Bio balls

[dan-the-man]

What are everyone's thoughts on bio balls?

Where do you use them (i.e. first and last chamber or just first)?

What benefit do you see in using them?

Personally I've never used them and have no desire to, I don't see any benefit possible but would like to hear other opinions.

:)

[Ocean Corals]

I use them Dan, always have.. i have the first chamber packed with them and the 3rd. If i'm honest i don't know if they help or not but with a heavily stocked tank and nitrate at 0 if its not broke don't brake it :)

Paul

[Peculiar_Clown]

Always used them in the 1st, secton, they trapped large stuff, always had nitrates, but not excessively high (between 5 and 20). Like Storm, I was always heavily stocked. When I broke the tank down thay were alive with bristle worms and pods. I use to feed the skimmer from the 1st section too.

[Haile S]

I had a few bio balls (enough to cover the surface) in the first section and had no nitrate problems. I removed them to increase turbulence to try to resolve my ph problems and to make it easier to fit a filter sock which I use when I blast my live rock or remove coralline algae as otherwise it clogs the chaeto. Also my kalk stirrer now empties into that section so it is subject to some serious ph swings.

My third section was full of golf ball sized pieces of LR that have been gradually depleted and used as frag mounts. I’ve just bought another 8 KGs to put in this section.

[Cranners]

I have used them in the first section to capture any large pieces of detritus etc. The water then goes into the mud chamber and then into a live rubble chamber which has also got caulerpa and chaeto growing in it - this is also a very good fine filter.

The way I understand it bioballs can be used to provide aeration - if you spray the return on them and the water is allowed to flow over them - a large surface area for gaseous exhchange etc. Nitrates shouldnt be a problem from these if you are growing enough algae at the right rate it should be used up

J

[michael.]

good question, i keep seeing statements made about the fact they can convert ammonia to nitrite, then the nitrate formed from the nitrite cant be disperced and they become nitrate traps, now ive never used them on my tank, when i had a trickle filter i used live rock and not the bio balls which came with it because of all these comments, however thinking about it, i just dont get why a plastic ball formed and shaped as it is cant do the job provided the detritus is cleaned out regually and the bacteria allowed to do its job,if keeping a reef i think its risky keeping them as you could become lazy in cleaning out the detritus that will inevitably accummilate in the bio balls, however if your a clean it out regually sort of guy then i cant see why it wont be ok to use them,with a fish only tank it wouldnt really matter so much as fish are not quite so bothered about nitrate, well in smaller amounts, so as said a good question, but bio balls are not for me either

[pisces]

I can't see the problem with them. Now I am from a koi background and have no experience with marines, and I know aquaruim fltration techniques differ somewhat from pond filtration, but hear me out! :) If the bio balls are used soley for the capture of detritus and are cleaned out regularly, then there is very little chance of them doing any bio filtration at all as you will be constantly washing away the bacteria (or at least this was the case with pond pre-filters). However, if they are allowed to rest and collect detritus and colonise bacteria, I can see two problems. One, there will be the threat of harmful bacteria building up because of the trapped detritus, and two, they will be responsible for turning ammonia into nitrite and nitrite into nitrate (nitrogen cycle). The first point I see a problem with, but that goes for all types of mechanical filtration, if it's not cleaned regularly you run certain risks. But surely this could be helped by using filter floss/wool before/over the bio balls which could be easily changed when required, and thus preventing too much soild waste from being caught in them? As for the second point, I really don't see this being an issue either. OK you end up with nitrate as the final stage of the cycle, but isn't that why we are growing macro algae in the main area of the sump to get rid of it? I also don't see a problem using them after the main mud/algae area to stop stray algae entering the pump area as the water should by this time have been 'cleansed' and free of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, so the balls will be acting purely as a mechanical filter stopping algae escaping, so actual detritus build up should be minimal. I may be talking through my hoop here, but just looking at it from a theoretical point of view, I really don't see a problem with them if used properly. I am going to give them a go anyway! :whistling:

[Publican]

That's it i'm convinced, i'm throwing all mine back in the Perc.

There must be thousands of bio-balls sittting in bin bags dumped in garages up and down the country, lets all learn to love them!

[Ocean Corals]

I have never once in the 2.5 years of using them cleaned them!! I was told not too. And my stock both fish and corals are spot on. So is my water. and i dont plan on changing that as like said b4 if its not broke DONT BRAKE IT!!!!

[pisces]

Well there you are then. I'm happy to use them. :)

[dan-the-man]

Interesting points...

I can see the obvious use in them trapping detritus, be that chaeto, caulepa or anything else. But, good for gaseous exchange? I can't see it... Why would they be? The same point goes for treating it as biological media - the low surface area in relation to other things such as LR, possibly even the uncleaned glass in the tank...

[Frogfone]

we use them for 3 reasons.

1. mechanical filtration
2. produce nitrates
3. minimise splashing from downpipes.

we only really clean them if they are blocked with algae. Some have been in there so long now they are just a solid mass of sponge.


Roddy

[~JayK~]

But, good for gaseous exchange? I can't see it... Why would they be?

When they first started to use Bio Balls in filtration - they were used in Trickle filters, out of the water column - using either drip plates or rotating spray bars to disperse the water over the media, and to prevent channeling. Also, Air was Pumped into the chamber to aid good gasseous exchanges.

Things have changed somewhat now - and lots of people use them submerged.

I did use them on my old tank - and can honestly say I had no Nitrate issues - but I used them in a Tower, not submerged.

[ourmanflint]

Bioballs work on the basis of creating a biofilm filter, and from what I've read, they do work pretty well, providing they are kept in a reasonably turbulent environment that allows the film to regenerate safely. I suspect problems could arise if kept in areas of non turbulent flow, leading to the possibility of all the films dying at once creating a massive explosion of nitrogen and carbon.

Rod

[isekiman]

Hi bioballs are fine if used in a dry trickle tower ie one that is suspended above the water and the water allowed to trickle through either over a plate with holes in or a spray bar. You need to have the water through the skimmer first and then over the bioballs, this way its clean water without any crud in so it never causes nitrates. I ran a fish only system like this years ago and nitrates were zero all the time. HTH Eric:D