Does anyone run a tank without bio balls or sponge media?

[AydenLincoln]

My reef tank is a few years old and when I originally started it I used the original filtration is came with and now a few years later I removed the sponges and just removed the bio balls because I wasn’t keeping them clean. I’m interested to see if it lowers my nitrates and helps or hurts I’m my tank. I don’t see it hurt the tank because I have live rock and sand in the tank still of course. And anything else I know it optional/not required. Anyone removed theirs and had success/noticed positive effects especially in a well established tank?

 

[VintageReefer]

I do not run bioballs, sponge, or any mechanical filtration I have live rock, sand, and an algae scrubber. I have a cryptic (fully dark) zone in my sump with rock, live sponge and sand. I don’t run a skimmer and I don’t do water changes

I always avoided bioballs hearing they are detritus and nitrate factories, and sponge is just a mech filtration like socks, they catch stuff and gunk up and reduce flow through them if you don’t clean them.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Bio Balls can be amazing gas exchange filtration, but current reef tanks are not designed with them in mind. If you have sand/live rock there is very little need for them in most cases. Sponges, socks and floss, would be a mechanical filtration. While there is the advantage of capturing large particle detritus, letting that build up could have a detriment effect by raising your nutrients. When I say "could be detrimental" I personally run a filter sock and leave it in on one system. I can not raise my nutrients to the level I like without doing so.
You should be alright, but make the change slowly. Do not pull all your filtration out at once. that would be the equivalent to adding a bunch of fish at once. Just do a bit at a time and test as you go.

 

[Waters]

I think the question should be does anybody still use bioballs

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

I think the question should be does anybody still use bioballs

This ^

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I just use a filter sock and nothing else

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I never used any media designed to facilitate the nitrogen cycle or devices to filter out solids.

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

I use filter socks now (i prefer mesh over felt) before that i used filter floss that i replaced every 1-2 days.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I have no balls. I also don’t have any sponge, etc. my tank is barebacking it.

 

[threebuoys]

I never used any media designed to facilitate the nitrogen cycle or devices to filter out solids.

Did you use any type of filtration, sump, or device other than wavemakers and dosers, reactors?

Edit: or refugium?

 

[PNW_squidz]

Bio balls are so 1992.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

I have ran tanks with just live rock in display without anything else. Current only has a mesh filter sock to protect the pump. You'll be fine removing. Just careful if you hadn't cleaned in a long time.

 

[BeanAnimal]

No media or filters here. Just rock and a skimmer and to that end, ran without the skimmer for 5 or more years.

 

[adamg77]

I have some bio balls that I had laying around; threw them in floating around. I only have two fish and despite fairly heavy feeding coral/fish my nitrates are around 3ppm and phosphates .04ppm.

Here is a rock flower nem eating some fresh catfish

 

[felda001]

No balls or sponge here. I'm considering adding it back to increase my nitrates a little. Last test was 2.9

 

[Reefing102]

No mechanical filtration except the occasional filter sock (maybe once a year?). My sump is literally just an extra tank to hold equipment (heaters, return pump, etc.). It does have a skimmer but that’s been off now for 2 years? Minimal water changes, just dosing AFR.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I think the question should be does anybody still use bioballs

I know definitely not as popular they used to be. I am interested to see if removing them lowers my nutrients.

 

[adamg77]

Why would removing them lower nutrients? Don’t they increase surface area which is colonized by bacteria? Presuming they are not sitting stagnant collecting mulm/detritus shouldn’t they help reduce nitrates?

 

[AydenLincoln]

Why would removing them lower nutrients? Don’t they increase surface area which is colonized by bacteria? Presuming they are not sitting stagnant collecting mulm/detritus shouldn’t they help reduce nitrates?

Well they are a few years old and honestly a big detritus trap lol! It’s an AIO tank so cleaning the back chambers is a pain/much different than my sump tank. It’s also again a slanted wall. I learned my lesson and will never put a tank in an attic style bedroom again lol.

 

[ca1ore]

Why would removing them lower nutrients? Don’t they increase surface area which is colonized by bacteria? Presuming they are not sitting stagnant collecting mulm/detritus shouldn’t they help reduce nitrates?

Removing them will not necessarily lower nutrients, but the theory always was that by replacing a media like bio balls that just do nitrification (but lack the ability to also do denitrification) with live rock that can do both nitrification and denitirication, nitrate levels will be better controlled. Thus the popular view of bio balls as nitrate ‘factories’.

Whether that has been scientifically demonstrated I cannot say. Although I dispensed with my bio ball based trickle filter in the mid 90’s, I did continue to use them until quite recently in a 3 chamber calcium reactor.