Bio Balls, Heaven sent or Dealing w/the Devil

Discussion in 'Filters, Pumps, etc..' started by Otty, Feb 14, 2007.

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  1. jmattingly

    jmattingly Plankton

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    I have heard that bio balls are better for fresh water tanks than salt water. If you want a good filtration system in your sump, add live rock to it.

    The bio balls would go above the water level, if you choose to use them. Live rock would go below the water level.

    I have live rock in my sump. Since I never started with bio balls, I can't say which one is better for keeping nitrates down. From what I've researched, live rock is supposed to do the better job though.

    Joe
     
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  3. Otty

    Otty Giant Squid

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    They came witht the tank I just purchased so I was debating putting them back in the sump. I believe I am just going to rip the walls out of the sump and make my own baffles up and just throw some LR in there.
     
  4. leslie hempel

    leslie hempel Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    interesting discussion here as the guys back home are very anti bio balls i will be using them in my retail facility as they are good in building themselves up fast to convert waste in a retail set up but will be sticking to a dsb in my main system....will watch this thread for the outcome...
     
  5. IBMGeek

    IBMGeek Montipora Digitata

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    The problem with Bio Balls is that people dont maintain them and clean a portion of them regularly. There just like socks or other kind of floss material, if you dont clean them they are going to add nitrates to your tank. Bio balls were the norm back then before refugiums became more popular. I personally am not going to use them in my new setup because i dont plan on doing the maintenance they require. Its like everything else they have their pros and cons. Just my opinion.;)
     
  6. bawest

    bawest Fire Worm

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  7. inwall75

    inwall75 Giant Squid

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    Yikes....those foam filled ones would be an absolute nightmare. I can't imagine having to open up each of the little balls to rinse out the sponges.

    On the carbon ones, how would you keep track of which balls need new carbon? I suppose you could use 3 different colors of fingernail polish. This month change out red, next month change out yellow, etc. but it seems like a hassle to me.

    You could use the ceramic ones if you wanted but detritus is bound to get into those too and would require cleaning.
     
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  9. Fishyz

    Fishyz Astrea Snail

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    I'm building a sump for my 90g tank and I don't know whether to use bio-balls or a filter sock or both. This is my first sump I have ever built to please help.
     
  10. inwall75

    inwall75 Giant Squid

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    I used both. I had a filter sock that was regularly replaced to keep the bioballs and the sump clean.
     
  11. Matt Rogers

    Matt Rogers Kingfish

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    I have personally never seen the need to clean bio-balls.

    I have about a 6 pound turtle that creates waste like a college student after a night of drinking and a 2am Taco Bell run...

    this guy should be a bio-ball killer but the balls LOOK fine to me. I have a thick pad in a tray above the balls that I rinse out every 2 water changes. That has been working for me over the last year or so with no issues. No chem tests to back up this up though.
     
  12. mushroom_man

    mushroom_man Bubble Tip Anemone

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    why not replace the bio balls with LR? would it make a difference, i mean in the sump? ive seen people do this but i have not seen tests to back this up. ive been following this thread because i am going to set up a proclear 75 and i dont know if im going to replace the balls with LR.