Question about adding fish...

bio balls will create nitrates by trapping detritus but only if they are not changed.
and i personaly would leave the carbon in.
id recomend keeping the temp between 79-80 degrees F
 
I've heard really conflicting opinions on the whole "bioballs are nitrate factories" topic. Trust me, I've done TONS of research on it since I have bioballs in my wet-dry filter. If kept reasonably clean, common opinion has it that they can be beneficial in helping reduce nitrATES through the bacteria that grow on them. But then again, if you clean them periodically, aren't you eliminating those very bacteria?? The other school of thought leans towards using fragments of LR in place of the bioballs. They would perform the same function as the bioballs, without starting up nitrATE factories. So, I've decided to gradually replace all my bioballs with bits of LR :)

Cheers!
Yash
 
Yash said:
But then again, if you clean them periodically, aren't you eliminating those very bacteria?? The other school of thought leans towards using fragments of LR in place of the bioballs. They would perform the same function as the bioballs, without starting up nitrATE factories. So, I've decided to gradually replace all my bioballs with bits of LR :)
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live rock does have the exact same fuction as bio balls and the exact same negative efffects. the problem with bio-balls is that they trap detritus and the flow cannot blow it away to be cleaned by your skimmer, ect. live rock will do the exact same thing. i have seen a few other people suggest doing that also, but in reality, it doesnt fix the problem at all. it only makes the set up more expensive. haha.
and you would be removeing the bacteria when you replave bioballs or clean them. but in an established tank, it will quickly grow back
even with the negative effects, bio balls can still be very beneficial to FO or softie tanks, but i dont knwo if i woudl recomend them for an sps tank.
 
fishieness said:
live rock does have the exact same fuction as bio balls and the exact same negative efffects. the problem with bio-balls is that they trap detritus and the flow cannot blow it away to be cleaned by your skimmer, ect. live rock will do the exact same thing. i have seen a few other people suggest doing that also, but in reality, it doesnt fix the problem at all. it only makes the set up more expensive. haha.
and you would be removeing the bacteria when you replave bioballs or clean them. but in an established tank, it will quickly grow back
even with the negative effects, bio balls can still be very beneficial to FO or softie tanks, but i dont knwo if i woudl recomend them for an sps tank.
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thats what our store does not recommend.. bio balls in a reef tank.. (thats also what the filter is NOT designed for) instead a sump is better
 
fishieness said:
live rock does have the exact same fuction as bio balls and the exact same negative efffects.
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Hmmm ... there goes my plan out the window then! Ok, a question sort of related to this then ... when folks have macro growing in their sump, say chaeto ... what do they grow that on? I thought it was on LR? The reason I ask this is that is what I plan on doing with the LR that I currenly am adding in place of the bioballs ... have some macro grow on them.

Thanks!
Yash
 
they do not grow anything on the macro (although pods and bristle worms will usualy hang out in there). instead, they are growing the macro itself. all plants need a lot of phosphates and nitrates (two of the things that youw ant to get rid of in a reef tank). as the macro grows, it absorbs these two ions, removing them form the water collum. then when it grows too much and you have to cut some back, you indirectly remove phosphates and nitrates form your water.
 
I actually said that the macro will grow on the LR :) Wouldn't the macro need something to anchor themselves on? Or is sand in the sump the only option?
 
ohhh!!! i see. haha.. sorry
it will naturaly ancho irself in the sand or some lr if provided ()which it usualy is in a refugium). but if it flows around freely no harm will come to it
 
Cool! The way my fuge is built, it has 2 chambers (one for the pre-filter, and the one below where the bioballs are currently at) stacked vertically on the left, which make up the wet-dry. The water then flows through an acrylic sponge, into the main chamber for return to the tank. I was thinking of eventually doing away with the bioballs, and adding some LR in the bottom chamber to grow macro on. What're your thoughts on this?

booj - sorry I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I figured since we were talking about bioballs and nitrates, that my experience might help with what you might be considering doing as well.

Cheers!
Yash
 
is it an actual wetdry or is it jsut a sump with bioballs?
i would highly suggest a refugium over a wet dry for a reef. if you have a RO then it should be okay. but assuming you have an actual tank and not a wetdry where you would only have like 3 gallons of space to put the macro and such, it sounds like a good idea to me
of course though, you can really put it anywhere, even in your prefilter or some plave. i have some macro in my main tank, and some in the pre skimming box of my remora pro
 
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