a couple of other forums i have read have mentioned that i should lose the bio balls in my bio cube and replace it with rock rubble because of nitrates. well my tank is in the middle of a cycle so i dunno what i should do. is it a good idea to loose the bio balls or not? im confused:help:
Yes, putting in rock rubble is definately better than bio balls. The problem with bio balls is they "fill up" and no longer function after a period of time. This is easily remedied by regularaly taking them out and rinsing them good. It is just another step that has to be done where as with rock rubble you don't have to do that. Saves a little time. Right now in your cycle it doesn't really matter because your tank shouldn't really have to many nitrates yet. There really is no "bad time" to replace them if your going to.
So I have a 100g tank with a bio-ball drip system. I currently have about 80lbs of LR and a crushed coral substrate. I am planning on replacing the CC with a deep sand bed and adding another 70lbs of LR. I also have a Coralife 220 skimmer. If I want to get rid of the bio-balls and do rock rubble can I: a) do it all at once without a system shock? b) use dead, dried out LR without reseeding first? and c) do it at the same as the sand bed/CC change out and if not which one should be done first?
Sorry, but I am a relative newbie when it comes to terminology. What is LR and rock rubble? To me, LR is lactated ringer's, so please clarify. I am really interested in better ways to set up my tanks.
