Bio balls out of water

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howmanyds

Aquarium Advice Freak
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Mar 27, 2013
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I'm using bio balls in my canister filters (currently in a fishless cycle) - I know they work better not submerged but I bought them before I realized that, so I'm going for it. Besides, I just added some Matrix on a different level, so that should help. Anyway...

How long can my bio ball trays be out of the canister in the air while doing a canister cleaning? Or Matrix for that matter. I can't see any little biological critters gasping for oxygen, but I'm sure they're there.
 
Using an inferior product because you "already bought it" isn't good rationale. You would have better results if you replaced the bioballs wit plastic pot scrubbers, that are 6 for a buck at the dollar store.
As far as the bioballs out of water, as long as they don't dry out you should be fine. If your concerned about the amount of time, put the biomedia in some tank water in a container. They should be rinsed in tank water anyway.
 
Using an inferior product because you "already bought it" isn't good rationale. You would have better results if you replaced the bioballs wit plastic pot scrubbers, that are 6 for a buck at the dollar store.
As far as the bioballs out of water, as long as they don't dry out you should be fine. If your concerned about the amount of time, put the biomedia in some tank water in a container. They should be rinsed in tank water anyway.

I think the thread starter means bio balls are designed to run in a wet and dry system as they have them in a canister filter no point of the bio ball is out of the water

I think they will work just fine in a canister as long as its not the only media in the filter
 
So they would need to be left out of the canister for a significant amount of time to dry out completely -- so I'm fine if I just pull them out, set them on a towel, spend ten minutes cleaning the canister, and put them back in?

I'm not talking about cleaning the bio balls themselves, by the way. I don't expect them to get very dirty very often since I have the floss media placed first/below them in the canister.
 
If you leave them out of the water they will start to dry out quickly. It is just as easy to scoop out some tank water into a container and put them in that water where they will be fine for many hours. Left out of water it would depend on many factors, temperature, humidity, sunshine/shade, etc... but I would guess they would be fine for 10 minutes in the shade (just do not forget them). You can always add some extra bacteria (i.e. Stability) back into the tank when the canister is running again.
 
I'm using bio balls in my canister filters (currently in a fishless cycle) - I know they work better not submerged but I bought them before I realized that, so I'm going for it. Besides, I just added some Matrix on a different level, so that should help. Anyway...

How long can my bio ball trays be out of the canister in the air while doing a canister cleaning? Or Matrix for that matter. I can't see any little biological critters gasping for oxygen, but I'm sure they're there.
How long has the canister been running for. You shouldn't really need to clean it, especially during a cycle....
 
Just a few weeks -- and yes, I realize that I shouldn't have to clean them for a while. I was actually adding Matrix to the third tier of the two canisters yesterday, which is how I came to wonder about the bio ball's survivability.
 
Just a few weeks -- and yes, I realize that I shouldn't have to clean them for a while. I was actually adding Matrix to the third tier of the two canisters yesterday, which is how I came to wonder about the bio ball's survivability.
That explains it...haha. I am upgrading my filter soon and plan on getting some Matrix also. It seems to be getting some great reviews!!!
 
Does Matrix add noise to canisters?

I'm hoping to see good results too. My only gripe - and maybe I could get some feedback on this - is that the canisters' humming got significantly louder after adding the matrix. Maybe the little matrix rocks vibrate against each other? I don't know if there's a connection.
 
I'm hoping to see good results too. My only gripe - and maybe I could get some feedback on this - is that the canisters' humming got significantly louder after adding the matrix. Maybe the little matrix rocks vibrate against each other? I don't know if there's a connection.
It could be that or maybe the filter is working a little bit harder because of the extra media. If it is the matrix, when they develop a layer of bio-film, it should be quieter. It's amazing though how quickly you get used to the noise. When I got my canister first, I thought it was really loud, now I have to check to see if it's turned on!!!!
 
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