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Setting up a MM sump with bio balls before and after the mud section
and wondering how often should they be given a clean to stop them going 'bad'?
what's does 'go bad' mean?. Bio balls being a nitrate factory has been dismissed in plenty of previous threads. I've run Ecosystem for 6 years and never 'cleaned' them. Every 3 to 6 months or so i lift them out and siphon out the detritus underneath.
well, that was why the bad was in enclosed marks, as an expression,
i know they are meant to be rinsed in tank water to stop detrius building up in and around them like you said, but not to kill any bacterial life on them, just wondered how often it should be done,
thanks.
ive not bothered with the bio balls. ive just used a weir comb to prevent caulerpa getting into pump.
Peculiar_Clown
04-03-09, 11:13
I've only ever known them to be a great home for pods and worms. When I decommissioned mine they were swarming with life. these lived on the said detritus.
So are you saying they do more harm than good.
Don't use bio balls at all.
craigieboi
10-03-09, 14:11
no the 'bioballs' are bad myth has been shattered many a time i use bioballs in my 1st chamber pre MM
hi reading your thread i might be speaking out of turn here but i think the problem only happens when bio balls are out of water affectively as trickle filter that is when they cannot convert natrate hence a nitrate factory
craigieboi
11-03-09, 18:38
nope as my bioballs are both in and out of water ( creates differing bacteria)
yep bioballs are useful in the sump for smashing detritus, and maintaining a bacteria load to help with filtration. Clayton in his reef tank for ultra marine mag suggested that the bioballs are used not for filtration but for oxygenation and filtering detritus.
I have noticed that my algae has grown into the first chamber and probably is feeding on the nitrates within the first chamber. I also have lots of coraline algae on the bioballs and stacks of life - pods etc
J
hi as it says in claytons write up if ive got it right, They are for degassing purpose i thought that was to take the microbubbles out after skimming sorry if i have got wrong .you cant argue with the results either way
interesting, I always went along the line of remove bio balls due to there supposed nitrate factory abilities, however always done so with that niggling feeling in the back of my mind as to why do so many manufacturers include bio balls in there filtration system, even refugium manufacturers include them in there products. Most canister products have them in to. Can they all be wrong? Now I'm back on the fence again!
never removed mine and tanks been running 4-5yrs no problems other than syno j
redlion1968
26-03-09, 00:55
i have never used them....but a lot of the stuff i have read recently banishes the old mth so i am going to use them in my new system sump
L3igh 1990
26-03-09, 01:02
bio balls do exactly the same things a lr rubbe dont they
Still on the fence with this one, its the usual everyone does it there way which is whats so good about this hobby. Some find bio balls a no no others swear by them. If live rubble achieves the same results as bio balls then i guess thats a better option if you feel thats natures way, but then if bio balls do the same as live rubble that has to be a good cost excercise so is that a beter option!
Soz u can see I'm still on that bl**dy fence!:confused: :D
If bioballs are nitrate factories surely that would be great for the algae? dont they take up NO3? The algae is growing into my first chamber and growing over the bioballs....
The oxygenating effect of bioballs and trapping detritus or breaking down detritus is useful for the mud filter
J
If bioballs are nitrate factories surely that would be great for the algae? dont they take up NO3? The algae is growing into my first chamber and growing over the bioballs....
The oxygenating effect of bioballs and trapping detritus or breaking down detritus is useful for the mud filter
J
Does it come down to different setups and balance. Maybe Cranners setup works really well because his setup and filtration balance and flow are spot on so it works correctly. Just a thought though Cranners, if your algae is growing into the bio balls chamber does that mean that the algae is not getting enough in its own chamber? Or simply the algae is outgrowing its chamber and is simply expanding into available areas? Eitherway it obviously suits the algae as its growing. I think I would try bio balls if it wasnt for the fact I have enough LR to use as rubble, but is LR rubble the right thing to use anyway? :whistling:
God this "nitrate factory" term does my head in.
They dont build nitrates out of nothing, they just dont convert nitrates when LR does.
its just LR>bio balls.
They cant be BAD in any way filterwise, apart from a waste of space if you can put LR in the space!
God this "nitrate factory" term does my head in.
They dont build nitrates out of nothing, they just dont convert nitrates when LR does.
its just LR>bio balls.
They cant be BAD in any way filterwise, apart from a waste of space if you can put LR in the space!
calm down :laugh: we are not all experts, hence the invention of forums!
robertholloway
27-03-09, 14:35
So if i were to use bioballs and lrr would that work better than both on there own??
I would just use LR if i had it available, if you dont, fill the space with B-Balls.
And no im not angry i just think this myth needs sorting!
its just a term that doesnt mean what it originated from!
I think that the nitrification process isnt completed with bioballs hence large amounts of NO3 rather than through to N - at least this is how I see them being nitrate factories
Nitrogen is the end product when you push the cycle through to its conclusion......
Ammonia - Nitrite - Nitrate - Nitrogen
I suspec the algae is growing into the bioballs because they are fast running out of room in the sump - I am going to harvest plenty this weekend.
J
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