Bio-Balls a necesity ??

I have a plexiglass sump that has a large Bio-ball chamber....I am currently adding a Fuge that will gravity flow back into sump. BUT if I can take the bio-ball chamber out.....it would give me alot more room to deal with micro-bubbles / add=ons etc. RIght now alot is crammed into a small area and really no bubble traps.

So by adding a Fuge .....its 8 wide x 18 long x 15 tall an I will use all of it ....can I eliminate the bio-balls ?? The bio-ball chamber is 10" of needed room The total sump is 26" long x 12" wide x 16" tall

 

I dont use bio balls, but I have 2x live rock per gallon

 

I don't have blue balls either.

 

I dont use them either. I've got about 1.5 x lbs / gallon in live rock. All they do is give a place for biological filtration which happens on all surfaces in your tank. Balls give you a high oxygen, high surface area place for this to happen but rock can easily take the place.

 

No, you don't want bio balls. They will do nothing to help you. Use live rock instead.

 

I have 80-100 lbs LR and 2" LS

 

I was hoping to take them out ...to gain the extra space ...?? its so cramped in the sump that I can't get he micro bubbles away from the pump...and i had hoped by adding a fuge.....was in the plans anyway...i could remove the balls...and gain the extra room ?

Balls give you a high oxygen, high surface area place for this to happen but rock can easily take the place.

Will the skimmer keep up with the oxygen well enough w/o the bio balls ?

 

Why did they invent bioballs if no one uses them?

 

Hmmm.....the responders so far have bio ball phobia. They are great. I've had them in the sump (Megaflow 1) from the "get-go" and they create a lot of good bacteria and gas exchange not to mention oxygen. Not sure what your micro bubble issue is. What type of sump do you have? There should be a place for a bubble diffusing sponge. If you have a drip tray over the balls with filter floss no detritus can collect on them. Same holds true for live rock. Rock or balls, if they get full of detritus they will raise your nitrate level.

 

I'm neither for or against bio balls. I dont use them because I dont stock my tanks heavily and I needed the room for the fuge.

The bacteria used to break down ammonia is aerobic so having the bio balls suspended above the water and having the water trickle over them allows for the more bacteria to fit in the same surface area (thats why I mentioned a high oxygen area). Bio balls can collect particulate matter that will eventually break down and contribute to the nitrate levels. They are not nitrate factories but they are first in line of your filters so if they dont stay clean you can end up with the broken down waste generating nitrates.

Fish only tanks that dont have a ton of rock do really really well with trickle filters. Reef tanks tend to have enough surface area on the rock to allow for sufficient bacteria to grow to break down the waste. This is why a lot of reefers, hehe, dont use bio balls.

As for your skimmer adding enough oxygen to the tank, it will add alot but I think it would be more important to have your water in the tank flowing around a lot.