Pulled A Stupid

[MadBrad527]

Okay, time to confess, I have been using bioballs in my reef which I started back in late April. I had no clue that they are nitrate-producing enemies. Apparently I did not do enough research before purchasing them. Now, on to the more confusing part. The bioballs that I have are in a HOB multi-filter.

Link to filter: Deluxe HOB System | EcoSystem Aquarium

I do realize that it's difficult to see what that looks like, so below I have an angled picture of my HOB filter itself:

The first chamber is a protein skimmer
The second chamber is where the water filters through bioballs
The third chamber is a refugium containing chaetomorpha (and I think a little caulerpa by accident?)
And finally the fourth chamber has a screen in it to prevent any final particles from returning to the DT

Now that you understand what my setup has and looks like (which I hope is clear enough), I have read that bioballs are not reef intended at all, and nitrates are the happiest things in there. I have noticed that my nitrates have been high for the past couple of weeks, so I have been cutting back my feeding schedule and also doing a more frequent water change.

After all that nonsense, I am wondering how I should get rid of the bioballs (slowly/simultaneously/etc) and what I should put in that chamber instead. The chamber dimensions are 2.25" X 4.25" X 13". Please be specific, because I am sure that if I do this wrong the nitrates will eventually climb to an even higher amount, and we all know that is what we DON'T want.

Thank you for the help,
Brad

 

[DerekFF]

I've never heard that bio balls create high nitrates. Where did you hear/see this at?


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[Mike J.]

Do you have plenty of live rock and sand in your tank? If so, I'd say you can just take them out - no problem.

 

[MadBrad527]

I have read this in many places along with this thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/nano-reefs/124413-slowly-removing-bioballs.html

Also, I have 45lbs of live rock and about 1-2 inches of sand.

 

[ritter6788]

I'd remove them slowly. You couldn't do it too slowly but too quickly could case a small cycle. Maybe remove one or 2 a day until they are all gone. You could use the empty chamber for live rock or some type of media to help maintain your water like Chemipure or Purigen or both?

 

[pickupman66]

Remove them in thirds and leave the chamber empty. I've done this before.

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[Eric B]

Do you have live rock in your tank? Bio balls can help collect detritus which in turn will produce nitrates from what I have always heard/read as I have not run them in over 15 years......As far as replacing/removing them that all comes down to my live rock question. If you have live rock in your tank then that is your main filtration with bacteria that convert nitrites and ammonia into nitrates. If you have live rock in the tank then you can also remove them all and put something else in that section of your filter or if you want them as biological filtration then you can replace with small live rock rubble or Seachem matrix also works well and I would swap half and then a week or so later the other half.

 

[DerekFF]

There's nothing in there that leads me to believe that bio balls cause high nitrates. All bio balls are is a large surface area to grow bio bacteria on. The benefit of bio balls over rubble rock is that they float, preventing the same HUGE detritus buildup that plagues rubble rock. Under low flow they can accumulate some detritus on and in them but like any filter pad or media they need to be taken out and rinsed out now and then, or in your case maybe turn the pumps off and shake the balls around releasing any captured particles and siphon out the little section they're in thus removing any detritus. That's the only reason I can see bio balls being scapegoated for high nitrates. The only reason live rock in your tank doesn't do the same thing is because of the great flow we provide across it.


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[MadBrad527]

Thank you for the helpful and quick responses everyone.


I do have 45 lbs of live rock in the DT as stated above, and I will remove the bioballs over an amount of time that I haven't decided on yet. In regards to that chamber, it's a tough call of what I want to replace it with. I'd hate to leave it empty, only because it's a waste of space that could be used to further filter the reef itself. Please keep recommending what I could put in there. The more responses the merrier!

Brad

 

[DerekFF]

Also with that much live rock there's no way removing them all at one time could create a mini cycle unless you took out like a 5g bucket or more worth of bio balls all at once. But from the pic it doesn't look like much. No biggie o remove them, however I just want you to be clear as to why people think bio balls are bad. They aren't, they just need cleaning like any other filter media.


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[MadBrad527]

All understood, Derek.

