bioballs or refugium

[juan319]

Have a 55 gl. tank with a 15 gl. sump that contains bioballs, there are no divisions (bafles) within the sump to create a refugium only the canister for the bioballs and the water pump, would like to get your recommendations and why you prefer one over the other as well, as what you have in your set up.
At the present time this tank does not contain any fishes due to ick which killed all the fishes. In the tank I have 2 1/2 inches of live sand, about 60 lbs. of live rock, 2 cleaner shrimps, 2 blood shrimps, 8 peppermint shrimps, 8 emeral crabs, 3 porcelain crabs, 10 blue claws hermit crab, and about 15 different snails, a sea cucumber, a slug, a kenya tree, eagle eye zoas. Thank you in advance, looking forward to continue learning here.

 

[Timbo]

Get rid of the bioballs and add some chaeto and rock rubble.

 

[meagheavz]

i hav bioballs havent had a problem

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

What are your levels of NH3/NH4+, nitrite and nitrate?

What do you hope to achieve in choosing either method?

bio balls are mainly used for removing NH3/NH4+ and nitrite while refugium with macro can remove nitrate as well but efficiency of it, varies according to how well you set it up and what macro you put in.

 

[juan319]

The levels for nitrates and nitrites are zero, and I would like to get the opinion, based on the experience of all of you, if the bioballs are better than having a refugium, if bioballs have to be fully sumerged and if chaeto is better than mangroes.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

if bioballs have to be fully sumerged

It really depends on how you use the bio balls. They can function very well in wet/dry environment when you have a trickle filter(that is your water is trickled or sprayed onto the balls.) If you are keeping fish mostly and not reef I would use bio-balls while if the main inhabitants are corals and the main concern is to defeat annoying algae, I would go for refuge with macro.

and if chaeto is better than mangroes.

I think for small enclosed environment like our refuge under 100G with height clearance of no more than 32 inches, I think chaeto is better. In Asia where the coral reef is, big mangrove tree roots provide excellent habitat for reef fish babies in addition to it's property of sucking nutrients.

 

[Sean]

Whatever works for our system or your lifestyle. It may seem silly but you need to do what makes sense to you. Either one can be argued to be better. Why not just take out the bio ball and forget about the refugium and get a huge skimmer. Why not add a ehiem and a U.V. sterilizer. Just make your fish room weightless and let everything float around.

Whatever you decide please keep in mind any huge change in your system could be detrimental to any livestock. Be careful of the latest trends and gadgets. If your tank is healthy and your levels are great why do you feel the need to change?

 

[juan319]

It is not that I need to make a change, but I am trying to see if I could better what I already have, or it can't be made better. Also I would like to know which has or has not worked based on experience.

 

[Sean]

From my experience
Get a big skimmer
I've seen tanks with wet/drys that looked awesome but they had a large skimmer
I remember when people used to try and have a refugium without a skimmer most added skimmers later.
But as far as which one I prefer Bio balls or refugium I'd order a refugium and Supersize that skimmer for me.

But don't underestimate the power of the bio balls