Bio Balls Bad????

S

sunshinegrl

New member
I am setting up 12G Nanocube. With reading i am finding that a lot of people remove the bioballs/sponge and leave just the activated carbon and ceramic stuff or replace completely w/ LR pieces or go bare w/ just LR in the main showcase. Also is the change of media due to the expense to maintain or is there a holdup of bacteria that can be harmful in the long-run? Please lead me in the right direction regarding this matter.
 
I have a 14 gal Biocube and I removed the balls and put in live rock rubble. The bioballs are a nitrate factory.
 
I have a 29BC and completely removed all the bio balls and replaced with live rock and live rock rubble...same as Beanfish. I had problems keeping my nitrates down with the bioballs. I've noticed a big difference since removing them.

I would probably suggest removing the ceramic rings as well as I've read they are also a nitrate factory. You just need to make sure whatever you put in there...live rock or live rock rubble, that it's submerged. When I was doing mine, a few people on here stated that if it's not submerged, it will still cause nitrate buildup.
 
bio balls break down amonia and they do it very well. So well infact that they take the job away from the live rock. Where bio balls fall short is that they do not break down nitrates/nitrites well. A better system, in most people opinions, is to have enough live rock, at least 1lb per gallon and a fuge for nutrient export.

If you have already started the tank with bio-balls do not remove them all immediately. remove them in small quantities over a period of about 6 weeks or more. This will give the live rock time to adjust to the changes.
 
I think most of the comments in this thread are right on the money, but If I've done my homework correctly here is my take on bio-balls vs live rock.

There are several different types of bacteria present in your system to convert dissolved organic matter to ammonia to nitrite then on to nitrate and eventually all the way to nitrogen gas which degases from your system into the atmosphere.

With that in mind bio-balls provide a decent surface area for bacteria to colonize, however they can only support bacteria that thrive in an oxygen rich environment or so call Aerobic bacteria. There is a second set of bacteria referred to as Anaerobic bacteria that thrives in oxygen depleted areas. It's this second bacteria that transforms Nitrate to Nitrogen gas, and as such out of your system.

Now live rock is pretty porous stuff and provides lots of area for both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. This means that live rock alone will more completely remove waste from your system.

Last thing to add is bio-balls can be effectively used in a system but would have to be used in conjunction with a nitrate absorbing material, marine plants, and perhaps a phosphate absorbing material. Plants are often grown in a refugium to absorb both nitrate and phosphates and if you have room in your system should consider adding one.

The general consensus here on the forums is that a live rock filter medium provides the best all around filter, and I would tend to agree with that statement. Also pay attention to the advice about not removing all the bio-balls at once, risin is most correct in his/her statement.
 
I agree completely with lfjewett and risin. I was told the same by plenty of people when I was removing my bio balls. I basically removed a handfull a day, which equalled 3-4 balls per day.
 
Great

Great

Since I will be seting up the saltwater this evening, it is not too late. I plan to have about 12lbs of LR and use live sand. Should I leave in the cermaic stuff or activated carbon and put LR rubble on top?
 
leave it in what? Sorry I'm not following you.

Basically all you need is live rock, live sand (or dead sand, will become live from the rock), a skimmer.... and that's it. No other filtration necessary.
 
I would use only the carbon, personally. I'm not convinced that the ceramic is much different from the bio-balls.
 
Re: Great

Re: Great

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11669543#post11669543 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sunshinegrl
Since I will be seting up the saltwater this evening, it is not too late. I plan to have about 12lbs of LR and use live sand. Should I leave in the cermaic stuff or activated carbon and put LR rubble on top?
Click to expand...

You can also remove the ceramic things. As for the carbon, I'm assuming that's a filter pad, right?

I left mine in, and rinse it daily. With a skimmer, you won't need it, but mentally, I like having the carbon in there! LOL!:rollface:
 
Toss the sponges, bioballs, and ceramic. The carbon probably is not needed, I've seen some posts online both for an against it. I would look into a modification to turn the back 2 chambers into a small refugium, also that becomes a good spot to put a heater should you need one.
 
In regards to bio-balls, I have seen the "nitrate factory" statement and the recommendation to remove them probably 1,000,000 times now.

I understand the benefits, but with the side effects leading everybody in the world to throw them out, why is any marine supply company making them?

I don't think that I have ever heard of anybody say: Yeah, use bioballs, they are really good and the best choice.

Does anybody actually have any valid experience, or do people just read that they are bad and word of mouth spreads, trashing the idea of bioballs, but they really are just uninformed with no experience?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11671685#post11671685 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by customdusty
In regards to bio-balls, I have seen the "nitrate factory" statement and the recommendation to remove them probably 1,000,000 times now.

I understand the benefits, but with the side effects leading everybody in the world to throw them out, why is any marine supply company making them?

I don't think that I have ever heard of anybody say: Yeah, use bioballs, they are really good and the best choice.

Does anybody actually have any valid experience, or do people just read that they are bad and word of mouth spreads, trashing the idea of bioballs, but they really are just uninformed with no experience?
Click to expand...
25 years ago everybody running a marine aquarium had (or wanted) a wet/dry filter.
Wet/drys still might be a good filtration choice for certain systems, but (IMO) there are much better filtration choices for most marine aquaria nowadays.
 
Comment and a question:

Re: Why are bioballs still made - I know of at least one public aquarium that uses them extensively. Combine that with a big protein skimmer, and you don't need LR - just do the water changes to manage the nitrate.

Question: So does the same argument apply to bio-wheels on HOB filters? They don't seem to gum up like bioballs, so are they less of a problem?

Thanks!

Kevin
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11671746#post11671746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KevChem
Comment and a question:

Re: Why are bioballs still made - I know of at least one public aquarium that uses them extensively. Combine that with a big protein skimmer, and you don't need LR - just do the water changes to manage the nitrate.

Question: So does the same argument apply to bio-wheels on HOB filters? They don't seem to gum up like bioballs, so are they less of a problem?

Thanks!

Kevin
Click to expand...
you need to research wet/dry filtration. A bio wheel is basically a wet/dry filter. It uses aerobic (air loving) bacteria to quickly convert ammonia and nitrites to nitrates and does nothing to rid the tank of those nitrates. It has nothing to do with gum :D
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11671685#post11671685 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by customdusty
In regards to bio-balls, I have seen the "nitrate factory" statement and the recommendation to remove them probably 1,000,000 times now.

I understand the benefits, but with the side effects leading everybody in the world to throw them out, why is any marine supply company making them?

I don't think that I have ever heard of anybody say: Yeah, use bioballs, they are really good and the best choice.

Does anybody actually have any valid experience, or do people just read that they are bad and word of mouth spreads, trashing the idea of bioballs, but they really are just uninformed with no experience?
Click to expand...

OMG! YOU took the words right outta my mouth! Ihave thought the EXACT same thing in almost those exact same words! LOL!!!

Are we long lost twins????
 
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