Bio-Balls in sump or not??

[meangreen]

I have a 135 gal. reef ready tank (freshwater for now) and a 35 gal. sump tank with bioballs. I got a Mag Drive 12 (1200gph) and a 25 watt uv light. My tank is stocked with (2-12" Oscars and 3-4" Cichlids). My problem is high nitrate & ammonia levels but my nitrite levels are low. (I always get Nitrite and Nitrate confused so this could be backwards). I have heard bioballs contribute to this problem? Any suggestions on what to put in my sump tank to help control this problem would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fijiwigi]

If you have a sump maybe you could put some live plants in it if you have space they help to absorb the Nitrates. They would get distroyed in the main tank for sure. I would think that the bioballs would help since you increase your surface area for bacterial growth that helps to consume the Nitrates. Just out of curiosity what kind of substrate do you have?? With those messy eaters lots of waste could be getting trapped in your substrate.

 

[meangreen]

I have all pool filter sand in the main tank-no gravel. I hated cleaning the gravel in my old tank because it trapped so much crap it was disgusting to clean.

 

[jsoong]

You souldn't be having ammonia if your tank is properly cycled. Adding bioballs should help in giving the biobugs surfaces to live on. They shouldn't cause ammonia problems. <I use bioballs & my levels are always 0,0,0 - although my tank is planted so I normally have to ADD nitrates.>

With big messy fish, you might well have high nitrates. <But that is better than having NH3 or NO2.> The way to remove nitrates is to do lots of water changes, or have plants. Having some fast growing stem plants in the sump (assuming you have enough light) would help. You could also grow green algae instead of plants for the same effect.