Bio Balls Look Really Nasty and Clogged Up - Should I Clean Them?

ReefGirlSara

ReefGirlSara

Member
I've been having a hard time for the past month or 6 weeks keeping the nitrate level down in my 54 gallon reef tank. I've been doing at least 2 fairly large water changes a week (between 7-13 gallons each time). My nitrate level currently is about 10-15ppm. I did a large 13 gallon water change yesterday, when the nitrates were at about 20-25ppm.

I was thinking that maybe it has to do with the blue bio balls in the wet dry. I have heard that these can eventually create nitrates. The set-up is almost 5 years old or so, but I've only had it since March 2006. The bio balls look pretty nasty, and I took a couple out and they are very clogged up with crap. They don't really smell bad, at least as far as I can tell.

Should I clean them? If so, how, and how many at a time, etc.?

Thanks!!
 
Re: Bio Balls Look Really Nasty and Clogged Up - Should I Clean Them?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10869853#post10869853 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefGirlSara
I've been having a hard time for the past month or 6 weeks keeping the nitrate level down in my 54 gallon reef tank. I've been doing at least 2 fairly large water changes a week (between 7-13 gallons each time). My nitrate level currently is about 10-15ppm. I did a large 13 gallon water change yesterday, when the nitrates were at about 20-25ppm.

I was thinking that maybe it has to do with the blue bio balls in the wet dry. I have heard that these can eventually create nitrates. The set-up is almost 5 years old or so, but I've only had it since March 2006. The bio balls look pretty nasty, and I took a couple out and they are very clogged up with crap. They don't really smell bad, at least as far as I can tell.

Should I clean them? If so, how, and how many at a time, etc.?

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
bioballs were designed to process ammonia and nitrites to nitrates, but your filtration efficiency can benefit from keeping the biomedia clean. Get a prefilter sponge on your drains so detritus doesn't get flushed into the bioballs and wash the big chunks of junk off your bioballs.
Even after they're clean expect to find nitrates in your system. That means the bioballs are doing their job ;)
 
I do keep a sponge at the top of the filter, but I guess over time this stuff gets down there anyway. How should I clean them up, just swish them around in some fresh water? Should I scrub them?

Gary- what do you mean get rid of them? Don't I have to have them? I geuss I'm a little confused on what my other options are...and how exactly to go about changing it, without spending several hundreds of dollars...

Thanks!
 
that thread was great and cleared up alot for me, thank you!!

In the last few days I've been getting an outbreak of what I would call carpet algea, I don't know if that's really what it is. It's greenish brown and grows along the surface of the sand, in places where it is thicker you can pull up a little chunk of it, kind of like sod. What should I do to get rid of it? Should I just leave it alone and when I get the nitrates back to zero will it go away? It is really looking ugly.

Thanks!!
 
When removing the Bio-Balls, most recommend removing 25% at a time over a period of two or three weeks.
 
It most likely is Dinoflagellates. Give a little look-see here on reef central. Getting rid of the bioballs will help this problem by allowing you to help bring all your nutrients down to zero.
 
Bioballs can not add more nitrates if kept clean, they just don't convert them. Many commercial systems swear by bio balls.

As far as cleaning, when I kept them I housed them in a mesh bag, for removal I just removed the bag. In order to preserve the bacteria they contain you should clean in salt water. I used tank water every week with my weekly water changes.

JMO

I'm not that big of a fan, I don't use them on my systems now. Between the rock, sand, macro etc, I don't need help processing ammonia. There's enough in my system to hang.
 
Just rinse them in the bucket during a WC--use a toothbrush or similar. 25ppm NO3 is not bad and is good for some corals and clams.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10871230#post10871230 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefGirlSara
that thread was great and cleared up alot for me, thank you!!

