Bio-balls VS Refugium??

As Corailline said... the method was new and put out a while ago... but while most do not run a "Berlin Method" system... the general recipie is incorporated in most systems. A good skimmer, DSB, macro algae, and live rock. At the time it was a return to more natural forms of filtration rather than undergravels and W/D filters. But I certainly no expert on the "method" and have no experience with it.

 

The jury is pretty much in on this one... the whole purpose of bio balls is to provide a high oxygen are to reduce ammonia and nitrites to nitrates. It's job is to produce nitrates.

Bio balls get a bad rap... they are very good at what they do. They oxygenate the water very well. Keeping them clean is not that hard. They work very well for a FO or FOWLR system and are certainly still a viable filtration method in the right setting.

However, in a reef tank, they simply are out performed by a large amount of live rock... and for a system with a large amount of live rock that houses corals, they are detrimental because they do not reduce nitrates, and take waste away from the live rock that can reduce nitrates. The mechanisim behind this is well understood. It isn't that one can't run a W/D on a reef tank... it is just that it is not the best option out there and the added exspense could be spent elsewhere with much better results.

 

Thanks again! i just wanted some clarification on the berlin system, and if people use it or not, so looks like im still going to do my original plan and go with the fuge, thanks everyone for the help!! ill keep you all up to date on when everythings back up and running my my fuge!!!

 

Agreed. Just wanted to clarify that bio-balls don't necessary have to be "nitrate factories", lost of reefers experience this or say they are simply because they don't maintain them, or they heard it from someone else who didn't maintain them. Of course if you have options, I would go with a fuge/DSB, much more beneficial to your overall system, that's the main reason I run one. Of all the methods out there, I prefer a good skimmer combined with a fuge/DSB for my system.

Shackman23, good luck setting up the fuge, shouldn't be a difficult conversion.

 

Got it.

 

Thanks guys! ill update you all with pictures when its complete!!

 

Forum:

I purchased a vertexin 100 PS and we are looking @ purchasing the ProFlex Model 4 Sump - 2200 gph Is this a good match?


ProFlex Model 4 Sump - 2200 gph

Thanks in advance


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