How many useing Bio-Beads in max?

[redseareef]

Hi everyone,
Was just curious as to how many of you guys are using the ceramic beads that come with the tank ??? I have never really ran a full blown reef this small and am curious as to what you guys are doing?
Thanks PS I am really used to the Berlin method

[slakker]

I'm using it right now... just because I pu tit in there when I started up the tank and it's a pain to take out... so far, my water params are good, so it may be doing some good...

[redseareef]

Slakker,
Hey, Thanks man! No problems with high nitrates???? I think I will "PLOP" mine in tonight along with my carbon!!!
Thank you

[slakker]

No problems yet... since it's a pain to take things in and out of that chamber, I don't use carbon either... at least not yet... My tank is only a few months old and I have 3 fish and some inverts in there right now...

I've been overfeeding the tank to help my tang get over his ick... he's over it now, so I may lighten up the feeding. But still no nitrate issues...

In case you're wondering, I add tropic marin lipovit and immuvit to my food to strengthen the fish up...

[redseareef]

Slakker,
Thanks for the tips! I added both the bio media and the carbon last night. My tank water is crystal clear today.
The carbon will remove the tanins(coloration from algae) that the skimmer cannot remove. Much more water clarity with carbon. Also gets rid of the smell.
Do you see any benefits useing the vitamins for the fish???
Thanks PS Have you tested for nitrates?

[BigAl07]

Just be fore-warned! Any "bio-media" (rings, beads, etc) will become clogged over time with detritus and due to their efficiency at breaking it down into ammonia then nitrites it will produce nitrates with they can't break down. At that point it's a Nitrate Factory. The problem is that if you take them out to clean them you in effect remove all of the beneficial bacteria that's colonized on them. This could set off a whole new CYCLE.

With a Reef tank you want to rely on the Live Rock and Live Sand as your biological filtration.

[redseareef]

bigal,
Thanks for the warning,lol! This however "MAY" be different. First, the ceramic beads are fully submerged in seawater. Not like the Wet-Dry filters that where based off of sewage treatment plants. Those types of filters had the bio media not fully sumerged, but out of the water with water running over them. This did two things:
1. Broke the water down to a smaller size allowing more oxygenation and a much broader surface area.
2. Allowed the bacteria a much more abundant supply of oxygen. Which allowed for substantially more bacteria per sq inch. Speeding up the consumption of ammonia and nitrite greatly.
These bio beads or rings may in essence work just like filling the chamber up with rock or sand. The inner most part of the bag where the beads are may house bacteria to consume nitrates are well. This area will in my opinion will be a very low flow area Al.
If this is the case, we will then be safe-gaurding our system and improving water quality as well.
Another plus to adding this bag is creating a breeding area for copepodes and other small organisms.
The bag is of a large micron size, so sloshing the bag in a bucket of clean seawater or even the compartment(may) will be sufficient for removing debris.....
As I stated, I do not feel this is a Wet-Dry type of system. The basic dynamics that make a wet-Dry so efficient are just not there with this.
Time will tell, and if I am wrong I will certainly "EAT CROW" Al. It will not be the first time...............LOL

[BigAl07]

redseareef that is different but makes NO difference in the amount of detritus etc. Yes it's just like filling the chamber with rock & sand and BOTH are No-No in the reefing world. Agreed this is in no way a wet-dry filtration system but a fully submerged detritus catcher which will lead to highly elevated Nitrates in due time.

In fact some manufacturers are now putting "adendums" to the original instructions in the box with their units. I know for a fact JBJ was doing this and it stated something like, "IF this is going to be set up as a Reef Tank do NOT use the included 'Bio-media' in the back chamber."

Anything that has lots of nooks & crannies will indeed trap detritus and cause future problems. I'm not just speaking hypothetically... I'm speaking from experience. I've used Bio-media and also substituted Live Rock Rubble. They are in essence the same in this situation. They work TOO good at converting organic material into Ammonia then Nitrites then Nitrate. The problem is they are un-capable of carrying this to the next level which is Nitrate Reduction into Nitrogen gas. They do the first 2 steps so well that it caused increased Nitrates

[redseareef]

Al,
I appreciate the help and respect your opinion. Well, the whole back ass end of the tank is a detritus trap Al. This is where aquarium husbandry comes into play.
Even the black sponge that comes with this tank and goes in before the skimmer is a big no no in my book.
I have kept salt tanks for about 23 years. If the back chambers are vacuumed out when doing a water change(which they should be) then it may not be a problem.
I will admit this is my first go with a tank this small. But I feel the fundamentals are the same Al.
You can probably keep the sponge in there too IF you clean it on a regular basis.
Your points are taken here Al. I will do alot of testing and see how it works out Al. I will keep you posted too!
I am excited as this is my first Nano? BIG NANO???? I am adding cured rock to the tank today. Should be interesting to say the least............

[slakker]

I'm still experimenting, but if the ceramic beads are similar in structure as live rock , it may just end up "being" live rock in supporting bacteria growth... Not much difference between that and filling the back of biocubes with live rock... maybe?

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by slakker

I'm still experimenting, but if the ceramic beads are similar in structure as live rock , it may just end up "being" live rock in supporting bacteria growth... Not much difference between that and filling the back of biocubes with live rock... maybe?

You are correct. When you get down to it there really ISN'T any difference in that. Fills with detritus and gets nasty Leave those chambers empty and keep it clean

[redseareef]

slakker,
If you pull the bag out and slosh it in salt water to remove all the debris, think of it as cheap insurance against your tank crashing. It's just more filtration for the tank.
It will also be a good place for fauna to develop and will end up in the main tank as food. Sort of a fugium if you will.
I am trying mine out. Going to run some tests tonight!

[Reefmack]

For what it's worth, I removed my ceramic media after about 3 months, removing 1/2 and the other 1/2 a week later. I replaced it with live rock rubble in a bag, but found that the bag of rubble got very dirty. After a month I pulled that out too, and never saw any minor cycle. With at least 50 lbs. of rock in my tank the rock was capable of handing the whole cycle, including getting rid of nitrates.

[BigAl07]

Great advice and input Reefmack The back chambers are so much better off with nothing in them to catch detritus and get filthy. If you're not running a Reef Set-up this isn't nearly as critical.

Kudos to you for great advice