bio balls v.s. lr rubble what is better

[NORTHERN REEF]

ok i know for a reef type system bio balls would not be good, but how about for the fowlr system just wanted to see how many perfer bio balls to lr rubble, here are my thoughts on this one

i say bio balls hands dn for a fowlr system


bio balls do not hold nitrates or create them, they should be rinsed out during maintnence everytime, just like your canisters should be cleaned are canister filters nitrate factorys too?? no if cleaned, sure if you never clean them then they are nitrate factorys, you are suppose to use a filter pad over the top of your bio balls to help stop that problem of waste build up but they should be cleaned regaurdless,here is a very good article on this matter http://saltaquarium.about.com/librar...y/mcurrent.htm

bio balls are the key to hold in good bacteria,oxygenation,biological filtration

after reading this article it is basicly and open shut case imo, don't blame the bio balls when it is not their fault:bigsmile:


so what so you think??

 

[Hypertek99]

I would go with LR rubbles.

 

[ahayes13]

+1 for lr rubble.

 

[ofblong]

Depends on the size. if its a small tank like 10g go with the LR rubble. But if its like a 200g tank i would go with a combo of the 2.

 

[JGoslee]

For a fowlr I use bioballs and other filter media in the sump with lots of live rock in the tank.

 

[fishes2889]

lots of rock...thats the only filter other than my skimmer for 3 years straight.

 

[EliteReefs]

i say the rock to. rock does the same thing as bioballs do except they do it with the added bonus

 

[coral88]

I don’t know what the person who wrote the article is thinking but Bio Balls do not brake down nitrates at all and they do brake down nitrites into nitrates so how could you think they are not causing nitrates. If they break down nitrite they cause nitrates it’s that simple. Clean or not they do not work the way live rock does.

 

[NORTHERN REEF]

this poll so far is very intresting, i knew the rubble rock would be winning in the poll, but let's all remember this is for a fowlr tank not a reef type system, i would never use bio balls in a reef but in a fowlr i think it benfits the system more, cant wait to see the poll at thew end

 

[Saltysteele]

+1000 LR

i comparing surface area, you have tons more surface area with live rock. all the little nooks and crannies, tunnels, holes. all these spots hold your bacteria, and you don't have to rinse them off

 

[coral88]

this poll so far is very intresting, i knew the rubble rock would be winning in the poll, but let's all remember this is for a fowlr tank not a reef type system, i would never use bio balls in a reef but in a fowlr i think it benfits the system more, cant wait to see the poll at thew end

Why would you not want good water quality in a fish only tank???

 

[NORTHERN REEF]

well to tell you the truth thats why i decided to start this poll, i don't know everything about the bio balls vs lr, read a lot of stuff and it is all diff opinons and views on this, but so far it seems like the lr rubble is winning dramaticly, i might need to go back to the drawing board lol

 

[CrustaceanNut]

+1000 LR

i comparing surface area, you have tons more surface area with live rock. all the little nooks and crannies, tunnels, holes. all these spots hold your bacteria, and you don't have to rinse them off

wrong answer you have to rinse live rock off periodically as well, do you not think all those nooks and crannies get filled up too?
as far as surface area I feel the bio balls are exposing your water to far more oxygen then live rock does but this is my opinion I dont have any problems with nitrites or nitrates and I have a butt load of fish. I use 2 bio towers and I keep the balls clean as my only purpose for the bio balls is oxygenation. I have a skimmer rated for over 2 times the volume of my tank (210). All my water pases through a media filter before it enters the sump and I use a 40 watt UV sterilizer. in my honest opinion after reading countless articles threads etc etc I feel that the biggest cause of nitrates is a lack of maintenance or the wrong equipment aka to small of a skimmer. I by no means am the god of fish and I dont speak fish and this is only my opinion no arguments from me, I do however feel if your tank is loaded with liverock and you wanna use a bio tower I would use rubble rock in that case. there seems to be some cancelling effect that goes on with live rock and bio ball systems and I have seen nitrate issues in those cases. my LFS uses Bio balls on their FOWLR tanks and fuges where the corals are involved and they never have a problem. To be honest their Bio-balls are covered in algae in some sumps but then again they work I believe it is all individual basis and I suggest you use what works for you.... ok I dont think I speak english either but it is my ramble for the day

