How long to Bio-Balls Last? When do I replace

[rockhoundmaiden]

Hi Everyone.

How long do Bio-Balls last?

How do I know when to change them?

Are the black or white better than the Blue ones?

This wet/dry sump came with my set up and I didn't know how useful or useless these little balls are?

Thanks in advance.

[FalsePerc]

How long do Bio-Balls last?
Bio-Balls are made to have a large SA to encourage the growth of marine nitrifying bacteria. Once they have a stable poulation, changing them would leave you without all of the bacteria that had grown there. They should last forever.

How do I know when to change them?
You don't.

Are the black or white better than the Blue ones?
I doubt that the coloration of biological filteration media such as Bio-Balls has any bearing whatsoever on their efficiency.

This wet/dry sump came with my set up and I didn't know how useful or useless these little balls are?
Thye are very useful for denitrification, which is their purpose. Think of them like live rock (in terms of bacterial populations/biological filtration power) once they have established bacterial colonies.

HTH and good luck on your new setup!

[rockhoundmaiden]

FalsePerc - You're the BEST - Thank you :rollface:

[Heinz]

end result of bioballs are always nitrates, so nothing like live rock,

if you wanne run a reef tank i would not recommend bioball's

get a good skimmer and enough LR and lose the bioballs

bioballs = nitrification but no denitrification

LR = denitrification

[zfunk007]

True Heinz but if you do frequent enough water changes it shouldent matter... you could always add a refugium as well..

[Heinz]

Originally posted by zfunk007
True Heinz but if you do frequent enough water changes it shouldent matter... you could always add a refugium as well..


####Thye are very useful for denitrification, which is their purpose. Think of them like live rock (in terms of bacterial ###

that was said and thats just not true, just wanted to clear it up thats all

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Originally posted by zfunk007
True Heinz but if you do frequent enough water changes it shouldent matter... you could always add a refugium as well..

. . . or just do that stuff without the bio balls, letting live rock, skimmer, 'fuge, etc (i.e. things that *don't* produce nitrate as an end product) handle your bio load.

[Bendrago]

Any kind of mechanical filtration, be it bioballs or what ever filter material, always produces nitrates.
Mechanical filtration should only be used if there is an emergency and you have to remove eg. some particles from your tank.

Live rock, decent skimmer, good light, good current, that's it, works best.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Originally posted by Bendrago
Any kind of mechanical filtration, be it bioballs or what ever filter material, always produces nitrates.
Mechanical filtration should only be used if there is an emergency and you have to remove eg. some particles from your tank.


Not to be picky, but IMHO that's misleading as well. Mechanical or biological filtration only produces any sort of biological effect (turning ammonia into nitrite and nitrate, for example) if it's been in the aquarium long enough to establish a colony of bacteria.

Thus, if you change or clean your mechanical filtration (filter sock or filter floss for instance) very often (once a week or more) then it shouldn't play any major role in the nitrogen cycle. Or, if, as you suggested, you only run it short term in emergencies, it obviously won't play any role.

That applies to mechanical filtration - i.e. devices meant to physically strain solids out of the water as the water is passed through them. Using them short term can definitely be helpful if you've somehow managed to get lots of suspended solids in your tank water.

Using "biological" filtration (like bio-balls) in a "short term" manner for emergencies makes no sense, as it wouldn't have any established bacteria population and wouldn't do a thing for your tank, good or bad.