bio balls

not bad but liverock would be better. they can collect a real good amount of crap and if disturbed they can realease a lot of toxins. i would take it all out and put LR rubble, mud, and macro algae
 
For a FO tank, they quickly convert ammonia to nitrates. For a reef tank LR will work better because they have low oxygen zones where nitrate will be converted to nitrogen gas. So most folks avoid them as they can increase nitrates. If it is FO it is not as big of a deal.
 
BioBalls were ment to take the place of live rock. There design has a lot of surface area to act as live rock.

IMO......there are NO BioBalls in the ocean, but there IS live rock. I like to keep all of my tanks as natural as possable.

So my opinion on BioBalls is
:hammer::hammer::hammer::hammer::hammer::hammer:
bioballs bioballs bioballs
 
silly arguement; there are no lights, power heads or skimmers inthe ocean either

some bio-balls are good for the last return champber of a sump, to prevent algae from the refugium from entering the return pump or the the display

since they do convert ammonia to nitrate so efficiently, Bio-balls are a good match for deep sand beds
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15298623#post15298623 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acolin
silly arguement; there are no lights, power heads or skimmers inthe ocean either

some bio-balls are good for the last return champber of a sump, to prevent algae from the refugium from entering the return pump or the the display

since they do convert ammonia to nitrate so efficiently, Bio-balls are a good match for deep sand beds
Click to expand...

I have to disagree with you.
Bioballs can only allow aerobic and the nitrifying strain of anerobic bacteria to exist.
Which means as you stated above they can reduce ammonia to nitrates.
But that is where the nitrogen cycle ends and explains why bioballs can't finish the job like live rock and a deep sand bed.

The second strain of anerobic bacteria which are responsible for reducing nitrates to nitrogen gas which leaves the system can only live in an anoxic area of the tank(devoid of oxygen)

This area occurs deep in the live rock and in the lower llevels of a "well setup and maintained" deep sand bed.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15298733#post15298733 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acolin
good points, but I think you help make my case; Bio-balls are good to use with a DSB
Click to expand...

WHy convert ammonia to nitrate in another area (far from denitrifyers) when the DSB will convert ammonia all the way to nitrogen gas in one place? If you have a DSB I don't think bioballs are adding anything to your system and possibly hurting it.
 
in a closed system, I don't think the distance between filter locations has ever seriously been considered a factor

so your point is why use one really good ammonia filter when another really good nitrate filter exists?

forget both, use an algae refugium
 
I used to work in a pet store that used bio balls in all of their wet/drys. I could NEVER get the Nitrates down unless I did huge water changes and even then it seemed hard to keep Nitrates in check. I took them out of my wet/dry(replaced with live rock) at home and have never detected any Nitrate in 3 years.

Take that as you wish...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15299249#post15299249 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acolin
in a closed system, I don't think the distance between filter locations has ever seriously been considered a factor

so your point is why use one really good ammonia filter when another really good nitrate filter exists?

forget both, use an algae refugium
Click to expand...

I think you are missing a big point here---in a fowlr tank nitrates are not as great an issue as in a mixed reef. Fish can survive on fairly high levels of nitrate. However in a mixed reef tank---small inverts and corals are affected by nitrates.

Therefore having a filter that has the posssiblity to release nitrates back into the system such as bioballs is a really big issue for reefers.

I personally would not rely on a dsb --rather a refugium full of macro algae like cheato removes both nitrates and phosphates--and more reliably then a dsb.
Harvest the cheato weekly and you are removing the nitrates from your system for good;)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15299464#post15299464 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acolin
true enough, in fact I recommend the same, bio-balls for fish heavy systems, coral keepers can use DSB
Click to expand...

enjoyed discussing this with you Acolin:thumbsup:

Acolin--as a side from the post---I have someone interested in setting up a fowlr tank----can that be filtered using a big cannister filter until the point the want to switch over to reef(like a year or two) or should they start with a protein skimmer.
I have convinced them to get the tank drillled for future plans.
 
canister with lots of carbon and changed frequently? I would go for the venturi skimmer with no expensive media to chnage all the time, and lots of water changes either way
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15300148#post15300148 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acolin
canister with lots of carbon and changed frequently? I would go for the venturi skimmer with no expensive media to chnage all the time, and lots of water changes either way
Click to expand...

thanks---that's kinda what I thought;)
 
As others have stated, I wouldn't use them. I would just use LR and a good skimmer. The reason being that they don't "finish" the nitrogen cycle and kind of leave it hanging after the NO3 has been "produced".
 
ok so this has been interesting to read. ive ocntinually had problems with getting everything in my tank perfect. lots of algae all the time.
gonna try removing the bioballs. can they be removed all at once? or a handful each water change?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15306781#post15306781 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boogers
ok so this has been interesting to read. ive ocntinually had problems with getting everything in my tank perfect. lots of algae all the time.
gonna try removing the bioballs. can they be removed all at once? or a handful each water change?
Click to expand...

Generally folks remove them 1/3 or 1/4 at a time. It sort of depends how much bio-filter and bio-load you have but it's generally better to be safe than sorry.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15299434#post15299434 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
I think you are missing a big point here---in a fowlr tank nitrates are not as great an issue as in a mixed reef. Fish can survive on fairly high levels of nitrate. However in a mixed reef tank---small inverts and corals are affected by nitrates.

Therefore having a filter that has the posssiblity to release nitrates back into the system such as bioballs is a really big issue for reefers.

I personally would not rely on a dsb --rather a refugium full of macro algae like cheato removes both nitrates and phosphates--and more reliably then a dsb.
Harvest the cheato weekly and you are removing the nitrates from your system for good;)
Click to expand...

This explains why bioballs are not recommended for a reef situation but can work in a FOWLR.
+1
 
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