can bio balls be used for freshwater?
- Thread starter Poklei
- Start date
primarily used for freshwater yes. # per gallon is really dependent on the surface area of the ball so hard to say. There are options that are much cheaper like pot scrubbies and things like that.
The BB that grows on them naturally convert Ammonia -> Nitrite -> Nitrate. They only become "Nitrate Factories" when they are stuffed with crud/mulm. Pre-filters help prevent that.
As long as you maintain them by using a pre-filter and rinsing away the crud (with tank water/dechlorinated water) when necessary, they are fine filters.
As long as you maintain them by using a pre-filter and rinsing away the crud (with tank water/dechlorinated water) when necessary, they are fine filters.
Run the water from the return to rinse the bioballs in the sump. Let it settle. Clean out all debris from the sump every 6 months or more if detrius acclumulates faster.
In agreement with everyone else... yes bio balls can be used with fresh (or salt) water...
As IrnGynt described... what makes bioballs "nitrate factories" is when physical waste (i.e. poop) is allowed to collect in them. Since Bio Balls are not frequently cleaned, this physical waste continuously sits, rots and creates nitrates. Using proper mechanical filtration prior to bio media is esswential with any/all forms of bio media and it is important to change/chalen mechanical media freqently.
In essence, anything that colects physical waste and is not cleaned frequently is a "nitrate factory", and preventing physical waste from collecting in media will prevent it from being a "nitrate factory".
As for how many bio balls is necessary... bacteria will grow on any/all surfaces in a system. The more fish arwe in a system, the more ammonia is produced thus the more bacteria is needed. So there is no X volume of bio balls per Y gallons of water that can logically be applied.
In my personal experience I do not use any bio media and my tanks have ample surface area to sustain bacteria colonies to accomodate my stockign levels. In the hobby at large, we kept tanks just fine before manufacturers developed bio media for us to spend money on.
In the rare circumstances where we have so many fish in a system that the standard items in the system do not supply enough surface area, then bio balls or other bio media will give the bacteria the extra space it needs. But in my experience this situation is uncommon.
As IrnGynt described... what makes bioballs "nitrate factories" is when physical waste (i.e. poop) is allowed to collect in them. Since Bio Balls are not frequently cleaned, this physical waste continuously sits, rots and creates nitrates. Using proper mechanical filtration prior to bio media is esswential with any/all forms of bio media and it is important to change/chalen mechanical media freqently.
In essence, anything that colects physical waste and is not cleaned frequently is a "nitrate factory", and preventing physical waste from collecting in media will prevent it from being a "nitrate factory".
As for how many bio balls is necessary... bacteria will grow on any/all surfaces in a system. The more fish arwe in a system, the more ammonia is produced thus the more bacteria is needed. So there is no X volume of bio balls per Y gallons of water that can logically be applied.
In my personal experience I do not use any bio media and my tanks have ample surface area to sustain bacteria colonies to accomodate my stockign levels. In the hobby at large, we kept tanks just fine before manufacturers developed bio media for us to spend money on.
In the rare circumstances where we have so many fish in a system that the standard items in the system do not supply enough surface area, then bio balls or other bio media will give the bacteria the extra space it needs. But in my experience this situation is uncommon.
i agree with toby my dad kept an oscar in a 20 gal tank for about 7 or 8 years before we gave him away and all he ran was a few rocks and once of those filters with the air pump connected and cotton/carbon (not that i agree with keeping them like this) but if he managed to keep such messy fish in such small tank with weakly water changes without the ammonia killing the fish all this extra media is unnecessary half the time