Bio Balls!

mikelam

mikelam

Member
I have been scanning through this forum and was surprised to read the recommendation that the bio balls in a 29 Biocube be replaced. With what?
I recently bought a used tank that I regret. I am finding that the nitrate levels warrant water changes in less than a week. (yes, I have cut way back on the food). I only have 2 clowns, a RBT, some zoas, star polyps, and mushrooms. I have lots of good live rock and good sand. My old tank was very stable and this one isn't. I don't have a protein skimmer. Well, I do have one that came with the tank (a biocube skimmer) but it is lacking a cup. The local store said I wouldn't need one but I wonder?
Is there anything I can do to make this tank more stable?
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Bio-balls are VERY well suited for Fish Only systems where Nitrates aren't a "Major" issue (NO3 aren't good but fish can tolerate some better than coral).

The problem with Bio-balls, bio-rings, Bio-ANYTHING is that it is unable to colonize with the bacteria needed to break down NO3 into harmless Nitrogen gas. Ironically it's VERY good at breaking down organics to Ammonia then Nitrites then to Nitrates. This is where they STOP!

Unfortunately because of the HUGE amount of "nooks & crannies" organics (detritus etc) tend to collect instead of making it to areas (skimmer, sponges, etc) where it's removed before it's broken down. This only compounds the problem and great increases your NO3 levels.

Unfortunately (IMHO) anything you put back there will "Mimic" bio-balls and have similar results.

If you have sufficient Live Rock then you can slowly remove the bio-balls from the system. Be sure to do it SLOWLY over a set period of time and not "All out today". Remember that your system is still relying on the BB for some degree of biological filtration and you want to slowly remove them and allow the rest of the system to colonize to compensate for their removal. I like to see people remove 1/4 (or less) over THAT many water changes. Be sure to clean out the back chamber once they are removed because you'll probably have a good build up of "GUNK" down in there.

In my 12g Cube I had Live Rock Rubble in the back chamber thinking, "Whew I got the bio-balls out and this adds more Live Rock to my system". WRONG! It behaves just like BB and I had NO3 issues. Once the LRR was out and I did a few water changes my NO3 dropped and hasn't been an issue in over 3 years now.

I keep my back chambers CLEAN and it makes life so MUCH better!

Others may have different ideas but this is what has worked well for me and my particular set-ups. YMMV though.

Good luck and Happy Reefing :)
 
M

marineman

Member
The bio balls should be replaced with live rock, a minimum of 1lb per gallon. As far as a more stable tank, Weekly water changes (10%-15%), and get that protein skimmer working. I sure more will reply with more questions but I believe this is a good start.
 
mikelam

mikelam

Member
Thank you, I will be smiling as I remove 1/4 of the bioballs! Any ideas for a skimmer since my cup can't be replaced?
 
M

Mad Marik

Member
BB seems to be a preference, depending on who you talk to. Kinda like the bud/miller or ford/chevy discussions.

Havent had any problems with them yet, and I know alot of people who had tanks for 3+ years running them without issue and they have every level of coral and fish.

Good luck ;)
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Mad Marik said:
BB seems to be a preference, depending on who you talk to. Kinda like the bud/miller or ford/chevy discussions.

Havent had any problems with them yet, and I know alot of people who had tanks for 3+ years running them without issue and they have every level of coral and fish.

Good luck ;)
Click to expand...

With all due respect it's a little more than "preference" as they are documented well and often to not be able to complete the process. If the tank has enough live rock, live sand, fed sparingly, heavily skimmed, and the bio-media "maintained" yes they can do ok.

It's such an issue that some of the All-In-One manufacturers (NanoCube for sure, or at least in mine) have put an addendum to their instructions stating something like, "If this is to be a REEF tank do NOT use the included bio-rings as they are not intended for a Reef Tank set-up."


As with most other aspects of this hobby there are several different ways to accomplish the same task. As always, YMMV.
 
mikelam

mikelam

Member
Yesterday, I cleaned the bio-ball compartment. I took all the balls out and rinsed them in the salt water I took from the tank and left less than 1/4 of the balls out when I put them back. I cleaned that compartment as best I could before returning the balls. My NO3 reading went from almost 25 to less than 1!
I guess that was a toxic waste dump back there. I had done this same cleaning March 10th (before I had a test kit). I was hoping this 29biocube would be less maintenance than my retrofitted 35 hex but so far it is way more. I am hoping that when I finally get rid of the balls things will be more stable.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
mike my 12g NanoCube (here in my office) is about as "Self Sustaining" as possible. I add top-off water 1x a week and other than that water changes are IT other than scraping the glass 1x a week or so.
 
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