bio-ball in an overflow?

Pensky · 10/29/2006, 01:06 PM

Would it be benifical to put some bio-ball in this overflow?

derekman · 10/29/2006, 01:14 PM

bioballs are the devil! I'd avoid the bioballs unless you have a ridiculous overstocking of fish. Also, Putting bioballs in your overflow will reduce the GPH slowing down you maximum
GPH (if your going for a max out) live rock is the way to go.

davocean · 10/29/2006, 01:25 PM

Bio-balls aren't really used in reef tanks.
Nitrate sink.
If you have them in your sump, I would slowly remove them.

awestruck · 10/30/2006, 05:05 AM

From what I've learned bio balls are a "bigger" version of those ceramic things that go in canisters. Although they do break down amonia and nitrites, nitrates get stuck there and you will almost always (if not always) have high nitrate levels. Let rock and sand (or just rock if you go that route) be your filtration system.

fishysteve · 10/30/2006, 06:16 AM

Yeah, I'd stay away from bio balls by any means.

WinkeyWoneye · 10/30/2006, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by davocean
Bio-balls aren't really used in reef tanks.
Nitrate sink.
If you have them in your sump, I would slowly remove them.

Tell that to the New England Aquarium!!!! I went to the New England Aquarium for a behind the scenes tour this weekend with my local club. All they use is bio-balls and filter socks. They stay away from any type of sand filtration because they say its a nitrate trap. When asked about bio-balls being a nitrate trap they said they can be but thats where the filter socks come into play. They use filter socks when ever and where ever they can to filter out the extra gunk, before going into the bio-ball chambers. They have chambers full of bio-balls that are taller tham me at 5'11", and yes they are hooked to reef tanks. Tanks quite larger than yours or mine I would have to say. There corals all look beautiful too, so I would have to say bio-balls arent as bad as people think. The purpose behind bio-balls is to give you more surface area for beneficial bacterias to grow. IF you detect nitrates in your system you can then take out portions of the bio-balls and rinse them off, do not rinse them all at once though as you will be breaking down the filter by killing off beneficial bacterias. Think about it, if sand beds or any other type of sand filtration gets packed with detrius what would have to be done to stop the nitrates from leeching out,.... replacing the sand. That doesnt sound like much fun and is most likely rather messy at that. The bio-balls can simply be taken out rinsed and re-used if they get too dirty and become a nitrate leech. Makes sense to me. I used to be a bio-ball hater myself, until the aquarium tour , where they brought out the pros and cons of bio-balls verses sand filtration. I am considering dropping some bio-balls into my pre-sump now for the added surface area. Here is a pic of a bio-ball chamber from the NE Aquarium, followed by a pic of there big reef display, which is hooked to that chamber. Doesnt look like the bio-balls are bothering any corals to me. This is all coming from one of the head people in the fisheries department also, not just some random employee 201.
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As for adding them into your overflow, I dunno about this as there really isnt all that much flow in there. They would most likely do nothing but catch detrius in the overflow. Adding them to your pre-sump or sump would be better.

WinkeyWoneye · 10/30/2006, 06:48 AM

double post, please delete.

mthedude · 10/30/2006, 11:39 AM

God doesn't use BioBalls to filter out NO3 in his aquarium (the ocean).

Steve Richardson · 10/30/2006, 11:55 AM

...or keep fish and other animals in teeny-weeny little boxes.

jimbo045 · 10/30/2006, 11:58 AM

I'd stay away, you can be clogging the overflow. JD

beetle-b · 10/30/2006, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mthedude
God doesn't use BioBalls to filter out NO3 in his aquarium (the ocean).

Sure he does...its called rock

I would make it a cryptic refugium, never tried the bio-ball thing in my overflow, because of all the bad press. So I can't comment on its effects on an aquarium...however I do have a cryptic refugium (just live rock rubble in place of the balls, in dim light) and have had good success. All sorts of little critters grow in my cryptic refugium/overflow...lots of info on wetwebmedia.com and on this site. Check it out, pretty cheap and easy to set up.

namdrib2 · 10/30/2006, 02:42 PM

I can attest to the lowering of nitrates in my tank from 25-30 ppm to 0 ppm with the elimination of the bio-balls in my wet-dry and the addition of a refugium. The fuge was added first and really did nothing for lowering the nitrate. But after removing the bio-balls, over a three week period, nitrates went to 0 and have not moved since.

