I was looking at these bioballs, and noticed they were rated for 45-60 gallons. I noticed that other brands have different ratings for their own gallon of bio balls... Are these ratings fairly accurate? Is there somewhere cheaper to buy them? Are pot scrubbies much worse than 'the real stuff'?
Are all bio balls equal?
- Thread starter wanabedriver
- Start date
difference i believe are just in size.
from what i have seen they tend to be better more surface area yet cheaper. anything can be a bio media just the more surface area for bacteria the better.
Only in the short term. One big advantage to bioballs is that they won't clog. Under most circumstances they're maintenance free. Scrubbies tend to collect alot more detritus which can over time not only negate the initial surface advantage but cause additional problems associated with large amounts of detritus.
smitty
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I wonder how well the pot scrubbies hold up over time being constantly exposed to water. I know that they break down over time. I use the Eheim effix (green nylon padding). I used the same piece for over 15 years.
Personally, ive switched to Renas Biostars on all of my tanks. Theyre more expensive than most biological media, but ive found that you dont need nearly as many of them. Theyre made from a porous polymer material that actually traps and holds oxygen within the inner pores of the stars for long periods of time. They also hold water for long periods of time, which is good when youre moving them so you can seed new tanks. I took 4 out of my 55g and used them to seed my 40b and that small amount was plenty because i never got the slightest spikes in any parameters. I needed 15 regular bioballs to seed my 20l years back. I started out with 10 and still saw a small spike in ammonia, so i had to add 5 more. This was on a tank that wasnt as heavily stocked as the 20h that i seeded with the biostars. Theyre by far the best bio media ive encountered in my 15+ years of keeping fish:thm:
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3605
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3605
Almost half the price of the ones you listed from Dr. Foster's http://www.bigalsonline.com
do a search for Bio Balls
do a search for Bio Balls
Thank you all for the input. I may splurge a bit and get the actual bio balls (thanks jawasnack for the link, I only checked Amazon and prices weren't too cheap so I stopped looking around). Even though scrubbies and straws and green army men work, I kind of want to stick with a 'tried and trued' method rather than 'how cheap can I make this' approach.
sCeRaXn, the Renas Biostars look interesting, but to be honest I'm a little hesitant relying on porous materials to provide surface area. I purchased some ceramic rings, and I can't help but feel that they're starting to get 'clogged' and less effective... Sponge pre-filter didn't work as well as I hoped. Plus, I kind of want the 'experience' of owning bioballs. Weird concept since it's not exactly owning a Lamborghini or yacht, but it's been in the back of my mind for the last 10 years that I wanted to have bioballs since that's what the 'serious guys' used. Might as well do it now, eh?
sCeRaXn, the Renas Biostars look interesting, but to be honest I'm a little hesitant relying on porous materials to provide surface area. I purchased some ceramic rings, and I can't help but feel that they're starting to get 'clogged' and less effective... Sponge pre-filter didn't work as well as I hoped. Plus, I kind of want the 'experience' of owning bioballs. Weird concept since it's not exactly owning a Lamborghini or yacht, but it's been in the back of my mind for the last 10 years that I wanted to have bioballs since that's what the 'serious guys' used. Might as well do it now, eh?