should i remove bio balls

Agree. Use live rock and remove the bio balls slowly. I removed a handful a day till they were all out.
 
I don't know why many people doesn't like the bioballs because my tank is running bioballs in the back with 60lbs of LR in the display and I have not seen a serious increase of nitrates...I think keeping the buffers and chambers clean is the key for my tank as the flow is being pulled by the big powerhead in one end.
 
The problem with bio balls is that they have the possiblity of getting gummed up over time and then act as a sponge to hold nitrates---which can be released back into the water column

Since live rock and sand do the same function but don't trap the nitrates(as easy) then its best to do without them
 
I vote with the majority.. get rid of the bio balls.
Since the LR has the ability to take care of the nitrates naturally.
 
See the articles by Randy Holmes Farley at the beggining of the chemistry forum if you wan't to know why bioballs are not favored.

The idea is that the bioballs are in a high oxygen environment which is great for the aerobic bacteria which turn ammonia into nitrite and perhaps even those that turn nitrite into nitrate but it stops there.There are no oxygen poor zones in the bioball media so the low oxygen bacteria that turn nitrate into free nitrogen don't thrive.

There are low oxygen zones in the rock and the bacteria that thrive there use nitrate and release free nitrogen completing the denitrification process.However, when bioballs are used the nitrate is produced in a differen t place (the bioballs), and is not readily accessible to these bacteria.It is better to let the high oxygen and low oxygen bacteria in the rock take care of your denitrification since the nitrate will also be removed.
Removing the nitrate or the nitrite for that mattter is less important in a fish only tank but nitrate will fuel nuisance algae and high levels are not good for many types of coral.
 
LR vs BioBalls

LR vs BioBalls

Hi Guys

I have two tanks a 30gl and a 75gl I have used BioBalls in both but the 75gl is a new tank it's been on cycle for 21days now I feel that if I need to change my wet dry to liveRock now is the time what do I need to do? How many LR whould I need for the 75gl? Do I put them in the wetdry or are they manly for the tank?
I live in Puerto Rico and LR as a media is not used just BioBalls.
Help, What to do?

DivemasterPR :confused: :confused: :)
 
LR vs BioBalls

LR vs BioBalls

Hi Guys

I have two tanks a 30gl and a 75gl I have used BioBalls in both but the 75gl is a new tank it's been on cycle for 21days now I feel that if I need to change my wet dry to liveRock now is the time what do I need to do? How many LR whould I need for the 75gl? Do I put them in the wetdry or are they manly for the tank?
I live in Puerto Rico and LR as a media is not used just BioBalls.
Help, What to do?

DivemasterPR :confused: :confused: :)
 
You put the big pieces of live rock in the tank and LR rumble in the wet/dry. 50lbs to 75lbs is what I would use in your tank. You can use a lot more, for example I have close to 250lbs in my 90gal.

The bioballs are used mainly for freshwater setups.
 
Now I have about 25lbs of live rock in my new 75gl tank was thinking of adding 50lbs more of live rock to the tank today as I said it has been cycling for 21 days. I have the 25lbs of LR, 4 blue legged hermits, and 2 royal grammas in there ammonia is 0 nitrite 0 but nitrate are around 2.5. The thing is that the rock I am planing to has 2 anemonies and feather dusters on them because it was running in my 30gl. Should I add the rock or wait longer? :confused:
 
I would not add it all at once after 21 days of curing/cycling. It really takes months for the rock to rid itself of die off and get the bacteria up to full speed in my experinece. I would add about 10 lbs a week tops and watch nitrate and phosphate.

The rock works better in the tank. There are many who advocate using rubble in a wet and dry. I don't becasue this is a high oxygen environment and the rubble will act pretty much like the bioballs in terms of denitrification,in my opinion.

Depending on the porosity/density of the rock 3/4lb to 1.5 lbs per gallon should do nicely.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11637760#post11637760 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tmz
I would not add it all at once after 21 days of curing/cycling. It really takes months for the rock to rid itself of die off and get the bacteria up to full speed in my experinece. I would add about 10 lbs a week tops and watch nitrate and phosphate.

The rock works better in the tank. There are many who advocate using rubble in a wet and dry. I don't becasue this is a high oxygen environment and the rubble will act pretty much like the bioballs in terms of denitrification,in my opinion.

Depending on the porosity/density of the rock 3/4lb to 1.5 lbs per gallon should do nicely.

You can take the live rock and put it in a big garbage pail--with .026 salt water ---and a power head and let it cure this way. Monitor the ammonia and nitrates and change the salt water when they get high.

You can add a small piece to your tank each week from the big garbage pail
 
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