When can I remove my bio-balls?

[puff(er) daddy]

I have had my tank running for a year now and I've had a high nitrate problem for about six months now. I was wondering if it was ok for me to remove them, because I read that they can be nitrate builders.
I was thinking of putting them in a bucket for a month and seeing if the nitrates reduce.
If this is a good idea, how should I store the bio-balls?

 

[fshhub]

i fyyu have a dsb and or lots of lr, then i would do as anthem had mentioned, remove a little at a time, wait a week adn test tehn proceed, if you have a dsb, there is no need to worry about replacing them, but your nitrates may not drop much in a week, it takes tiem, and it happens slowly, so don't be in a hurry, but i twill happen(but definitely have an established dsb (plus lr is better yet) before proceeding)
HTH and good luck

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

I would ask the same wquestion a birt differently. If you have a DSB (using sand, not CC) then you can remove them right now.
If not you could also purchase a canister filter and run both for about two weeks and then remove the biowheel filter completely.
the issue is that you need some type of biofiltration or your tank will "crash".

 

[bammbamm74]

Hey, you know what? I have had my tank running for about 2months now. I have lr, not probably about 20 to 25 pounds and about 1.5" of a sand bed. I've just put a prizm skimmer on there. I still use the filter system, but I don't use bio-balls. I just took them out. I use the prefilter foam and this stuff that's supposed to be better than carbon, it's in a bag, came in a little plastic jar with a picture of a percula on it. I think from KENT.
Should I put the bio-balls back in there? They are the tan colored ones????

 

[tvan1]

my live sand is only about 2". Can I just add more ls to make 4" dsb? too stressful for fish?

 

[fshhub]

if you use ls, it would be less stressful since there would be much less dust,
one thing though, i would not add too much at once, only about a quarter inch at a time, every week or 2 until you get the desired depth

 

[lm]

Why do you add alittle at a time? I thought you could add all at once?? How do you convert cc to sand if you add alittle at a time??

 

[fshhub]

the reason to add a little at a time, if ther is a bed already establish, is because believe it or not, if you add it all at once, you could smother some of the life in the sand, bury it alive so to speak, the idea of havin a dsb is to have oxygen free zones, (so from there you can do the math)my reccomendation is to only add1/4 inch at a time, then wait a good week for the life to work it's way back to the surface layer), that is my understanding on the matter, i must admit that i never tried to add 3 inches on top of my dsb so i cannot tell for sure how true it is but it does make good sense based on the given facts
as for doing a complete change, there is nothing underneath the layers you are adding to do this to, so you could add all of it at once
actually i reccomend only doing a small amount at a time there too(to avoid water quality issues, and life in the cc getting removed too), but others have been successful changing alll and using stockings with the cc to seed with
HTH

 

[puff(er) daddy]

I don't have the recommended amount of l/r or l/s. I have 50lbs of l/r and about 3 inches of l/s. So I just answered my own question? Once I get the recommened amounts it would be concievable. Right?

 

[fshhub]

actually it is concievable to start to do so now, IMO, a 3 inch bed is still better than bio balls, much better, and it will have some denitrifing abilities