since you had switch off the biopellet reactor for awhile, you will need to check if the media has clumped together. bacteria could have died off when you stopped momentarily. switching on in this case might introduce unwanted chemical into your system. This was one of my consideration previously when i wanted to switch over a new skimmer. in the end, i just discard the pellets, then add new ones after i gotten my new skimmer.
Hope this helps.
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