Too Much Bio??

cafero702

cafero702

Member
i have so much bio i have bio wheels hooked up,bio rings and balls in my canister filter and 100p of LR and all live sand.
i read up on that and from what ive researched too much bio can cause high nitrates. is this true? has anyone heard this before??
so itook off my bio wheels there pretty old but should i take out any bio rings??
any suggestions or comments very appreciated
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
imporoperly/failing to clean the biological media causes high nitrates not having to much biological filtration. bio media causing high nitrates is a myth, its lack of proper maintinence. people will say they took their bioballs out and it sloved their nitrate problem, that only means there was so much crap built up in them from not cleaning them like they were supposed to that when they removed the bioballs the crap went with them instead of being rinsed away with each water change.
 
sea slug

sea slug

Member
replace your bio-balls/rings/ect. with live-rock-rubble, it's much-more better or somthing or other
(don't throw away the balls wash them, not with soap, and keep them, for they will come in handy when starting a new tank)
 
rotarygeek

rotarygeek

Member
Thats kinda interesting. I was under the impression you shouldn't change your biowheels until they stop spinning. After they stop spinning they lose there biofilter and are useless. I wonder if maybe this is part of my nitrate problem.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by RotaryGeek
http:///forum/post/2569283
Thats kinda interesting. I was under the impression you shouldn't change your biowheels until they stop spinning. After they stop spinning they lose there biofilter and are useless. I wonder if maybe this is part of my nitrate problem.
you shouldnt change it unless it breaks. but you should rinse the gunk out of it with old tank water at each water change so the vanes arent trapping detritus.
 
cafero702

cafero702

Member
Originally Posted by RotaryGeek
http:///forum/post/2569283
Thats kinda interesting. I was under the impression you shouldn't change your biowheels until they stop spinning. After they stop spinning they lose there biofilter and are useless. I wonder if maybe this is part of my nitrate problem.
well one of my bio wheels bent and stopped spinning so i went to get a new one they were out at the time.
then i realized the bio wheels i am using on my new tank are the same ones from my old tank. that could be a huge problem of the nitrates so i took them out.
and i will clean my bio rings today i never knew that they should be cleaned i was always told not to even touch them. thank you lol
do i clean them in saltwater???
 
cafero702

cafero702

Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
http:///forum/post/2569135
imporoperly/failing to clean the biological media causes high nitrates not having to much biological filtration. bio media causing high nitrates is a myth, its lack of proper maintinence. people will say they took their bioballs out and it sloved their nitrate problem, that only means there was so much crap built up in them from not cleaning them like they were supposed to that when they removed the bioballs the crap went with them instead of being rinsed away with each water change.
should i clean them in saltwater???
or just run them under the sink real good??
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
reefkprZ nailed it. That type of biomedia is only as good as the hubandry performed on it. Many people use it and use it well.
My opinion is that I would rather have some natural bio filtration in the way of rock. I do run a skimmer, chemipure elite, purigen, and some filter floss as mechanicals but for the bio side of things about a pound and a half per gallon of porous rock.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
rinse them in the tank water you pull out during a water change NOT sink water. tap water will kill the biological bacteria on your media.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by RotaryGeek
http:///forum/post/2569283
Thats kinda interesting. I was under the impression you shouldn't change your biowheels until they stop spinning. After they stop spinning they lose there biofilter and are useless. I wonder if maybe this is part of my nitrate problem.
It’s not the spinning that’s beneficial it’s the water flow over it. The spinning just keeps them all wet. If they stop spinning you would still have bio filtration by absorbing the water just not as affection because of the lack of tranfer
 
cafero702

cafero702

Member
well i cleaned my bio rings the whole entire inside of my filter and did about a 30-40g water change and my nitrates went form 80 down to 20-40
so thats a start
when should i do my next water change???
and i also had like a gelly white sponge all threwout the inside of my filter is that really bad or any thing i should concern i cleaned them all off and evberyhthing.
they were like boogers all over everything inside my canister filter. lol
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
that was probably some sort of sponge that was growing. they love to grow where the water flow is good.
as far as the next water change I would wait about a week or so then as the water parameters dictate the next change.
Mike
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
i don't think you need the bio wheels or the bio balls if you have 100 pounds of live rock. if you are unsure, you can always remove them.
 
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