 

[Reefer Chris]

wrong answer you have to rinse live rock off periodically as well, do you not think all those nooks and crannies get filled up too?
as far as surface area I feel the bio balls are exposing your water to far more oxygen then live rock does but this is my opinion I dont have any problems with nitrites or nitrates and I have a butt load of fish. I use 2 bio towers and I keep the balls clean as my only purpose for the bio balls is oxygenation. I have a skimmer rated for over 2 times the volume of my tank (210). All my water pases through a media filter before it enters the sump and I use a 40 watt UV sterilizer. in my honest opinion after reading countless articles threads etc etc I feel that the biggest cause of nitrates is a lack of maintenance or the wrong equipment aka to small of a skimmer. I by no means am the god of fish and I dont speak fish and this is only my opinion no arguments from me, I do however feel if your tank is loaded with liverock and you wanna use a bio tower I would use rubble rock in that case. there seems to be some cancelling effect that goes on with live rock and bio ball systems and I have seen nitrate issues in those cases. my LFS uses Bio balls on their FOWLR tanks and fuges where the corals are involved and they never have a problem. To be honest their Bio-balls are covered in algae in some sumps but then again they work I believe it is all individual basis and I suggest you use what works for you.... ok I dont think I speak english either but it is my ramble for the day

^ Agree ^

Maintenance is the key and bio-balls or rubble both need to be cleaned. However, I have seen the rubble collect more crap than bio-balls as the water cannot flow through as well allowing everything to get stuck. If setup correctly and maintained either one should work fine.

 

[GMaquarium]

A properly working biofilter with bioballs is a nitrate factory. Thats what they do. The balls just creat surface area for nitrobacter and nitrosomonas the nitryfing bacteria. They convert ammonia/nitrite into nitrate. Since nitrate is the end result of nitrogen cycle I think its safe to call biofilters nitrate factory. There is nothing wrong with that especially in a fish only tank that gets fed alot of food. If the nitrate is too high might want to look into growing some macro algae and/or deep sand filter.

 

[JGoslee]

You have to remember this is for a fish only tank not a reef. The biggest concern for a fish only tank is ammonia. IMO bio-balls are very effective at breaking down ammonia due to the increased surface area. That's why I use them.
I've always had high nitrates in my fish only tanks. Thats what happens when you have large fish that like to eat and like to fill your tank with lots of waste. Honestly I don't worry about nitrates at all. High nitrates might be bad for a reef but its not a problem in a fish only tank.

 

[NORTHERN REEF]

well i think nitrates can cause a issue in a fowlr tank as well taken the info from this poll and other research that i have done i guess i am going back to my reef mentaility and switching all my bio balls with live rock rubble, like it was before when my systems were reefs, i know jeff is gonna yell at me, i can hear it now lol, but from my gatherings it is a landslide that lrr is prob just all around the better choice does just about the same thing with a added bonus,maybe bio balls create better oxygen, but if the lrr are the right size and placed right they can also be effective, i also agree that both have to be cleaned but i bet you would have to clean the bio balls a little more often then lrr, i would like to thank everyone that participated in this poll, gained a lot better understanding in this matter


BY THE WAY, I GOT 2 -3 BUCKETS OF BIO BALLS F/S LOL

THANKS

 

[lofty78]

So bio balls and LR??? Hmmm I have a 90 G what the heck a 20 L sump... Got some space for some bioballs separate from my LR... which I have on egg crate for ease of removal to rinse with out disturbing the DSB....you you think this would be beneficial?

 

[Mark L.]

I voted LR rubble but should have voted other. Here's the best of both worlds!

 

[that novice guy]

I would definitely do live rock bio balls end up leaking nitrates back into the water and if you have a power outage for over a sum of time they dry up then start over biological process but if i were to use bio balls they would have to be bio block balls

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