Are there any non-filter bag media products out there that are highly rated? IE something that I can just throw in that chamber that contains the bioballs at the moment? I'm not completely familiar with media, as I have never used it yet.

 

[glb]

Bioballs do cause increased nitrates over time. They do have the beneficial bacteria that turns ammonia eventually into nitrates, but they don't remove nitrates from your tank. Live rock, on the other hand, takes the process one step further and turns nitrates into a gas that leaves the aquarium. Bioballs can't do that. I just gradually removed my bioballs and have replaced them with Seachem purigen, Seachem Denitrate and chemipure carbon. They all adsorb nitrates. So I think these and some live rock would be your best bet. Just my 0.02.

 

[Liquid360]

I'm just reading along here and don't use bio balls but I'm trying to follow along here. Explain to me the difference between the purpose of bio balls and the purpose of live rock and how they differ. No need to explain ones plastic and ones stone

Bioballs do cause increased nitrates over time. They do have the beneficial bacteria that turns ammonia eventually into nitrates, but they don't remove nitrates from your tank. Live rock, on the other hand, takes the process one step further and turns nitrates into a gas that leaves the aquarium. Bioballs can't do that. I just gradually removed my bioballs and have replaced them with Seachem purigen, Seachem Denitrate and chemipure carbon. They all adsorb nitrates. So I think these and some live rock would be your best bet. Just my 0.02.

 

[NanaReefer]

Bio-balls like any substrate will become nitrate producing factories if they are not properly maintained.
Most people do not keep them clean and free of detritus. Usually because they are placed in an area not so easily accessible.
Bio-balls do exactly what they are meant to do. House beneficial bacteria. But if they get clogged up with detritus the bacteria dies and then they are useless.
Answer? Rinse them off once a month! Just as we keep our LR clean with flow and a turkey baster. So too must we do the same with bio-balls and the like.



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[Liquid360]

Ah ok so it's not the bio balls directly. Seems people are simply using too many. If they were allowed to float around vs packed tight they would serve intended function. Correct?

 

[glb]

Ah ok so it's not the bio balls directly. Seems people are simply using too many. If they were allowed to float around vs packed tight they would serve intended function. Correct?

It's not the quantity. Anything in your filter is going to accumulate waste over time. The key is not letting the waste build up. If you keep them you'll need to clean them off when they get too dirty, but do it in dirty tank water so you won't kill the beneficial bacteria.

 

[Liquid360]

If this were true why doesn't live rock do the same thing?

 

[glb]

Live rock does get dirty so it needs to be kept clean. But there's a bacterial process in the live rock that converts nitrates into nitrogen gas. Bioballs are plastic and live rock is organic.

 

[Liquid360]

Yes but they host the exact same bacteria as live rock. I've never needed to clean my rock because current prevents the need. In a three stage filter the same holds true. I'm not trying to argue, just trying to understand.

 

[Mike J.]

I'll step in here, although I'm not going to write a book tonight and will keep it very basic. With live rock and deep sand beds a complete nitrogen cycle can be achieved which cannot be done with bioballs. There needs to be a place where there is no oxygen. Fish waste is mineralized by Heterotrophic bacteria to ammonium. Nitrosomonas europaea bacteria oxidize the ammonium to nitrite. Nitrite levels rise and Nitrospira-like bacteria multiply and oxidize nitrites to nitrates. So far in this nitrogen cycle the fuel for growth of these bacteria is carbon dioxide. This is where most of us are stuck - with high levels of nitrates. Attempts at making denitrifying equipment have come short because they have a tendency to create sulfide, sometimes sandbeds do too. This is where live rock come into play. Using live rock, IMO, was the best advancement made to saltwater aquaria. Live rock naturally has anerobic (no oxygen) areas where denitrification can take place. The bacteria quickly use up any oxygen in these areas and are forced to use nitrates as their carbon source for growth. This consumption of nitrates creates nitrogen gas which is released into the air. I'm sorry if this isn't detailed enough, I wrote it by memory and might have left something out. If you have any questions I will happily answer them.