58 gallon megaflow - first tank

Doug, Bio Balls should not be totally submerged. Just trickled over. Water should come up to bottom of bio-balls.

 

Something is not right with that set up--I looked at the wet/dry/fuge and the baffles have me baffled--anyone else???

 

welcome to 3reef.

you picked good starting size as far as dimension are concerned for aesthetics. a bit tall (good thing you choose halides) but nice and wide

 

sostoudt, why are the bio balls underwater???

 

its not a wet/dry its just a wet lol


make sure you rinse those bioballs every 2 weeks to prevent nitrates from becoming high.

 

the bacteria still colonize the bioballs, they are just forced to use oxygen from the water water column. i think the periodic exposure in a wet dry increases the amount of ammonia and nitrite they can process.
but the bioballs still provide alot of surface area for bacteria to colonize. ive seen a couple pond filters with submerged bioballs. it probably was the way it was done before wet dry were invented, but im young so i dont know pre-wetdry era

 

the bioballs don't function as "bioballs" just a bubble trap. Cheaper than filling it with LR, and less restrictive than foam.

I am happy with the tank size. I agree it's a bit deep, but it was a decent deal at the LFS - $555 for a drilled tank, stand, pipes, and cover (not gonna use the cover tho)

It was this or a used 75 gallon HOB overflow w/ a 4x4 post DIY stand for $500.

-Doug

 

Ok doug- Now I understand, As Sostoudt said keep them clean-they will trap stuff--even with a pre-filter above them.

 

Ah! I was not aware that would be an issue. Would it alleviate the problem if I used LR rubble instead? I have enough strewn around the tank, I just didn't want to "hide" it down there and opted to make an in-tank rubble refugium of sorts in one corner with it instead.

Can't thank you all enough.

-Doug

 

LR VS BIOBALLS huh
the argument is that the deep holes in the rock provides anerobic zones to process nitrates. i say theres very few anerobic zones left in a wet dry application where rock is exposed to air. for your application i think bioballs may be better as all the slime that builds up at the top of your tank will be washed down into what ever media is there, that slime builds up over time and begins to break down causing a huge amount of nutrients for the the bacteria to feed and produce nitrates with.

I dont think the feeble anerobic zones in LR will be able to consume all the nitrates, worse yet i think the porousness of the lr will trap the slime when you try to clean it. the key is to remember filters need to be cleaned regularily, so rinse them bioballs regularily like a floss filter.

the only real thing that worries me is that dispite your intent the bioballs will provide the main filtration and develop a large bacteria population. enough so that if you were to rinse them in tap water the bac would die, and it would cause mini parameter spikes. so i would treat them as i would a normal bioball filter and rinse in saltwater.

you may consider replacing them with a filter sock.


edit: some times i wonder if im not to serious in my reponse, i just passed up a classic "make sure you wash your balls" comment