What do bio balls do???

reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3143135
BTW good to hear from you Reef I was getting bored
just for giggles I did some displacement tests with BIoballs versus live rock and it does trend towards bioballs having the greater surface area (through lower volume displacement). though I did it with already wet rock I am currently drying (for the next 24hours or so) a couple of chunks of live rock about the size of a bioball, then I will repeate the displacement tests. I do have to say joe you may be right.
 
be2lose

be2lose

Member
Ive read this whole thread and all I can think of is:
How many links does it take to get to the center of a Tootsiepop? The world may never know.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
but when I had them in my overflows, the grill I had on the bottom of each overflow came off both, and then I had bio-balls galore stuck in my plumbing... I had to buy a snake and go from underneath and try to push them back up, THEN the snake would get stuck at the valve area... Eventually got them all out, but never again. Now I have standpipes and fill the overflows and don't use bioballs.
So this does not mean that you blame the bio balls but the faulty screen cover
Bioballs should be tumbled or cleaned
so tumbled or cleaned mean the same thing in canada
I would personally invest in more Live Rock, it is better for your system and will not create issues like bio-balls can.
So exactly what issues are you talking about?
members with much more posts feel they are GOD or something.
funny i was thinkiing just the Opposite
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
just for giggles I did some displacement tests with BIoballs versus live rock and it does trend towards bioballs having the greater surface area (through lower volume displacement).
Reef my good friend I am a little confused are you not making your point by the displacement test? Would not more displacement mean more surface area?
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3143297
Reef my good friend I am a little confused are you not making your point by the displacement test? Would not more displacement mean more surface area?

I don't think more displacement would mean more surface area. A man made plastic Bio Ball can be thin and full of nooks and cranies and still be able to hold its shape. It would still be a strong structure too. Live rock doesn't have this advantage. Displacement indicates mass, not surface area.
Also on the dry live rock displacement test......a dry piece of LR is going to displace more water, Just for the fact the the air will be trapped inside by surface tension. If you let it sit there then you will have wet LR like you started with. In which case, would be more acurate due to the fact that plastic doesn't absorb very much water at all. All in all, LR will displace more water then a Bio Ball can, but a piece of paper doesn't displace much water either. I just don't see displacement being a good comparison.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
It would take a solid sphere with a diameter of 2.1" to equal the surface area of 1 Bio Ball. Said sphere would be full of air creating more mass and therfore displacing more water then the Bio Ball.
 
globaldesigns

globaldesigns

Member
You know what Florida Joe, I can try to explain, but why bother... You make quite a few posts, but I must say you are quite an A S S...
Oh well, I will remove this subscription, so no point commenting, as I and probably others just won't care to argue... There is more to life than dealings with idiots like you.
Have a good life!
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member
It isn't Joe's high post count that makes his opinions matter. It is his experience in the hobby.
I forgot about this thread, I really missed out. Is he an A S S? Absolutely. But so am I and so are you. I mean realistically everyone in the world is going to have that opinion about at least one other person. Could he have come up with nicer ways to tell us about his thoughts, opinions, and corrections. Absolutely. If he did however, I don't think I would have as much respect for him. You can sugar coat it all you want, but you're still eating a doody flavored lolly-pop.
Oh and bioballs do work, they are not "nitrate factories" and they aren't terribly expensive (in my opinion). I for one think that while man made plastic balls work fine, they are not going to be better than nature's wonderful live rock. But what do I know? My post count is pretty high, therefore I'm a moron that thinks he is G-d.
Oh and I'm not Jewish, just an A S S hole.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by PEZenfuego
http:///forum/post/3155415
It isn't Joe's high post count that makes his opinions matter. It is his experience in the hobby.
I forgot about this thread, I really missed out. Is he an A S S? Absolutely. But so am I and so are you. I mean realistically everyone in the world is going to have that opinion about at least one other person. Could he have come up with nicer ways to tell us about his thoughts, opinions, and corrections. Absolutely. If he did however, I don't think I would have as much respect for him. You can sugar coat it all you want, but you're still eating a doody flavored lolly-pop.
Oh and bioballs do work, they are not "nitrate factories" and they aren't terribly expensive (in my opinion). I for one think that while man made plastic balls work fine, they are not going to be better than nature's wonderful live rock. But what do I know? My post count is pretty high, therefore I'm a moron that thinks he is G-d.
Oh and I'm not Jewish, just an A S S hole.
I am impressed, in my opinion this post gets a
 
reefaholic33

reefaholic33

Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
http:///forum/post/3132958
where did you find that info? I would love to give it a gander. and that may be true considering lava rock has huge pores leaving far more gaps and less actual surface area. but I am talking micro porous rock not lava rock which is unusable in reef tanks anyways due to their toxic nature to marine life.
Are you serious? I could be in serious trouble. Can someone please tell me more (confirm this) I thought this was common in tanks and bought some and put it in last week.
I thought it would be good in the sump?
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefaholic33
http:///forum/post/3156628
Are you serious? I could be in serious trouble. Can someone please tell me more (confirm this) I thought this was common in tanks and bought some and put it in last week.
I thought it would be good in the sump?
It seems to me that I remember reading that the man made lava rock was ok. The natural stuff though, no good. How do you tell, IDK.
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member
Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/3156840
It seems to me that I remember reading that the man made lava rock was ok. The natural stuff though, no good. How do you tell, IDK.
Natural stuff for sure is terrible because it is chock full of harmful metals I believe. In any case, I wouldn't recommend getting it and I would remove it asap.
In any case, even though it is porous, in freshwater the porosity decreases over time.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Originally Posted by PEZenfuego
http:///forum/post/3156841
Natural stuff for sure is terrible because it is chock full of harmful metals I believe. In any case, I wouldn't recommend getting it and I would remove it asap.
In any case, even though it is porous, in freshwater the porosity decreases over time.

If it is lit in the refug I would think the same would happen with coraline algae no?
 
reefaholic33

reefaholic33

Member
It is not worth the risk to me, I already took it out. I thought it was meant for this purpose and was used frequently. Where I bought it said it was cultured in reef tanks already.
 
reefaholic33

reefaholic33

Member
I'm sorry if I'm highjacking your thread OP but I'm very concerned....
Is there anything I can test for to see if these rocks leaked anything in my system? They were in my sump for one week and there was no ill affects. 120 reef.
 
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