bioballs = waste of time?

[gregvabch]

i think i'm going to try a combo of the refugium and adding some finer grade sand to my tank. which means i'm gonna have to pull up all my rocks and capture all my fish, crabs, and shrimp. think i'll wait till i get the fuge up and running, hopefully by the end of this weekend. that way i can just throw them in there till the dust settles. honestly i don't have room for a wet/dry sump w/ bioballs right now anyway. maybe when i get a bigger tank in the future i will incorporate something like that. the fuge is already going to be sitting off to the side of the tank on a table since there is so little space inside the stand. i just figured if i was gonna do it that way then what would a sump underneath hurt? saltwaterdave, do you know anybody around the beach who could spare a couple cups of ls to seed mine once i get the finer stuff added? also, is it a sound move to buy some ls from a lfs around here?

 

[saltwaterdave]

I don't know of anybody in the area that sells live sand.I know of a good place you can order a few pounds..........But I know of a couple of reefers in your area that might be able to help you out,If not I can give you a cup out of mine.I would give you more,but I am in the process of setting up a 110.Shoot me a e-mail and we will see what we can come up with.
saltwater.dave@verizon.net
David

 

[saltwaterdave]

Hey Guy,
You going to be selling any live sand any time soon now that the weather is warmer?
David

 

[elan]

i am slowly getting rid of my bioballs...
I have read Bang Guys thoery on a Deep Sand Bed, and i can clearly see the logic......
and in all my years of diving, i have never seen bioballs, on or near, any reef (natural or man made)....lol...
and i have never seen a skimmer as well....... i am actually not getting a skimmer for the next year... i figure in the next 6 months my tank will be at the point where i will stop adding coral and fish... give that 6 months to see how well my corals do... then i will add a skimmer and see how that will change the corals... i know this isnt very scientific, but i will post my results none the less...

 

[dreeves]

Thanks bang guy.
Elan...I'll bet you haven't seen alot of things diving...like glass partitions...acrylic partitions, etc...It is equally surprising that you haven't seen alot of captive fish or overflow boxes either...

 

[jlem]

Everytime waves crash on the shore and that foam mess works its way on to the beach you have seen a natural protein skimmer in action

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by elan
and i have never seen a skimmer as well.......
I agree with Jlem. Breaking waves fractionate proteins causing them to clump together. The only difference is that we physically remove it and Bacteria consume it in the wild.

 

[gregvabch]

got my skimmer and my overflow in today, wish me luck.