too much filtration I think!?

[jr5018]

Ok I have a 55 gal w/ about 30lbs of lr a 4" dsb and about 40 lbs of base rock 2 powersweep 600s one in each corner and one small powerhead in the middle i had an emporer 400 biowheel hob but i got rid of that and added a wet dry filter rated for tanks up to 75 gal. Is this to much filtration with the lr dsb and bio balls? I havent gotten a protien skimmer yet will the skimmer really clear up my water as much as people say? My water is a little hazy as of right now but it was alot worse before i got the wet dry Thanks in advance for the help.

[scuba_steve]

what livestock is in the tank? i'd slowly pull the bio balls out and keep an eye on water quality of course

[Atari]

IMO the only thing you can overdo is skim.

[scuba_steve]

ya think ?? not sure about that imo

[Atari]

Well yeah.. biological can't be overdone since the bacterial population will change depending on the bioload.. and I don't see any ill effects from running carbon 24/7.. but I do believe overskimming could make the water a bit too pure.

[mhaynes01]

i think it is impossible, but thats just me liek steve said bio balls need to be taken out slowly, plus they look weird

[darb2]

i think you need to look into a skimmer

[jr5018]

what livestock is in the tank? i'd slowly pull the bio balls out and keep an eye on water quality of course

well i have a pain in the *** damsel a bi colored angel a sabae clown with his anenome a cleaner wrasse and a royal gramma also 4 mex turbo snals 3 blue legged hermit crabs and 4 atl turbo snails

Also how can i get the damsel out without pulling everything out of the tank? the last time i did this i had a whole other cycle happen

[Overstocker]

Chase the damsel into a rock and take the rock out with a net under it, damsel will drop out a couple seconds later...Now to get it in the right rock

[ccCapt]

Can anyone who says bio balls are bad tell me exactly where they got that info from? This seems to be such a common suggestion that people make. "Remove bio balls" Why is that? Was there a scientific study done somewhere that says they are not good to use?
I'm not promoting them, but in my 15 yrs of experience in running a wet/dry with bio balls in my tank I don't understand where this suggestion comes from that they are so bad. Regular water changes and maintanence keeps my nitrtates at zero or at least a level that can't be detected. I don't claim to be any kind of expert on biological filtration, but my experiences tell me if your having a nitrate problem, the cause is not the bio balls. Generally speaking, nitrates are added to the tank in excessive amounts by using water with a high nitrate level, excessive feedings, or adding chemicals which contain nitrates and these nitrates accumulate because of lack of maintanence or poor maintanence...as in making water changes with water containing nitrate to begin with.

[scuba_steve]

bio-balls trap alot a waste which leads to high nitrates !! i use bio-balls on my fish only tank !! but inverts dont handle nitrates well and why most say to remove them !!
also ya say ya run them and have 0 nitrates huh !! a little more info on your tank /stocking levels are a must to see how that is !! also ya must clean your bio-balls alot to keep nitrates low ???

[ccCapt]

I posted a pic in My Gallery with a current pic of my tank. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/photop...00&ppuser=4933 The 1st pic was taken about 10 yrs ago, the 2nd is a few weeks old.

50 gal
aprox. 75 lbs lr
assorted sps, lps, zoo's, leather
1 yellow tail damsel(8-9 yrs old)
1 coral beauty
1 mandarin
1 yellow watchman gobie

prefilter sponge in overflow prevents any waste from getting to the wet/dry with the bioballs, which btw have never been removed(or cleaned) from the sump
10 gal water change every 2 week with ro/di water and Red Sea salt
top-offs with ro/di water

all the above = 0 nitrates and it has been that way for the past 15 yrs

If you have high nitrates with your bioballs, your doing something not exactly up to par. As I said, I'm not promoting the use of bioballs, I just don't understand how so many people can say they are bad. I have 1st hand experience over quite a few years which tells me there is nothing wrong in using them. HTH