mogurnda said:
You're right that there are a ton of opinions on the boards and in the LFS.
The unenviable position that marine newbies like myself find ourselves in is that we have no true experience to base our decisions on. That's why places like this are such a great resource... I don't want to make mistakes that could have easily beed avoided by reading up on how more experienced aquariasts do things.
But then again, I have the LFS to get info from also... and if it's readily apparent that I am indeed a novice, he will undoubtedly share his own opinions of things like wet/dry filters with bioballs, which can get somewhat uncomfortable if these views confict with what I've read here. In other words, I'm not able to say, "well, in my experience, bioballs cause trouble and are uneeded with sufficient live rock." Instead, I can only say, "someone on the internet told me so, and it makes sense to me." Tack on an unspoken "so I'm not going to listen to YOUR advice," and it might cause a little friction with people with whom you'd prefer to have a good relationship.
However, that said, I have significant confidence in the advice I read here and intend to stick to it for the most part. I think that perhaps LFSs might fall into the "that's the way we've always done it" rut, and not keep up with new developments that indicate there are better ways of doing things.
Back to the actual topic. My initial reaction was to want to have bioballs (or some other type of biological filtration media)... after all, more is better, right? If I take those steps to prevent excessive nitrate build-up (plus, it won't be a reef tank, so nitrates wouldn't be AS critical), why not keep them? In my particular case, there is one very good reason why.
As I posted in a thread a few weeks ago, one of my concerns about starting a SW tank is the potential that a hurricane could knock out power as Katrina did a few months ago, which, with us having evacuated, resulted in my small FW tank (with just a couple of gouramis in it) being without filtration or circulation for several days until I was able to return home and hook it up to the generator. But I wouldn't want to put a fully-stocked SW tank through this.
Thinking of how I could best ensure the survival of my SW fish, I'd probably rig up some sort of pumps with a 12v high capacity battery like I use on our sailboat. While I could certainly rig a pump as a temporary sump return, this would complicate things somewhat, and likely draw more power (meaning a shorter window of running time) than just having a pump or two in the tank itself to provide circulation for the LR to do its thing.
My concern with bioballs would be that, if I understand correctly, the nitrifying bacteria colonies grow to whatever level of need exists in the tank. So, if the wet/dry is handling a significant portion of the biofiltration, and it is suddenly removed, I would probably see an ammonia spike as a result of the live rock alone not being able to handle the full load right away. For that reason alone, I think letting LR handle all the biofiltration is the best way for my situation.
--Mike
