Bio-balls are beneficial in a reef tank to a point or any other filter material for that matter. Over time without the proper cleaning of this media, your bio-media will become dirty and your nitrates will become higher and higher as they act as nitrate magnets IMO.
To retard this problem, you will have to do some extra cleaning of the balls, by rinsing them in saltwater preferabbly the water in your tank. Take a bucket of the water out and put it in a bowl to clean the bio-balls so that the bacteria adhered to them doend't die as well. Once this is accomplished, you may place them back in to your tank filter. Now, no they arent need to have success with your tank, and if you choose to remove them, you need to be careful and remove then i/4 at a time to let nature take is course to build up the bacteria and lower the nitrate and bacteria slowly during this transformation. If you don't remove the bio media over a period of time, it could wipe out your whole tank! _________ 125gal.w/Mag9.5 return(dual megaflow)>Mag7 pump Aqua Cev180skimmer.Wave2k Hamilton Reefstar(2)250watthqi(mh)pend.a Yellow, Naso Tang Red Lip Blenny Percula Clown Demoiselles Niger Trigger F. Wrasses Ceriantharia Orn.Shrimp and Stars Hermits Queen Conch asst. snails> Stars Zoos shrooms Montipora Brains Gorgonians Favia Turbinaria(large+small polyp) Acropora Xenia Tridacna (CroceaMaximaSquamosa) Leathers <35+75gal.reef tank as well> 
"IF THE PHONE DOESN'T RING...IT'S ME"  jb  | 
Bio-Balls are they needed or not 
