. We are accepting preorders now and will ship the pellets as soon as they arrive! [...] This product has been developed for (professional) aquarists who want to supply their aquarium inhabitants with large quantities of feeds without negatively affecting water quality. The husbandry of marine species which require large amounts of nutrition has made a crucial step forward with this new product. Examples of such species are Anthias fish, soft corals such as Dendronephthya sp. and filter feeders such as sea squirts.
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Very cool. I’d be down to give these a whirl as well.
The hype … without any demonstration or evidence … begins. Pity. Don’t get me wrong. I have high hopes for this directional tack in carbon dosing strategies, and plan on toying around with it myself. But let’s be clear … the product explanation presented in the NP Biopellet website is weak at best … bordering on laughable. If this product is so extensively “tested” and applied in industry, why no published data? I mean … geez … at least the ZEOvit hype came with seriously cool pictures and semi-addictive interpersonal cyber-savagery.
The ability to present a labile carbon source capable of driving enriched denitrification without impacting a system’s water column would indeed be a quantum leap forward in the carbon dosing of marine aquaria, but folks might wish to read carefully what NP Biopellets is saying in their literature. If this product is going to be able to demonstrate ZEOvit or UltraLith grade denitrification, why is it that a GFO is necessary?
Until we see some meaningful data, or “sps reef appropriate” replicable application, all we’re looking at so far is the next level of fluidized bed filter media (a significant achievement in and of itself, to be sure) … and the beginnings of the same type of mindless marketing hype that so plagues the marine ornamental industry.
JMO
Aw come on Gary, Relax. Let some of us be excited about this new concept, even if this stuff is no better than “tapioca beads”, it’s a neat idea. I think we were stand offish when we first posted about it and until the product is tested by several of us who can at least share our experiences in this uncharted territory, the biopellets are definitely in buyer beware territory.
Hehe … sometimes I think I’m a little too relaxed about this stuff. As you well know from our conversations, there’s no one more interested than I am with regards to potential applications in NPS systems. And even if it doesn’t work out for reef or NPS applications, if it does what it claims it’s a clear leap forward in the realm of fluidized bed media. Every LFS running an RK2 (or parallel manufacturer) fluidized bed plus skimmer configuration on their fish system is going to want to take a hard look at this stuff … if it does what it claims. I’m just trying to get a little ahead of the hype machine. We’ve both seen this movie before …
… haven’t we?
@ Gary White:
Bravo! As a VERY science-based healthcare professional this hobby some times pains me with the dearth of critical thinking and healthy skepticism that runs rampant. While the concept is certainly appealing in theory some of the claims of efficacy tempered with the need for supplemental filtration are strikingly similar to diet product advertising that, *strangely*, suggest the need for products to be used in conjunction with exercise . . . Thanks for this!
Gary,
Honestly, you are comparing hype between ZEOvit and BioPellets? You are comparing science between ZEOvit and organic carbon pathways in marine environments?
There is exactly one thread at RC where a couple of people are reporting their initial impressions. The manufacturer has not marketed this product in anyway and clearly are not interested in the similar BS machine that KZ has managed to create.
Maybe a little bit of objectivity wouldn’t hurt?
One can be objective and skeptical at the same time–perhaps that is the best kind of scientist to be
That said, Tatu is right, the pellets don’t yet have the rabid following that Zeo does. Yet. Let’s see what happens when we get the stuff and see what it does.
Something similar got launched for the Koi pond industry about 8 years ago, huge hype, the end of all nasties we all hoped, not so!.
After about 3 months you were left with at best a nitrate factory at worst a crashed filtration system.
I love advancements in the industry and I really hope this lives up to its hype, watching closely
Jake, Where did Claude go?
Greetings All !
Tatu … please don’t take the point by point response that follows as a defensive reaction on my part. It is not intended as such. I appreciate your usual clarity of thought greatly. Reading your perspectives, mastery-level experiences, and insights is always a pleasure, so please know that this is the context within which my response in grounded.
