Question about wet/dry & bio balls

trigger digger

trigger digger

Member
Hey gang,
Another basic question here, what is the exact purpose of the bio balls on a wet/dry filter? I thought they were used to trickle the water over and reduce ammonia, but I've also heard they promote bacteria growth. And on a recent reef post I read, somebody referred to them as "little nitrate bombs".
I am going to buy a 125 gal. tank soon, but it will be primarily a fish only tank. (at least thats my thinking now)
The last time I had a saltwater tank, I had a hang on filter & UG filter. So I feel like I just woke up from a cave.
Thanks in advance.
 
drgriff

drgriff

Member
I'm also a newbee :p , but my LFS and research described the bio-balls as little bacteria "houses". The balls are hollow and have little spikes sticking off, providing HUGE surface area for bacteria to grab hold of. As the water trickles through the filter, it flows over the bacteria covered balls and allows them to eat the bad stuff-ammonia and convert it through the nitrogen cycle to nitrate. If I am wrong, someone please correct me.
 
A

alti

Guest
if you have more than 1 lb of live rock per gallon of water you dont need the bioballs. the lr will give you enough surface area to maintain the biological filtration neccessary for the tank. people call them nitrate factories because over time they collect detritus and food and it just sits there and rots causing constant nitrate problems. if your not going to use lr you will need the bioballs for biological filtration. if you get the lr forget about the bioballs. HTH
 
trigger digger

trigger digger

Member
Thanks guy's,
Im already smarter than I was this morning.:D
One other question, how often should they be cleaned, and if they are cleaned will it do any harm?
 
A

alti

Guest
clean them every month or 2 during a water change if you can. just make sure to clean them in old tank water. if the tank is new i would wait at least until it is 4 months old before you mess with it. make sure you dont buy crushed coral when u set up the tank. its a PITA to vacuum all the time. use a dsb and you will have much less tank maintenance to do.
 
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