Bio balls - friends or enemies?

[peter101]

alllmost ready to begin filling up the new 90. a very exciting time.

im running 2 sumps because of the way my stand was designed and i finally discovered a method of running side by side tanks that should be flawless.

however, after reading around, im hearing more and more bad thing about bio balls. I know that they are good for taking care of NO2 and NH3 levels, but im also aware of the harm it can do to the NO3 levels. do the cons outweigh the pros? what's your take on this hole bio ball bonanza?

Just a note: it will be a FOWLR for the first couple but i'll start gradually adding coral as it reaches the end of its cycle and is fully stable.

i have enough room for the balls, and building a conpartment for them in one of my sumps is what i planned for but im having second thoughts.

answers?

peter

 

[BBReef]

I started out with bio balls, but ended up taking them out because of nitrate problems. you dont need them at all. your lr and ls will take care of NH3 and NO2 and a dsb will even convert nitrates to nitrite gas. the bio balls just store nitrates so it is hard to get rid of them. i say take them out and if you want more filtration, add lr to one of the sumps. HTH

 

[reefrunner69]

however, after reading around, im hearing more and more bad thing about bio balls. I know that they are good for taking care of NO2 and NH3 levels, but im also aware of the harm it can do to the NO3 levels. do the cons outweigh the pros? what's your take on this hole bio ball bonanza?

Just a note: it will be a FOWLR for the first couple but i'll start gradually adding coral as it reaches the end of its cycle and is fully stable.

If you have 1-2 lbs per gallon of LR, you will have enough surface area on the rock for nitrification as well as denitrification. Personally, I would stay away from the bioballs.

 

[daveNandi]

I use a limitted amount of bioballs and biobale as a way to trap microbubbles. I haven't had a problem with Nitrate, but I also have a fuge with macroalgae.