Mr31415 · 10/30/2006, 03:03 PM

Hmm maybe my tank is too young (4 months) but I have my overflow full of large bioballs (the primary reason for silencing the overflow, secondary for some added wet/dry trickle filtration) and my nitrates have been 0 for the past 3 months. I do have 80kg of LR in a 550l tank though...

10/29/2006, 01:06 PM	#1
Pensky Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Farmington, MO Posts: 335	bio-ball in an overflow? Would it be benifical to put some bio-ball in this overflow?

10/29/2006, 01:14 PM	#2
derekman Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 245	bioballs are the devil! I'd avoid the bioballs unless you have a ridiculous overstocking of fish. Also, Putting bioballs in your overflow will reduce the GPH slowing down you maximum GPH (if your going for a max out) live rock is the way to go. __________________ Derek Current Tank Info: 82 total gallons reef, 390w PC 150 MH, LPS SPS

10/29/2006, 01:25 PM	#3
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	Bio-balls aren't really used in reef tanks. Nitrate sink. If you have them in your sump, I would slowly remove them. __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

10/30/2006, 05:05 AM	#4
awestruck Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,572	From what I've learned bio balls are a "bigger" version of those ceramic things that go in canisters. Although they do break down amonia and nitrites, nitrates get stuck there and you will almost always (if not always) have high nitrate levels. Let rock and sand (or just rock if you go that route) be your filtration system. __________________ I received the best gift ever today: My son told me that he loves me. Current Tank Info: 65g. w/20g. sump; Reef Octopus Skimmer; (2) x 150w. MH and (2) x 65w. pc. sump-mixed reef

10/30/2006, 06:16 AM	#5
fishysteve Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 1,804	Yeah, I'd stay away from bio balls by any means. __________________ On a break

10/30/2006, 06:48 AM	#7
WinkeyWoneye Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Albany, New York Posts: 318	double post, please delete. __________________ CDMAS I suffer from REEFER MADNESS!! Current Tank Info: Oceanic RR 72g Bowfront w/ 20g sump/fuge. Euro-reef CS6-1 skimmer w/gate valve mod. Have a couple SPS corals, many ricordia, zoa's, mushrooms, softies, LPS, and a Rock/flower anemone.

10/30/2006, 11:39 AM	#8
mthedude Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Des Moines, IA Posts: 549	God doesn't use BioBalls to filter out NO3 in his aquarium (the ocean). __________________ You........Cake or Death? I'll have the cake please.... ....well we're outta cake! Current Tank Info: 55g Reef Tank, scooter blenny, tail spot blenny, cleaner shrimp, button polyps, fuzzy mushrooms, hammer coral, multi color zoos, 10 gal fuge, Octopus NW150

10/30/2006, 11:55 AM	#9
Steve Richardson Premium Member Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: MA, USA Posts: 1,722	...or keep fish and other animals in teeny-weeny little boxes. __________________ Steve R.

10/30/2006, 11:58 AM	#10
jimbo045 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Aiea, HI. Posts: 1,788	I'd stay away, you can be clogging the overflow. JD

10/30/2006, 02:42 PM	#12
namdrib2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Norwood MA Posts: 131	I can attest to the lowering of nitrates in my tank from 25-30 ppm to 0 ppm with the elimination of the bio-balls in my wet-dry and the addition of a refugium. The fuge was added first and really did nothing for lowering the nitrate. But after removing the bio-balls, over a three week period, nitrates went to 0 and have not moved since.

10/30/2006, 03:03 PM	#13
Mr31415 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Surrey, Canada Posts: 1,926	Hmm maybe my tank is too young (4 months) but I have my overflow full of large bioballs (the primary reason for silencing the overflow, secondary for some added wet/dry trickle filtration) and my nitrates have been 0 for the past 3 months. I do have 80kg of LR in a 550l tank though...