In the last few days I've been getting an outbreak of what I would call carpet algea, I don't know if that's really what it is. It's greenish brown and grows along the surface of the sand, in places where it is thicker you can pull up a little chunk of it, kind of like sod. What should I do to get rid of it? Should I just leave it alone and when I get the nitrates back to zero will it go away? It is really looking ugly.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
slime algae = Cyanobacteria
Keeping water parameters @ recommended levels (especially specific gravity and alkalinity) and reducing and limiting nitrates and phosphates along with other dissolved organic compounds (DOC's) will "starve" cyanobacteria out.
Stop adding any "liquid additives" such as Iodine etc.
Don't overfeed the aquarium.
You need to clean it up and the cyano will disappear. A good skimmer operating properly and the use of RO water will go a long way to remedy the situation.
One of the best things you can do immediately today is siphon the cyano out of your aquarium- it'll take a lot of unwanted stuff out of your system along with it.

Look into installing a lit refugium to grow macroalgae.
 
Don't get freaked out about removing the bio-balls. I was the same way when I went to a sump/LR system. The bioballs just have a large surface area for bacteria to grow and process ammonia and nitrites. The previous post was right though, remove them slowly. The reason is because that's your bacteria factory and taking them out too quickly will result in too high a bioload of the tank. How much LR and sand do you have? As long as you have adequate amounts, the bacteria will flourish there instead of the bioballs. I think one of the main problems bioballs is the collection of detrious materials and nitrates within the system and then it gets flushed back into the tank. Hope this helps...
 
kidchill, thank you! I needed that. I'm kind of going back and forth on what to do. Ultimately I would like to take them out, but I'm worried that after 5 years of being set up like it is that would be too much change, even if I did it very slowly. So yes, I'm a little freaked out, but with all of your help maybe I can do it...

I don't currently have a deep sand bed though. My sand bed is about 2.5 inches or so, it is only 40 lbs of caribsea aragonite. However, I just changed out my sand about 7-8 weeks ago, snd I transfered the old more fine sand to a 55 gallon that I was planning on setting up as a FOWLR tank. I haven't gotten around to doing anything with that tank yet, so it's just sand and water with a powerhead, I can see that there are still little worms and creatures living in it, do you think I could add some of that back in there? Maybe a cup or two a day or something like that? How much will be enough- 4 inches?

As far as the live rock goes, I don't really know how many lbs I have because I bought it all used, and the guy couldn't remember. Just as a guess, I think it's around 60-70lbs.

Here's a pic before the algea started growing on the sand. The algea is not at all slimy, it feels kind of course like tiny carpet. I'll try to take a picture later when the lights come on.

newpictures091807332.jpg
 
Here is a pic of my 54 corner with a half-inch sand bed for esthetic reasons only, a skimmer and no Bio-Balls. Do the removal slowly, and your tank will do fine. IMHO, you are better off without them altogether. There is too much equipment in my tank, but that's how it is with no refugium or sump.

3378August_2007_018__Medium_.jpg
 
I think you'll be fine!!! You may, at some point want to add a little more rock, but I wouldn't stress it. Basically, like I said the Bio-balls are no more than surface area for bacteria to grow. You've got some awesome corraline algae growth and what seems to be a fairly low bioload. I would go ahead and start taking out the bioballs, but if you're stresing then just keep an eye on your levels (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates). Also, and this is just a thought 'cause I'm not really sure of the quality of product, but they have that nitro-max or whatever it's called, and it's really just colonies of nitrifying bacteria, you could try adding some of that. Hope this helps!! Also, when you take out the bioballs, try not to let all of the nasties fall in the tank!!!

PS Where's Archer, FL, it sounds familiar, I live just North of Tampa...but I'm in Tampa all the time for school!!!
 
Archer is just west of Gainesville. What should I do with the bio balls when I take them out? I want to start up a FOWLR, should I use them in a wet/dry to get that tank cycled in- or not?

I do want to add live rock to my tank, and my LFS has some very pretty live rock from the keys, it's orange and pink and has some very cool growth. Can I just put it directly into my tank? I'd be scared to do that...Should I do something to it first?

Thanks!!!
 
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