Bak-Pak II Bio-Bale In or Out?

[Tybond]

Ok, I have two different opinions from credible sources. One says leave the bio-bale in my Bak-Pak II, the other guy says Get that stuff out of a reef!
Which way do I run?

My tank specs:

55 g AGA
45lb. LR
6"DSB
CPR 20" Hang On Refugium (growing full of bubble Cal. and many many pods)
CPR Bak-Pak II
3.5 Gallon Surge (DIY)
1 Powerhead 201 for continuous current flow

Fish:

1 Yellow tang 3"
2 perc clowns 1" and 1-1/2"
2 Green Chromis
1 six line wrasse 2"
1 Cleaner wrasse 2-1/2"
1 Blue Devil Damsel 1-1/2"
1 Mandarin Dragonette (1 year old and plump as a thanksgiving turkey!)
1 "Currly Q" anemone LARGE about 9" high when he's really puffed up and stretches about 7" across tank when he spreads his tentacles.
2 Camel Back shrimp
Many cerith snails, blue leg hermits, turbo snails and crocea snails.
1 serpent star 6" diameter
1 Unknown named (can't recall) orange starfish 3" diameter
Oh, and one fast @#$ Mantis that I haven't caught. (YET)

Corals:

6 Leathers
1 frogspawn
3 gorgoinian Branch
Many shrooms
6 small colonies of green star polyps
1 small colony of zooanthids
1 small colony of Pulsing xenia
1 orange button polyp colony
1 medium sized colony of sand polyps

And last but not least, 1 2" squamosa clam

any advice will be appreciated.
Ty

 

[Tybond]

^

 

[Anonymous]

Take it out. It makes a great place for a heater.

 

[Tybond]

^

 

[Tybond]

Come on folks.
Any body else?

 

[benneb1897201vw]

I'd like to know too on this one. Also, if you put a heater in there, what do you do about residual bubbles coming back into the tank that the biobale might have caught?

thanks
Ben

 

[Anonymous]

Don't have any bubble problems except occasionally after I algae scrape. To me the biobale just gunks stuff up.

Glenn

 

[monkeyboy]

Out, you have plenty of bio filtration.

 

[Anonymous]

Keep mine out and have no bubbles at all. If you had a plain FO tank then I might say keep it in.

 

[slimy]

FO: in
Reef: out

 

[JohnD]

I agree with Slimy. If you are running a FO, keep it in. If you have a reef, you don't need it.

As for me, I took out the biobale and put my heater there. Once a month I run charcoal, so I put that in my Bakpak too.

HTH

 

[PopeShawnPaul]

I was going to take mine out after I had it in for about 6 months. When I took it out it was home to lots of pods and tiny shrimp and stuff. I decided these could only be good and provide a separate food source for the fish. I still took out half, and put the heater in there anyways. Everything is doing well in there even with the heater.

 

[Tybond]

Thanks for the replies from all of you.

I took the bale out and put my titanium heater in there. I also replaced the rio pump with a MJ1200
Man what a difference that MJ made!
I replaced my rio because of all the warning threads about the rio pumps. I do feel inclined to state that in 8 months mine hasn't given me any real problems other than it wouldnt run once after the power was off during a storm. I hadn't cleaned the pump in 3 months and it was pretty gunked up so i think it was my fault. I just got spooked by the threads and with 3000.00+ in this reef, I am willing to spend 20.00 as preventative medicine.
Thanks again for your replies.
ty

 

[whirley]

Umm...out.
whirley