Bio Balls, the New Cycling Frontier

[Roan Art]

In December I will be cycling two new tanks: 1 55g and 1 45g. I intend to use a combination of Bio-Spira, Bio-Balls and ammonia to cycle these tanks.

My main concern is safety for all my fish.

Although they say that you can add Bio Spira and fish immediately, it stands to reason that since the bacteria isn't going to colonize IMMEDIATELY, there will be some ammonia/nitrites floating around for x amount of time until it can be processed by the bacteria. That stuff can hurt my fish. Especially my otocinclus cats.

Scenerio Details:

1. The recommendation has been 1 ball per 5 gallons, so that's 11 balls for the 55 and 9 balls for the 45 for a total of 20 Bio Balls that I will need to cycle those two tanks

1. I have 5 cycled tanks running atm: 1 2.5g, 1 6g, 1 10g, 1 20g, 1 36g

2. All 5 tanks have Bio Wheels

3. Both new tanks will also have Bio Wheels

Questions:

1. How many balls can I float in each cycled tank?

2. How long should the Bio Balls stay in the cycled tanks before being introduced to the new tanks?

3. Can I cut the amount of balls by 1/3 by using Bio Spira in conjunction with them? The Bio Spira needs at least 24 hours to colonize, so it's free floating and not doing anything until then. The Balls will have bacteria colonized already.

4. What will be the impact to the cycled tank of removing those balls and what can I do to avoid problems if there are any?

5. If the tanks are already cycled, then there is bacteria enough for that tank on the Bio Wheels and whatnot. Why would bacteria start to colonize the Bio Balls?

6. When the tank is cycled and I remove the Balls, what will be the impact on the newly cycled tank? Should the Bio Balls be removed 1 at a time, day by day until the Bio-Wheel is fully supporting the load of that tank?

More questions as I think of them. I want to plan this carefully because I really don't want to lose any of my fish.

Roan

 

[mooman]

You're making it too complicated. Take the biowheels for the new tank and put them in a bucket with tank water and biospira. Let them sit overnight with an airstone for circulation. Put them in the new tank, and if your worried about it, chalange the biofilter by adding ammonia to 5ppm and see if it is gone within 24hrs.

4. What will be the impact to the cycled tank of removing those balls and what can I do to avoid problems if there are any?

Absolutly no impact. Once a tank is mature we're talking about millions of bacteria covering every surface. Even if you removed half of the bacteria, you would be back to full bacterial load within one reproductive cycle (not sure how long that is, but would be surprised if it was over 24hrs)

Although they say that you can add Bio Spira and fish immediately, it stands to reason that since the bacteria isn't going to colonize IMMEDIATELY, there will be some ammonia/nitrites floating around for x amount of time until it can be processed by the bacteria. That stuff can hurt my fish. Especially my otocinclus cats.

By the time N compounds build up at all the bacteria would be attached and doing their job. I've seen controled crowding mbuna display tank at lfs started with biospira added at the SAME TIME as the fish with no ammonia spike or fish loss (mbuna are very sensative to ammonia)

Good Luck

 

[patoloco]

Hi there.

Bacteria will colonize every surface it can stick at. That includes tank glass, plastic plants, gravel, and specially, the filter media since there is more oxigen then in the other places.

Basically, bio balls are small pieces of plastic with large grooves that let water flow trought them. They are more used in the wet-dry or tricle filter, where water will spalsh over them. When you add bio balls to THE FILTER, bacteria will have a larger surface to colonize and therefore, if the biomass (amount of fishes) and waste grows, basteria will have more space to grow as well.


Removing bioballs from a stablished tank will be like removing bacteria's housing, and therefore I see it like a no-no. However, if you have a filter running for some time and wan to start another tank, moving the bioballs to the new set up will help`, just as if you moved some gravel or filter floss.

Don't think bioballs are a cycling product. They are part of your filtration system.

 

[RTR]

Some issues:

1) Biospira use assumes full bioload immediately. If you add Biospira without matching bioload, the newly introduced live bacteria will starve. BioSpira dosage is based on fully stocking the tank immediately.

2) Live nitrification bacteria, from Biospira or other source such as existing filters, when freed of attachment as is the case with BioSpira, will reattach within minutes to hours at most. If that attachment is in high-flow area (such as filters), they will be metabolizing immediately after attachment. If the bioballs are floated in a tank, not sequestered in a filter, the flow will be no more than that of any comparable surface in the tank, glasses, ornaments, rocks, exposed subtrate surface. If you want to precondition bioballs, house them in a filter, perferablely a closed system such as a canister or W/D where flow is maximized and resonably uniform throughout.

3) If Biospira has been properly shipped and stored, there will be no ammonia detectable. There may be detectable nitrite at 24-48 hours, but it should be below hazardous/dangerous levels.

4) While it is perfectly true that all surfaces within an established and stable tank are colonized by bacteria and algae and infusorians, the nitrification bacteria will be preferentially in the filter, where protected (previously mechanically filtered) water flow maximizes 1) water flow 2) cleaned of suffocating particulates 3) providing maximum delivery of O2 (required for respiration and oxidation of ammonia to nitrite and in turn of nitrite to nitrate) and maximumum removal of waste. 4) In stable tanks, >75% of nitrification activity is in the filter; in filters providing optimon situations such as HOBS with biowheels, prefiltered W/Ds, canisters with graded mechanical filtration upstream of bioballs or other biomedium, or in prefiltered RFUG, the percentage will be greater. In my tanks by tests, >90 of nitrification occurs in the filter. Dispersed biofiltration at significant levels only occurs in tanks where the filtration is not so handled or where the biomedium is not protected from suffocation, or the nitrification colonies are damaged in cleaning or by media replacement.

All this means that floating bioballs, unless stirred contstantly by continuous current, will do no more nitrification than would plastic plants, nor would a floating biowheel. Both may well have attached nitrification bacteria, especially if inoculation has been done, but it will not be mature colonies as would be provided in a properly set and maintained filter.

HTH

 

[manna]

Excellent post by RTR. Much appreciated.

Perhaps you could skip the bioballs altogether, and just get your bio-wheel filters early, and run them on your established tanks for a few weeks before you set up the new tanks.

 

[Roan Art]

You're making it too complicated.

Awww, man. Yer no fun

Take the biowheels for the new tank and put them in a bucket with tank water and biospira. Let them sit overnight with an airstone for circulation. Put them in the new tank, and if your worried about it, chalange the biofilter by adding ammonia to 5ppm and see if it is gone within 24hrs.

Dammit! Tank water in a bucket (**whaps head repeatedly**) Why didn't I think of that???

Absolutly no impact. Once a tank is mature we're talking about millions of bacteria covering every surface. Even if you removed half of the bacteria, you would be back to full bacterial load within one reproductive cycle (not sure how long that is, but would be surprised if it was over 24hrs)

Okay, good. I don't intend on transferring my fish all at once anyone. I need to keep the bacteria colonies alive in the old tank so that I can transfer my son's fish into that one.

By the time N compounds build up at all the bacteria would be attached and doing their job. I've seen controled crowding mbuna display tank at lfs started with biospira added at the SAME TIME as the fish with no ammonia spike or fish loss (mbuna are very sensative to ammonia)

Okay, will do.

Roan