i know u can answer this ! ;)

[fasturtle30]

Recently i removed the bio-balls completely (i was doing it gradually like every 15 days) from my wet/dry system i heard about the nitrates problem they cause (however i dont have nitrates problem over my tank wich is almost 3 months old) so i decided i wanna put live rock in the space where the bio-balls where !
ANYWAYS MY QUESTION IS do i have to have the water level covered my rock completely? over this system we have the minimun water level to keep the return pump running water to the tank wich is the bottom of the box where my bio-balls are look at this pic of my wet/dry :

http://www.petpromenade.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=36670000-1083629054

Since i plan to put rock instead of these balls is enough water running trough those holes coming down to the suppouse balls enough to keep my system running or i have to raise the water level until it covers the top of my rock i plan to put there? or maybe im attemping to put rock in the wrong place maybe lol ? im a new and still have qs about this matters !

thanks !

 

[Henry Bowman]

I have seen a similar question posted before (more than once). Unfortunately I dont have an answer to your specific question. I KNOW that if you keep some rock submerged in the bottom of the area where the balls were, it would do some good. I DONT know if just running water over rock will do the same.

Another thing to consider. Some of the beneficial bacteria in LR is deep inside so that it is anerobic (No oxygen) these bacteria are very helpful in lowering nitrates in the tank. I think if you didnt submerge the rock but kept running saltwater from the tank over the rocks, you would create a very oxygen rich environment in and on the rock. Therefore, theoreticaly, in my opinon...... you may lose the nitrifying (sp) bacteria in the rock however, you would still have some bacteria on the surface of the rock doing some work for you....if that all makes sense.

In the end, I'd put some rubble in the bottom of the sump and call it a day....

my .02 cents !

 

[fasturtle30]

thanks for sharing this information with me Henry i still think SOMEONE CAN HELP US here with more opinions, past experiences SO do you guys out there have anything important to say???: comments HERE !!
thanks

 

[silverwolf72]

if you still pouring water over them like with the bio balls then your not accomplishing anything by doing it, you just make a rock bio ball. The filering from LR needs to be in a semi low lvl of oxygen. JMO

 

[drummereef]

Yes, the rock must be fully submerged for the nitrification process to be the most efficient.

 

[aznlmpulse]

I agree....and if your bio-balls are submerged, you're basically achieving the same thing.

 

[fasturtle30]

well actually the bio balls were never submerged all the way, this wet/dry have a minimum level water wich lets you run the water pump ok, the rule is u have to have water anything above that level so the system runs ok, this is exactly the bottom level where the bio-balls are located i mean 1", 2" from the bottom basically the bio-balls get the rain efect that keep them watered on the sump so i guess from my local forum they told me is fine with that rain effect to keep everything ok, thanks drummereef, i guess what u said is correct also 100% efficient is have it fully sumergeed , i was wondering only in the other case what problems i would have to deal with !
thanks fot your comments if anybody has anything to say im here thanks