Quick Question

[katfish]

Will "slowly" removing the bio balls from my tricle system help in lowering overall nitrates?
Tested them today and are between 60 and 80 (Dry Tab Test)
Last water change was almost 1 1/2 to 2 months ago Been Busy
90 Gal
Trickle for a 125 Gal Approx 5gal Bio Balls
Prizm Skimmer (I know lil small)
Aqua Clear 500
2 Aqua Clear powerheads 802 and a 402
1-2" flamingo reef crushed coral
Picasso trigger
Yellow Tang
3-Blue devil Damsels
18" Snowflake
Just added a few bunches of Grape Caulerpa Algae
I imagine they went up because of infrequent water change on this tank,but any other comments/suggestions are welcome.
Thanks

 

[tacks]

You shouldn't remove your bio-balls in order to reduce your nitrates. Although bio-balls are nitrate factories, they also house your bacteria colony needed for normal filtration. I would suggest doing a water change asap and cut back on your feeding.
If you want to change your filtration method, then that's a whole different thing.

 

[fshhub]

i would remove them, but i would do it very slowly, over a period of weeks, only a small amount at a time, adn wait a while (week or 2) before proceeding, because you will also be removing the bactia with them
HTH

 

[lordofthereef]

it sounds like you have more problems then just the bio balls to have your nitrates that high! why not try this, clean about 1/3 of your balls , do a 30 or so percent water change, and put some sort of nitrate remover in the filter. then, about every month or so clean another 1/3 of your balls . that may help some. also, clean your balls in aquarium water when you do the water changes. that will help to keep the bacteira that you want, and get rid of the dirt. one of those filter pads on top of the drip plate also helps to keep your balls clean.HTH.