bio balls in reef

freddy949

freddy949

Member
hi
i am still new to this hobby but when i was brand new to it a couple of months ago, some guy told me that bio balls were bad in a reef tank cuz something about ariated bacteria. so i have a 55 gal acurlic tank with built in filer chamber in he back were bio balls used to be. i toook them out but now my problem is that the water level in the back sank and were it used to be a trickel there now is a 6 inch niagra falls in living room. so my questions is are bio balls really bad for the reef? and what are some good ways to silence waterfalls.
thanks
 
J

jupoc911

Guest
no they are not bad. they can eventually cause elevations in nitrates as they do tend to build up on detritus. Y don't you just use live rock back there instead?
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Now I wonder why anyone would suggest live rock as a replacement for bio balls. Wouldn't the live rock just collect detritus as well? I think so. Will they be as efficiant as bio balls? I don't think so. Will the live rock be able to oxygenate the water like bio balls? Nope. Splitting the water up and creating the aerobic oxygenated atmosphere is what they do best, and by doing this they quickly breakdown ammonia and nitrItes into nitrates. No matter what you put in there you will wind up with nitrates if you don't clean it once in a while.
Lets see what else can you put in there that will absolutly not collect any detritus and stay clean forever.....Nothing I can think of.., and if you are talking about a small space of bio balls and change it for rocks then how are you going to keep them clean before they turn into rock like in a river bed with hair algae or scum from forming on them with out any type of cleanup crew to clean them.
Whats so hard about taking the bio balls out once a month and rinsing them in water that you take out of the main for a water change? Are folks that lazy, yes absolutly they are.
Its your tank and its your choice.
1. If you have the bio balls already then use them
2. If you prefer rock then go that way
3. You could always just place filter floss in there if you like.
4. You can put just about anything plastic in there as well, those practice golf balls, toy army men, anything really, even that plastic weed whip stuff.
All I really want to point out is the fact that bio balls are not a nitrate factory, there are many ways to filtration methods, its the bacteria that breaks down ammonia and nitrItes into nitrAtes. No matter how this is accomplished everyone needs to have a method of nitrAte export....Water change, DSB, de nitrator coil, macro algae, refugium....etc... With just a little effort those bio balls will not do you wrong.
Thomas
Man why can't I ever stay away from the bio ball posts.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by Thomas712
Man why can't I ever stay away from the bio ball posts.


Look at it this way, you are helping me out and saving me the effort and, now and then, frustration
Thank you Thomas
 
ktsdad

ktsdad

Member
Originally Posted by Thomas712
All I really want to point out is the fact that bio balls are not a nitrate factory, there are many ways to filtration methods, its the bacteria that breaks down ammonia and nitrItes into nitrAtes. No matter how this is accomplished everyone needs to have a method of nitrAte export....Water change, DSB, de nitrator coil, macro algae, refugium....etc... With just a little effort those bio balls will not do you wrong.
I totally agree!
I have very good sucess with bio-balls in my reef and FOWLR tanks over the years.
I have thought many times about taking them out, but didn't.
Good advice!
 
swfreak

swfreak

Member
If all it takes is to clean me out once a month than I don't see why people say they don't work. You have to love lazy people. I will continue to keep them in my wet/dry system.
 
dragonboy

dragonboy

Active Member
I'm thinking of re-using mines too I have a lot of bio balls maybe I'm gonna use a net to drop them in so its easier to take them out to clean. But I do believe live rocks helps too I've seen many LFS use them as filter in the sumps so must be doing its part as well.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by re_vogel
Do Bioballs and Bio Wheels in the HOB work the same way????
Yes. They serve the same purpose and work in a similar way. However, in relative terms, the bioballs in a wet dry may be more signficant than a biowheel. In a tank with live rock and substrate, the biowheels contribute little, IMO, to biological filtration and removing them is not much of an issue in many cases. This may also be the case with bioballs in many instances as well.
The question of whether they are the proverbial "nitrate factory" and BAD is what I disagree with. Whether you keep them or not (or need to) is a case by case issue.
 
oceana

oceana

Active Member
Personally I have used both. And I see ups and downs of both.
I chose live rock because bioball create high oxygen levels that produce bacteria that convert ammonia into nitrite. Then nitrite into nitrate. The problem occurs at this point. The bacteria that will process the nitrate grow in low oxygen environments. This environment is not present in a bio ball system because of the high oxygen levels.
These low level oxygen levels are present in live rock systems. The bacteria grows deep in the live rock where the environment is less oxygenated and can help process the nitrate. both work but science can prove one can work better.
with that said i say this. Through proper water changes both cases are moot points
 
gregm779

gregm779

Member
I still use bioballs, make sure they stay clean and have wnough LR in the system to break down any nitrates that they may cause.
 
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