Why take out the BIo balls from a wet/ dry??

[5speedT]

Why do I see people taking out the bio balls from the Wet/dry filter systems? also if you guys are taking it out what are you replacing it with?

[bbehring]

Depends on your tank use? Fish only or reef? If reef, the balls pose a nitrate collection/trap issue for you. If you have live rock in the tank and/or sump then you don't need to bio balls for the reef setup. Corals are susepticale to high nitrate levels. Elevated levels don't pose problems to fish, just inverts/corals.

[5speedT]

Thanks for the reply! Im looking to set up my 72 gallon bow front tank with a wet dry filter made by Eshopps. Im looking to keep maybe 8 clowns in the tank with assorted mushroom corals. Not really looking into anemones because im using compact flourescent lighting. Does this still mean I have to take the balls out? also wouldnt keeeping the balls clean stop the nitrates? this si starting to sound wierd with the balls and all..lol..thanks for your help. What other things could I replace it with that wont give me these problems. Mostly fish tank but with lots of live rock bare bottom. I plan to have at least 200lbs of LR, no sand, a Prizm prodeluxe skimmer, and the wet dry filter. Im gonna make the PVC pipe structure to hold the rock up above the floor.

[kdblove_99]

As stated above the balls will not help the nitrates but become more of a nitrate sponge. I would put live rock in place of the balls

[tcmfish]

You should use liverock. It has to do with areobic and anareobic bacteria. The areobic bacteria out competes the anareobic bacteria to the point where the anareobic can't keep up. So nitrates build up before they can be broken down. With live rock there are areas deep inside where the anareobic bacteria can maintain a healthy population so the problem is avoided. I would take them out if you are going to keep corals (mushrooms) and replace with liverock but the liverock has to be submerged and not just have watering trickling over it.

Also just a word of advice make sure you look into the different clown species because some can be aggressive to other types so you want to be careful if your mixing them.

[REFFERMAN]

Thanks for the Replies! YEah im lookingto keep 2pairs of the onyx clowns. Those I really like. So how much live rock should I use? and also WHAT kind of live rock is best? I want the best live rock I can get. Im using RO/DI water because I dont want any Bad algae, my last tank had red algae growing like slime, and I think it was because I was using Tap water. I want to do it right this time.

[loosbrew]

I'm not sure if this is the case but, in a family of clowns, there's usually only one female and the rest are males. I know thats how it usually is in the wild. Someone correct if I'm wrong about schools in an aquarium. Something else to think about.

On a more pertinent note... Bio-Balls are still used? I guess in high bio-load type tanks it's useful to break down the ammonia and nitrite etc rapidly, but not recommended for a reef. If you don't want algae, remove the bioballs and start with live rock. costs a bunch more, but then again, if you skip the wet/dry and use a 20 long for you sump, the money you save can go towards a god deal of live rock.

good luck!

Luis

[5speedT]

Can someone show me how to create my own sump. Thats a good idea that can save me alot of money. Maybe 1/2 sump, 1/2 refugium? Anyone have this type of set up? thanks for all the help!

[5speedT]

Can I use a 42 gallon bow front as the sump/ refugium/

[tcmfish]

Check some build threads anything that says "blah blah build" you will probably find a sump like that. A lot of people have a similar design.

[5speedT]

Would it be a good idea to use a large tank 42 gallon as the sump/ refugium for a 72 gllon main tank? I have been reading different threads on sumps/ how to build one to work for you etc. But im wondering if using such a large sump will benefit me, I know the whole turning water over 3x the amount rule, just wondering. Who here uses a tank a little smaller than their main tank for filtration?

[tcmfish]

You can use a much larger sump if you have space to do so. On my old set-up I had a 75 gal. display which drained into a 15 gallon 'fuge which drained into a 100 gal. sump. The water leaving the display went to another room so it didnt have to fit under the stand. But I would recommend you turn it over way more than 3x the amount. In the display I would turn it over like 20x the display volume it can be slow in the sump or whatever but IMO water movement is a key factor in keeping waste suspended so it can get filtered out and also in keeping algae at bay. Albeit I had an SPS reef even if I wasn't keeping corals I would still do the same thing. The water was getting turned over about 32x the display. With a seio 1500 a MJ1200 and my mag 7 return. Good luck either whatever way you go but next time maybe make your own thread as to not hijack someone else's.

[5speedT]

Thanks for the info.