bio balls or refuge?

[nuch]

Hi there everyone. Brand new to the site and about 3 months new to saltwater tanks. O.k. I need some help here, heard alot bout refugiums and this seems like the best place for advice. I got a 170 gallon tank that I upgraded from 75. Great deal on Craig's list. So the tank came with a 55 sump, with 20 gallons full of bioballs. The 20 was put in the 55 with plenty of room for Skimmer and return pump, heaters, etc. Will try and put up pics when I get home. I'm doing this from my cell. I have about only 125 lbs of live rock, very little corals. I have yellow and sailfin tangs, (had about 8 fish but thanks to ich only 2 left) cleaning shrimp, hermits and snails. Im definetly looking to add more rock, coral & fish i test the water every 3 days and the nitrites & nitrates, etc are 0. Ph is 8.2 and everything else is stable. So my question is what's ur guys opinion on if i should eventually switch to a refuge? Or is it possible to do Bio and fuge in the 55 gal sump, Some Bio balls in the first chamber and fuge in the middle?
Thanx, Dennis.

 

[Mike389]

dont use bio balls... they are a nitrate factory.. stick with the fuge and get a good skimmer..

 

[rkaragozler]

imo convert the 55 into a sump/fuge. if you need help just ask

 

[TheMasterMind]

i went to a local fish store today.. well 2.. and they ( BOTH ) use bio balls in there system. so i decided i would use em to.. so far so good.. no problems..

 

[Jzhou]

bio balls have a tendency to trap a lot o crap, after 6months they become nothing but nitrate factories.

 

[winsbxnyc]

i use bio balls jus give them a good cleaning in ro water

 

[LatinP]

i use bio balls jus give them a good cleaning in ro water

By cleaning your bio-balls you're effectively killing all the good bacteria you colonize on the surface area. Would you take out your live rock soak it in ro water and stick it back in the tank?

 

[litoreef]

latinP,, thas a good one ,,

 

[winsbxnyc]

No but u cant compare the 2 alot of dudes diss the bio balls but they doo the same thing a refugium does so then Latin p what do you suggest since ur the expert


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[HanKami]

My advise to you is to due what works for you. Your not stuck with one option. Try anyone first if you see it's not giving you what u want in a month or two try combining them or switching. Alot of people on this site have different way to set up a sump, and every person thinks there's the best way. Something I do to keep my tank clean is weekly water changes of 5 to 10 gallons w/ro di. Allows for less doseing, less top off water and it works for me. Lol.

 

[winsbxnyc]

Nyece that's sound about right I agree with you 100 percent


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[LongIslandAndy]

Hi Dennis

If you are going to just keep a lot of fish, bio balls are the way to go. It sounds like you actually have enough live rock to handle most bio-loads. If you are thinking about coral or anemones I would lose the bio balls and go with the refugium and the live rock. Nitrates aren't really detrimental in fish only system, but when you add the powerful lights needed for coral, the combo of nitrates and light equal algae.
Most LFS use bio balls and large sand filters to maintain the fish systems

Hope this helps

 

[Downbeach]

I have replaces all my bio balls with LR and LR rubble. But when I did use them I cleaned them about once every couple of weeks by taking some them out and rinsing them in tank water to get the heavy stuff off. I then make a few media bags/containers out of plastic canvas and zip ties, which made the process easier, by taking one container out at a time and rinsing it in the tank water. Since I've added the LR & rubble I don't have to do it any more.

 

[LatinP]

No but u cant compare the 2 alot of dudes diss the bio balls but they doo the same thing a refugium does so then Latin p what do you suggest since ur the expert


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I never claimed to be an expert, what I said still holds true though. If you had to clean your bio balls instead of doing what you said I'd clean them a little at a time so you don't kill all your beneficial bacteria in one shot (by a little at a time I mean weeks apart). I'd also not soak them in ro water, I'd clean them with old tank water. I don't have anything against bio balls at all, matter of a fact they do great in fish only and some reef systems but for a reef I'd personally go with a fuge over bio balls anyday. It's just my opinion no need to take it personally.

 

[winsbxnyc]

I agree with you on that one about fish only with bio balls and a refugium if u doing corals I agree with u on that one


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[ocholoco]

hey

in my opinion in my sump i dont use either they are both nitrates traps... Yeah sure is live rock but that live rock in a sump collects lots of junk. ditch the bio balls and the live rock in the sump and go with a great skimmer. The cleanner it is down in the sump the cleaner your Display tank will look.

 

[Custom05Taco]

I have replaces all my bio balls with LR and LR rubble. But when I did use them I cleaned them about once every couple of weeks by taking some them out and rinsing them in tank water to get the heavy stuff off. I then make a few media bags/containers out of plastic canvas and zip ties, which made the process easier, by taking one container out at a time and rinsing it in the tank water. Since I've added the LR & rubble I don't have to do it any more.

This is a great idea stealing it thank you!

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[nuch]

thanx all.

Thank you all for ur advice, opinions & suggestions. The time has come to get into the refugiuem era. What's weird is I did a test last night and my water is perfect. 0 on everything and the Ph is perfect. So I know ur gonna say why change? Well I only have a hand full of corals and about 6 fish and 2 shrimp. So I'm tanking the build slow cause there is no emergency. Thanx Richie for the sump design and so room design. I bought a camera so I will be taking pics an updating with every step. Its gonna take some time. Working 6 days, and 3 kids. someone has to pay for this hobby. Lol. So some of the plans are 75 gallon sup and 30 gallon fuge. Monster reef octopus Skimmer. Couple containers for ro water. Stay tunned.

 

[zenfish]

No but u cant compare the 2 alot of dudes diss the bio balls but they doo the same thing a refugium does so then Latin p what do you suggest since ur the expert


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how are bio balls and a refugium doing the same thing? they are two completely different systems and are used for two completely different things. they are NOT doing the same job, in fact they are sorta doing the opposite.

 

[meloncoral]

Dennis
Been doing saltwater tank set-ups longer than I can remember and I would ditch the bio balls and fill the chamber with live rock to diffuse the noise if you have to. Otherwise don't worry about your bio.. you have all that live rock to cover your bio load ..enjoy your new tank set-up I bet u got a good deal on craigs list,probably a fraction of the cost of brand new?