“… you are comparing hype between ZEOvit and BioPellets? …”
Absolutely. Your perspective about the differences in intensity, scale, and intention are well taken. I would suggest that the underlying dynamics are fundamentally the same by virtue of one definitive commonality: Neither company presents replicable, independently verifiable hard data in support of assertions regarding their product’s behavior in marine aquaria.
“… There is exactly one thread at RC where a couple of people are reporting their initial impressions. …”
Factually incorrect … but that’s not my point. When did RC become the standard by which the level & degree of reefkeeping discussion is measured? My perspective arises from a view of the searchable English language component of the web. While your point regarding scale is well taken, I would point out that the discussion of the NP BioPellets has already begun to metastasize throughout the web in a pattern quite similar to those exhibited by ZEOvit, UltraLith, and NeoZeo during their initial release. The similarities ought be recognized as straightforward. For example …
NP Biopellets?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15906152
NP reducing BioPellets
http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2945089
Vodka dosing, without dosing
http://www.wichitaaquariumclub.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=30986
Aquarium Specialty distributorship announcement
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1731655
[Google hits for keyword 'np biopellets' 10.30.09]
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7FUJA&q=np+biopellets&start=0&sa=N
I would also point out that this very discussion that we’re having now contains an aspect that amounts to de facto promotional advertising. This is a dimension that Korallen Zucht exploited brilliantly. Big things have small beginnings, and I give credit to the folks manufacturing & distributing this new product for knowing what they’re doing.
“… The manufacturer has not marketed this product in anyway …”
You raise an interesting distinction between manufacturer vs. distributor behavior. I view the behavior of manufacturers and their distribution networks as being intimately interlinked. I view manufacturers as being responsible for the marketing behavior of their distribution network, but I readily concede that mine is not the only legitimate perspective in this area.
“… and clearly are not interested in the similar BS machine that KZ has managed to create.”
With due respect, this remains to be seen. I hope you’re correct, and admit that my involvement in areas of the marine ornamental industry that are typically invisible to the “average” reefkeepers may have made me more jaded & cynical than is appropriate for this discussion. And yet I would suggest that such involvement also provides me with the insight to connect some dots which might otherwise pass unnoticed.
“… Maybe a little bit of objectivity wouldn’t hurt?”
Fair enough. Certainly my former role as a ZEOvit forum moderator, and my brief employment with zeovitusa, raises legitimate questions and concerns regarding my objectivity. In my own defense, I would point out that I’m the only once upon a time “zeo-insider” from the ZEOvit community who has consistently and repeatedly questioned and criticized Korallen Zucht’s marketing claims, and the techniques and underlying psychology of Korallen Zucht’s promotional strategies & tactics. I would also point out that I’m the only person to ever post hundreds of peer-reviewed research articles exploring the actual science underlying the various carbon dosing proprietary product lines. My efforts & objectivity demonstrated in what is now the ZEOvit Coral Science Research & Applications archive speaks for itself … at least that’s how I like to delude myself.
It is my sincere hope that the manufacturer & distribution network of NP BioPellets will seize upon the opportunity to create something superior to the promotional models employed throughout the various market sectors of the marine ornamental industry. I look forward to seeing how the promotional materials and product documentation evolve over time.
I just bought some. RB’s should look into affiliate marketing so that you guys can get paid commission for the sales that you guys drive. LiveAquaria has an affiliate program if you are not already aware. Just imagine how many sales result from your blog on a daily basis. I make a living doing affiliate marketing and have been for 4 years now.
Anyway, I saw these biopellets on ReefCentral. I’m glad they are now available in the US. I can’t wait to try these out. I’m going to place them in my ZEO reactor so that I can bump it regularly.
Sad to see so many people “knock it before you try it” but that is pretty typical these days.
Still waiting for mine so I can do some testing…