is any body using bio balls

[markandkristen]

was wanting to do a fo tank
and was thinking about using bioballs with no skimmer and live sand... is anybody still using this type of filter

 

[WinnipegDragon]

I'm sure people are. People are still using tap water in their reefs as well.

Bottom line, can it work? Sure. Is it ideal? Nope.

 

[EvMiBo]

if you do decide to use it make sure you clean them often... they are nitrate traps. why just setup a sump/fuge with the skimmer and a fuge section? it will probably save you a lot of trouble.

 

[k9gunner]

The guy I buy my corals from has 2 265's running with bioballs. They are the best tanks I have ever seen, and his water quality is amazing.

I think it all comes down to water quality, and what the bioballs do. His obvisouly cant be a nitrate bed, because his nitrates stay at 0. For me, I could not use them, my water does not stay as good. Bottom line, in an established tank I think they have their place. In a new tank, dont try them, they will clog up and just cause problems.

 

[saintperez]

Hey EvMiBo, I just finished filling in my 180 today. Got a trickle filter runnning and would like to learn more about the setup your suggesting. GOt any links I could read up on to learn what's involved?


THanks,
Santiago

 

[EvMiBo]

I would look at www.melevsreef.com for a lot of good stuff and also look through the "new to the hobby" and "reef discussion" forums on here, there's a lot of random talk about sump/fuges. Good luck

 

[tmz]

Bio balls are great at converting ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate. They do not have any anoxic (oxygen poor)areas in them like a deep sand bed (4 plus inches ) or live rock do, which is where the bacteria that breakdown nitrate thrive . So they produce nitrate. Nitrate is not generally thought to be harmful to fish in relatively low amounts but it can fuel nuisance algae,particularly if you have high lighting.Nitrate is a problem for corals, however.

 

[cgoodman381]

i hear cats like to play with bio balls, lol

other then that.....iv read they just cause problems

 

[colotl]

I had bio-balls and it gave me problems with nitrate. Had algae problems. Last year I built a a 35Gal sump/fuge and my tank looks awsome. Since then I never had a problem. Corals have amazing color and coraline even grows on my sand bed. It's everywhere.

 

[Flipper62]

IMO...BioBalls are nitrate traps, HOWEVER...it will all depend on your water changes.

If you have a 12 gal nano, its best to do a 20% water change every week, Thats about 3 gallons every week. This will keep the nitrates down..& all the prams in tact.....Some time you can get by after 2 weeks, but then your pushing it. REMEMBER....the smaller the tank....the faster CRAP can happen.....

NOW...in my office BioCube....I scrapped the BioBalls. I use a product called PURA-COMPLETE.......Life is all good...tank looks awesome.......Fish & corals are fine......water is crystal clear...

THIS is what works for me

 

[cloak]

I'm not afraid of bioballs.

 

[danielc316]

i use them. haven't have any trouble, i make sure to clean them when i do my water changes.

 

[Pulp Fishin]

I have used them and no matter how often I rinse or clean the bio-bals I always had problems with my tank peramiters.
That is untill I took them bioballs out(over 5 weeks) which was a PITA itself. After the last bio-ball was out of my system everything droped down to 0's
In my personal experiance I thought I'd give them a shot and less then a year later I'll never put them on a marine aquarium form now on.

Cheers

 

[saintperez]

Pulp Fishin, what do you use then for filtration?

 

[WinnipegDragon]

If you have a sufficient source of nitrate export, it would help you immensely. Sulfur Denitrator, refugium w/ Macro Algae....

 

[greenbean36191]

The nitrate problems associated with bioballs has absolutely nothing to do with trapping of detritus. No amount of cleaning can remedy their fundamental problem. Like TMZ pointed out, the issue is that they have no anoxic areas, so only harbor nitrifying bacteria- not denitrifying bacteria. That means that the nitrogen cycle can only proceed as far is nitrate. That nitrate has to go into the water and be dealt with elsewhere by another filter such as LR or a purpose built denitrator. If they are kept clean and are functioning exactly as they're designed bioballs are producing nitrate efficiently. Having low nitrates when using bioballs is certainly possible, but it's done in spite of the function of the bioballs.