Bio Ball question here ??

[surfer 2]

Hi all, I need to tone some of the noise down from my over flow into my sump,, any ideas ?
I thought of getting some type of bio material to put into a small chamber to slow the trickle down a bit,, any advice and words of wisdom would greatly be appriciated.. Noise does not bother me all that much but wife is not use to it...LOL
Thanks for your input in advance,,, Great board all because of the peeps ivolved with it !!

 

[thomas712]

Internal or external overflow?
Could be all you need is a durso standpipe.
Thomas

 

[surfer 2]

I have an external overflow into a sump,, the noise comes from the sump , prefilter then there is an open champer where most peeps would keep bio balls,, then water level.

 

[coopersx]

I cannot picture this setup enough to tell where the noise is coming from. If it comes from where the water spills over like a water fall and is caused by the "splashing" (For a lack of better choice of words) from it landing in the water filled sump below (or internal /external overflow area)...you may try strategically placeing a piece of water soaked "foam filter" cut to fit either where the water is landing or on the wall where the water spills over. This should help if this is the cause of the noise. If the water spills over and down the side wall of the over flow...you may need to experiment where to place the foam that works best. High up on the wall, midway on the wall, one inch above the water level in the overflow, where the water lands, etc.
If the water is spilling into the area where the bioballs go, placing a filter pad over the the bioball cover may absorb some of the noise instead of just letting the water trickle down onto the plastic bioball cover and into an empty water filled sump. I hear some people use cured live rock instead of bio-balls to fill the bio-ball chamber. This may also help with filtration as well as noise.
Take care, Wayne

 

[surfer 2]

If I put LR in my bio area do I have to keep a light on it or just let water trickle over it ? Thanks for the fast responses,,, all,, Think I will put LR in there,, however will it have the same effects as a nitrite factory as the bio balls do ?

 

[oceana]

i also have a wet dry that i use as a sump/fuge. in the bio ball spot i put live rock. i also put in things like hermits and snails for clean up crew. very quiet and works well.
here is a basic sketch of my set up

 

[surfer 2]

Thanks Oceana,, great help ,, does the LR create high levels of Nitrite like bio balls do ?

 

[coopersx]

I wish I could answer whether lighting is needed for the live rock. I am also unsure about the nitrate build up. I have not researched either of these...just going by what I have read in the past. My thought is this. Normal flourescent lighting is probably needed for the live rock in the sump. Also Bio Balls are very effecient at converting amonia to nitrite then nitrate. The nitrate production/conversion happens fast when bioballs are used. The nitrate conversion happens so fast that the live rock in the tank is unable to keep up with coverting that nitrate to nitrogen gas which would then be released from the water. Thats why the nitrate builds up.
I think that live rock is less pourous or has less surface area then the bio balls and will not be as effecient or as quick to convert amonia to nitrate. ( if used in the sump) It will probably do this cycle in a slower manner thus the nitrate build up will also occur more slowly. This is only my rational...I do not know this for sure. You could easily find out by reasearching what others have done. Also their may be better methods of filtration with the equipment that you already own other than using live rock in the bio ball chamber. I would ask a few more questions before making a commitment. I am a newbie but hope this sheds some light on things.
Take care, Wayne

 

[coopersx]

Thanks for that diagram Oceana. I will be converting to this type of setup in the near future. I currently have an All Glass 54 gallon corner tank that I set up a couple months ago. It has the overflow built into the corner of the tank and the sump is underneath. I currently have the bioballs in the sump, filter pad over the drip tray and sponge filter to seperate the chambers. I also have the AquaC Urchin with a Maxijet 1200 powering this in the sump. I am definetly going to convert to live rock with the added sand/macro per your diagram. Looks nice.
Take care, Wayne

 

[oceana]

Originally Posted by Surfer 2
Thanks Oceana,, great help ,, does the LR create high levels of Nitrite like bio balls do ?
well not in my case it does not. i never have any nitrite but i do normaly carry about 10ppm nitrate which is very normal, and thats with VERY Liberal water changes. If i did regular water changes i'm sure it might even be 0.
i do keep mine lighted with 4x20 watt NO coralife bulbs. two actinic and two 10000k
I do this to keep the live rock live and also promote strong cralline growth. it is also need becaseu i throw macros in mine as well. i throw them right in it the rock somtimes. they grow all in and out of the rocks as long as they are kept wet they dont seem to need to be fully under water to grow

 

[oceana]

i just noticed your post says nitrite. NO i never have any nitrite. i thought you meant nitrate

 

[adamc1303]

I am new to this hobby as well. My tank is a little over 6 months old now, funnie enough but my wife was also complaning about noise! What I did was as follows. My water comes from the tank through a hose not pvc pipe, The water comes from my overflow box over to the bio ball section. The overflow box is in the lft corner of the tank, and the bioballs are on the bottom of course in the sump but to the far right. first I made sure to tape the hose that carries the water to the bottom of my tank making sure it is extremely straight not curving in any way at all, that slowed down the pressure. Then on tope of my bio ball section the house is connected to a glass cover that covers the chmaber. I put a piece of a foam pad between the glass cover and the actuall chamber making it like a 1 1/2 inch tilt that had a big effect on the amount of noise. I can't really picture your set up and I tried to be as detailed as I can, but I can tell you what helped me, Good Luck!!!!!!

 

[adamc1303]

I am new to this hobby as well. My tank is a little over 6 months old now, funnie enough but my wife was also complaning about noise! What I did was as follows. My water comes from the tank through a hose not pvc pipe, The water comes from my overflow box over to the bio ball section. The overflow box is in the left corner of the tank, and the bioballs are on the bottom of course in the sump but to the far right. I first made sure to tape the hose that carries the water from the over flow box to the bio balls to the bottom of my tank, making sure it is extremely straight not curving in any way at all, that slowed down the water pressure. Then on top of my bio ball section the hose is connected to a glass cover that covers the chamber that the bio balls are in. I put a piece of a little foam pad on the edge between the glass cover and the actuall chamber, causing 1 1/2 inch tilt, that really had a big effect on the amount of noise. I can't really picture your set up and I tried to be as detailed as I can, but I can tell you what helped me, Good Luck!!!!!!