BioBalls

[tony727]

Hey guys, I first noticed my xenia wasn't opening up much yesterday, and it got worst today. My clown was acting fishy.. So I checked ammonia and its like 2 ppm or maybe even more! (old test kit) I didn't notice because all the fish are behaving normally.

Is it because I'm slowly removing my bioballs?
I'm taking out around a handful every time I swap out my filters which is every 2-4 days.

I have plenty of live rock, enough to take up more than half the tank, should I replace the balls with rocks instead? My system is 90 gallon with around 10-20 gallon wet/dry sump.

I've already added some seachem prime to bind the ammonia while my salt is still mixing..

 

[Richocet83]

How long has the system been running?

 

[tony727]

Technically over 10 years, but it was re did for about 3-4 months now.

 

[forextrader]

There is a definite relation between the removal of bioballs and the increased ammonia. The bioballs act like the live rock and sand in the fact that they hold a great deal of beneficial bacteria. Try removing the bioballs at a slower rate. Will you be adding more sand? Rubble rock in the sump? More rock in the tank?

 

[Webmanny]

I agree with this being related to the ammonia spike due to removing the bio-balls. However, don't feel too bad for the Xenia, they are close to impossible to kill. Just keep measuring the water parameters to make sure ammonia comes back down and then take another batch of bio balls.

Also, you will need to add something to handle the biological filtration that the bio-balls were handling. Adding more rocks might be the best option. Another thing I did while I was removing Bio-Balls was to add API Stress Zyme Aquarium Water Conditioner. This helps boost the bacteria in the aquarium so that it forms in other areas to pick up the slack of the remaining bio-balls.


Good luck.

 

[tony727]

Thanks guys, I guess I'll get some more rocks for the sump in place of the balls.

I think the reading was just incorrect, because everything seems fine now. Someone must have sprayed something around the tank while I wasn't home.