I took the bio balls out of my aquarium what should I put in

[Scatcat]

I took the bio balls out of my aquarium some time back I was wondering what I should put there instead. Right now I have a sponge with a sponge full of carbon on top of that. What would you put in place of the balls? I have a 24g nano cube. Thanks for the advise.

Rachel

Sorry for posting so many questions.

 

[dralarms]

Get some base rock from hirocks.com, it will becoem live rock and add to your filteration.

Sorry for posting so many questions.

Never apoligize for asking a question, that's the only way to learn.

Here's some kudos for your collection.

 

[midiman]

Live rock rubble is a great addition to a filter once you ditch the bioballs.

 

[Scatcat]

Sounds like a plan I think I can get some from my LR store. How much do you think I should add?

Thank you for responding I was thinking about LR.

Rachel

 

[dralarms]

Don't waste money on liverock, get base rock, no one will see it and it will be live in a very short time.

 

[midiman]

Replace the rough equivalent of your bioballs.

 

[Scatcat]

Ok my balls were about the size of golf ball so I replace them with rock about that size. If I replace with base rock will it make my tank cycle again? Thanks again.

Rachel

 

[midiman]

Mixed sizes would be fine ... like gravel. If you already removed all of the BB, you're likely to cycle anyway, since you removed you biofilter. A good idea is to add some LR along with the BB, then add more each time you remove a fraction of the BB, eventually replacing it all.

Nothing happens fast in a reef.

 

[Scatcat]

Oh I thought they were usless pieces of crap so I removed them. No wonder I had problems after I took them out. Ok so I will add them back and them change them out slowly with rock as you said. Thank you I didn't know I was messing things up.

Rachel

 

[midiman]

Did you let them dry out or wash them with tap water in the meantime? If so, you might not want to add them back.

How long have they been out?


TO be safe, monitor your ammonia and nitrite and be prepared to do water chages or detoxify with Prime if levels rise.

 

[Scatcat]

Ok they've been out for about 2 weeks but they were sitting in a bucket of salt water. I dumped that water out today and they have been sitting out since about 6:00 so 4 hours then I just rinsed them and added them back. Bad should I take them out and leave things alone?

 

[midiman]

Leave them. Frequent changes can be an even worse problem. Monitor your cycle carefully, and replace the bioballs slowly over a period of weeks.


You should be fine as long as you don't let the ammonia and nitrites get out of control.

Test them daily, and do partial water changes if necessary. Ammonia can be dangerous above 1.0, and can be fatally toxic above 2.0.

In an emerencgyg, you can detox with Prime, but htis may prolong the cycle.

IF YOU ARE NOT HAVING PROBLEMS, DON'T ADD CHEMICALS TO THE TANK.

The only safe maintenance/preventative routine - AND the most effective- is partial water changes with salt water at the same temp and SG as your tank.

Good luck.

 

[Scatcat]

They were not dried out completely but I did rinse them in tap water. They have been out of the tank for about 2 week this coming Monday. They were sitting in some old tank water in the mean time. Now I'm freaking that I've messed up. I dumped the water about 4 hours ago so they were outside. What do I do? Take them back out? Thank you thank you thank you.

Rachel

 

[Scatcat]

Ok sorry I didn't see the last post. I did a water change today as well. I changed all water except for about 5 gallons. I cleaned my sand as well. I can't thank you enough for helping me.

Rachel

 

[maxamillion]

Ok, that also might be a problem, your sand was the bio-filtration system that was taking on the load that the bio balls had... by cleaning the sand you might have increased your chances for a chemestry disaster....

The water change also might contribute, if you had non-matching SG or diff temps... but hopefully you'll be fine, at least your learning.

 

[Scatcat]

Oh goody, I can't wait to see what I screwed up now. I don't want to learn the hard way.

Rachel

 

[midiman]

Everyone learns something the hard way. Don't make any other big changes, though.

Monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels. Do water changes of no more than 25% of the volume (50% in a dire emergency) at a time to keep them down. Try to match the new water as close as you can to temp and SG. Using the same salt mix each time should make this easy. Be sure to let the new water mix and aerate well before adding it. (I'm mixing some up now for a water change tomorrow).

More controversial (but I have used it) is to detoxify the nitrite with Prime, if it should rise.

Be vigilant but patient -things will eventually sort themselves out and stabilize. Rememberr in the future to do things slowly and always keep a reserve of saltwater on hand for emergency changes!!

Good luck.

 

[Scatcat]

Thank you I will be checking my water every day. I keep telling myself to quit stressing over this. I can't help it.

Thank you for helping me out here.

Rachel

 

[lando]

Not a huge deal, you should get by fine. Like mentioned, the most important thing to do os to monitor water paraters. You are on the right track replacing your bioballs. It is not that they do not help with biofiltration (because they do), it is just that LR or LR rubble is a far superior filter media to use. When the time comes and you want to replace your bioballs with LR rubble, do it a little at a time, maybe 1/4 a week. It is best to use fully cured LR rubble (just like LR). You may be able to get it for free from LFS in your area. Just ask them to save the rubble pieces from the shipping boxes for your or ask if you can have the rubble from the curing tanks. If they do not have a need for it they may be happy to give it to you. Some around me actually charge $3 a pound for it, which is still not too bad.

 

[demodiki]

Where are you at in Tx Scat? We are in Round Rock.