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01/27/2007, 04:44 PM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: north carolina
Posts: 60
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Biological _BIO_BALLS?
Are bio balls good or bad to use in a sump? upgrading to a pre-drilled 90 gal reef with a sump ---Tank has live rock and LPS corals.
Last edited by lawrenceparrish; 01/27/2007 at 05:12 PM. |
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01/27/2007, 05:44 PM
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#2 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Wallingford, CT
Posts: 557
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in my opinion the bio balls are a trap for nitrates. If you were to replace the bio balls with some live rubble rock I think you would be much happier in the end. just my 2 cents
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01/27/2007, 06:01 PM
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#3 | |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: north carolina
Posts: 60
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Quote:
wouldn't the live rock rubble need to be submerged? the bio balls are not- i have not installed my sump yet but it has bio-balls where the water trickles over them down into the sump |
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01/27/2007, 06:05 PM
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#4 |
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Team RC Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: STL
Posts: 14,754
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Yes, it would be better if the rock was fully submerged.
__________________
-Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system |
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01/27/2007, 06:28 PM
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#5 |
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Bogus Information Expert
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 16,147
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Well Sheriff,
Exposing media to air is used in a type of trickling filter we call a wet/dry. If is very, very efficient at converting ammonia to nitrate. The exposed portion has highly oxygenated water going over the media which helps create nitrate, a very oxygen demanding step. You want to save it for a FW tank. Why, nitrates are toxic to corals and invertebrates. A wet/dry makes nitrates so well the tank is soon saturated with nitrate. In modern SW tanks we rely on natural biological waste treatment without the mechanical assist. This filter is the LR and LS in your tank. They will do what the wet/dry does but also change nitrate back to harmless nitrogen gas. This created a tank with near zero nitrate. Skip the rubble and media. Just use about 1-2 lbs per gallon of LR and provide good, strong circulation. I like to use a DBS too. Arrest me if I'm wrong.  See The New Tank Thread for much more.
__________________
"Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom Current Tank Info: 130 Now out of service and a 29 |
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01/27/2007, 07:09 PM
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#6 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: north carolina
Posts: 60
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Thanks for the info----
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