rinsing bio balls?

brianfleming · #1 01/04/2007, 07:41 AM

Hi, i have been told to rinse my bio balls. Do i rinse them infresh or saltwater and is this rinsing correct. I was told by my LFS never to touch or clean the sump at all. Any by rinse do they mean rinse or scrub and clean? I have been told to do this due to high nitrates

msman825 · #2 01/04/2007, 07:47 AM

what size is your tank. and how much live rock do you have in it

brianfleming · #3 01/04/2007, 10:18 AM

its a 60 gallon appro one third filled with live rock?

brianfleming · #4 01/04/2007, 10:19 AM

its a 60 gallon tank approx one third filled with live rock

msman825 · #5 01/04/2007, 10:32 AM

I'm looking for the thread on Nitrates and Bio balls

brianfleming · #6 01/04/2007, 11:32 AM

Anyone? ive started rinsing half in fresh water already?

DrBDC · #7 01/04/2007, 12:26 PM

No need to rinse them for the trash man.

Serioiusly replace them with live rock.

brianfleming · #8 01/04/2007, 12:31 PM

Does live rock really work? ANd should i fill my sump completely with it? Also do i need to run a light down there or not? Im thinking of having one layer of bio balls therefore not many and packing the rest of my sump with live rock.

DrBDC · #9 01/04/2007, 12:43 PM

Live rock doesn't need any light unless you want it to turn purple and that's not necessary for the filtration needs. Rock works better than bioballs because not only can the bacteria covert amm and ites to nitrates, it can reduce/eliminate nitrate as well. That won't happen with bioballs and your nitrates will rise over time.

DrBDC · #10 01/04/2007, 12:44 PM

Don't just yank them all at once though. Remove about 1/4 and replace with rock, then maybe a week or two later repeat until you've changed it all out.

Lev F. · #11 01/04/2007, 01:21 PM

I don't have balls. I have rocks.

But seriously, the "biological media" that they sell, whether it be Bio-Balls, Ceramic Rings, or anything else, they become nitrate factories after a while. Nothing can beat live rock. I also have Aiptasia, and Macro-Algae which is also a nice bio-filter, if you can control it so it doesn't get into the main tank.

dippin61 · #12 01/04/2007, 03:36 PM

and you lfs is an idiot if they tell you to never clean your sump. Do you know what kind of junk collects down there?

you should perform maintenance on your sump, the same as you would your main tank. IMO

NickBee · #13 01/04/2007, 04:36 PM

Here's a question on his topic...

We have a newly cycled tank that also has bio balls in the sump “tower”. The tank was originally going to be a fresh water tank.

That being said our LFS had recommended the same method of slowly taking out the bio balls and replacing them with rock.

Here’s the question… Since the tank is loaded with live rock already, can normal base rock be used in the sump tower to save cost? The base rock should turn live eventually right?

Tell me what you think.

Oh,, if it makes a difference this is a fish only tank…

PoukieBear · #14 01/04/2007, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NickBee

Here’s the question… Since the tank is loaded with live rock already, can normal base rock be used in the sump tower to save cost? The base rock should turn live eventually right?

You are absolutely correct. Just like in the main display, your base rock will acumulate the needed bacteria to help filter your tank.

And on the bright side, you won't have unsightly base rock sitting in your display waiting to grow coraline. It'll be nicely hidden in your sump.

GreyDC · #15 01/04/2007, 05:06 PM

Another question to follow along on these lines cause I have bioballs too and was going to change them out.........Will the addition of the new rock cause the tank to cycle again? Would hate to see all the work building this reef go down...........

AquaReeferMan · #16 01/04/2007, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GreyDC
Another question to follow along on these lines cause I have bioballs too and was going to change them out.........Will the addition of the new rock cause the tank to cycle again? Would hate to see all the work building this reef go down...........

If it is base rock you can just place it in and bacteria will colonize on it. If you get more LR you will have to cure it before being placed into the sump. Unless you do what I did and just move LR from another tank into your sump. If you have to go out and buy LR just fill up a bucket with saltwater and a powerhead for circulation. You should see a mini cycle. Do some water changes during that. Once everything is at zeros you can add it to the sump without any harm to your main tank.

NickBee · #17 01/04/2007, 05:54 PM

Also correct me if I’m wrong but….

It would be better to get many smaller pieces of base rock rather than a few larger chunks. Isn’t the point of what ever you put in the sump tower to aerate the water? I’m thinking more smaller pieces means more surface area for the water to flow over.

Thanks!

dippin61 · #18 01/04/2007, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NickBee
Also correct me if I’m wrong but….

It would be better to get many smaller pieces of base rock rather than a few larger chunks. Isn’t the point of what ever you put in the sump tower to aerate the water? I’m thinking more smaller pieces means more surface area for the water to flow over.

Thanks!

partially correct. the purpose of having rock or bio balls in the sump, is to aid in beneficial bacteria that grows on it. the problem with bio balls, is a lot of crap gets stuck in them.

but you are correct.. smaller pieces will work better at giving more surface area for it to colonize on. plus it'll help better at dissapating microbubbles.

NickBee · #19 01/04/2007, 10:33 PM

Good stuff dipp,, thanks!

brianfleming · #20 01/05/2007, 03:50 AM

Hey, Im fed up with high nitrates so i dumped nearly one third of my bio balls and filled my sump with 1kg of live rock to start of with. I have also performed a small water change. Latrer on tonight iam going to test all water parameters.
do you think my system will spike? All fish and corals look fine but the clownfish's anemone looks pretty cranky?

lpkirby · #21 01/05/2007, 09:00 AM

Give up the balls people, my LFS told me to use them when I first got started almost 4 years ago. Found out later that he had tons of these setup and was just trying to get rid of them. So Beware of the LFS guys. Any yes you need to clean your sump.

brianfleming · #22 01/05/2007, 10:45 AM

Ok i have the results, well its only been approx 12 hours but my tank parameters havent changed too much. Nitrite is 0.1 ammonia is 0.10 and nitrate has dropped from 70 to about 50. Hopefully the long term results will improve on this. Well worth doing and my sump looks a lot nicer with rock in it rather than fluro blue plastic bio balls. Ill keep you posted on the final results. One problem though the live rock was plagued with bristle worms? Should i let them be or kill them before they find their way into the tank? I know people that dislike them due to them feeding on corals, but i see it that everything is on a reef for a reason.

dippin61 · #23 01/05/2007, 03:34 PM

let them be. especially in the sump, theyll help eat uneaten food and crap that will accumulate within the rock.

yup, long term results will be what your after. you wont see anything for a bit, until all the good bacteria start colonizing your rock.

good luck!

DrBDC · #24 01/05/2007, 07:01 PM

Send them all to me!!

I wish I still had bristle worms in my display. I had a copperband that ate them all.