Question on removing bio balls

[djmikek]

I had a friend of mine that told me it would be more beneficial to me if I removed the bio balls in my system. I just would like to know if that is a good idea or not? I have a Aqua C 120 urchin Pro skimmer. The tank is a 92 gallon corner. About 70 pounds of live rock in it also. Would removing the bio balls help with lower nitrates too?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Sk8r]

It should---But. If you have a heavy fish load, large fish, all meat-eaters---you need to balance that load adequately. You're 22 lbs short on the rock. You didn't mention whether you have 90 lbs of sand. I'd make up that difference, and if you want room for your fish to swim, you might think about a remote sandbed/fuge, if you can work one in. A 20 g fuge with live rock and deep sandbed can process a lot of waste, right along with your skimmer (protein waste for the skimmer); and if you want to run a very low nitrate fish-only with no bioballs, yet want the swimming room, you might think about a fuge in that light. Plus if you grow mysis in there, the fish aren't going to turn down that treat. It can also grow macro for certain fish, which you can trim out and put in your tank. And it helps oxygenate the water for your high-oxy fish like tangs and angels.
If you are going to withdraw bioballs from a working tank, do it slowly to let your sandbed and rock adjust to the new situation. My recommendation is one handful every few days.

 

[jmicky41]

I've ran bioballs in my FOWLR tank for years. My tank isn't loaded with LR either. My nitrates tend to stay around 5-10ppm. I've been meaning to take them out for years, but if it ain't broke - don't fix it.

 

[limitdown]

It’s quite unfair and misleading that bioballs/ceramic rings have been coined with the term “nitrate factories”. Nitrates are created by nitrites, which are created by ammonia, which comes from fish pee/poop. If your tank produced no fish/ammonia, then your bioballs wouldn’t produce any nitrates on their own!

Thinking along those lines, then LR would also be nitrate factories, because they also break down ammonia into nitrates. But yes, becuz LR have anaerobic environment in the deep layers, it’s able to process some nitrates. But from my experience, its denitrating capability is not great.

I used to run a lightly stocked 50g full reef with 100lbs of mixed indo/tonga LR, but my nitrates still crept up over time.

Bioballs do not provide an anaerobic environment for denitrating bacteria to thrive, thus the nitrogen cycle stops at nitrate.

Instead of replacing the bioballs with LR, you should consider adding a sulfur denitrator. I’m now running a heavily stocked 200g FO with big angels, triggers and tangs with zero LR. My big fish have so much more room to swim. I run 40+ liters of ceramic rings and a Schuran sulfur denitrator. My nitrates are never detectable. I still religiously change water once a month, but my fish never have to deal with even 1ppm of nitrates. Even if I dropped in 400lbs of LR, my nitrates would still eventually creep up over time.

 

[r0bin]

I agree with you limitdown, on the denitrification properties of live rock. For me it just is not there. I have kept my nitrates low through water changes.