Bioball/filter question

I can live with that. And like you, I have never thought of them as "evil nitrate creators" as many do. I just prefer another way to skin the cat. Cheers.

 

If by "unfounded" you mean "bioballs have a real use in a tank that already has lots of surface area for bacteria to colonize", then yes, I'm totally unfounded in my statement.

Otherwise, my opinion is based in facts. Bacteria have enough room in many tanks without bioballs; adding them is an unnecessary expense, except in those tanks that don't have that kind of surface area to begin with. Chief among those tanks are open water tanks, like those used for larger shark species, FO tanks, and possibly FOWLR tanks depending on whether sand is used and the amount of sand and rock present in the tank.

 

So just to be clear, you guys are saying ditch the bioballs, just gradually phase them out, right?

 

That is up to you to decide. W/D filter came about after undergravel filters and were a huge inprovement. Unclejed is correct in what he says. Properly maintained bioballs are not the bane many say they are. Also, many consider bioballs to "create" nitrates. They do not. The food you input into the tank is the only thing that will "create" nitrates. food is ate broke down and eventually processed to nitrates. Bio balls do not "add" to that, they only process what you put in.

Having said that they require maintenance, they also require filter floss to keep clean which leads to more maintenance and expense. They are not good or bad as has been said, it is just my OPINION that with the amount of live rock you have, they are not needed and in fact deminish the performance of the live rock you already have. Releasing nitrates to the water column not only alows a build up, but also make nitrates available to micro algae which we do not want. In more demanding SPS tank that is unacceptable.

So all you can do is do your reading, figure out what it is you are doing to your tank, fiugure out what it is you want your tank to be, and make an informed decision what is best for YOUR tank. In this vast hobby, there are not two identical tanks in exsistence. Only you can decide if bioballs are right for your tank. All we can do is offer experience and opinions about ours.