Sapphire BC29R delivered today

[slowdrive]

Just recived my BC29R took some pics. I had to clean out my LR rubble in #2 and made a cloudy mess of the tank in the process so I am waiting for that to filter out before I install the skimmer. I will take more pics of the install and keep track of how fast it starts working as soon as the tank settles down. Here are some pics of it after I rinsed it off out of the box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[diggman08]

nice.

[nanoreef58]

I am so glad I bought the Tunze 9002

[goatman]

tell us why nanoreef58. I am personally excited to have a recirc skimmer available for the BC.

[slowdrive]

It has been in for a couple of days now and is working great.....started getting skim as soon as I started it up. I am still tweeking the cup level a little and need to slow my tank flow down a little (its about 650-750 gph).

 

[luxo1]

What's the latest word........? How is it working out slowdrive?

[Nishant3789]

BUMP

[luxo1]

BUMP SQUARED

[bishoptaner]

bump i just bought bc29 and i am looking into a skimmer. i would like to know why some get rid of the bio balls completely and install just a skimmer?

[musho3210]

cause bio-balls cause more problems than they solve in reef tanks.

[midi]

bump i just bought bc29 and i am looking into a skimmer. i would like to know why some get rid of the bio balls completely and install just a skimmer?

 

The long and the short of it is that bioball-type media provides plenty of area for de-nitrification but no area for de-nitrafication. Live rock has deep holes and crevices where anaerobic bacteria can colonize to support de-nitrafication and bioballs don't have any space of depleted oxygen. So the result of bioballs is high nitrates, but if you are doing your regular water changes that should keep it under control, I would think.

 

Is it really that big of deal? I don't know but it is accepted practice to chuck the bioballs and use live rock rubble.

 

Jeff

[luxo1]

Jeff's pretty much on the money --- I got rid of the bioballs and replaced them with rock rubble when I could afford it --- the key to any reef doing well, in my opinion, is weekly ten percent water changes. People will freak when you tell them you have the bioballs, but you'll be ok....swap em out when you can.

[diggman08]

i still have mine in, Nitrates=0 3g water change per week

[bishoptaner]

thanks everyone ill try your suggestions.

[ezcompany]

The long and the short of it is that bioball-type media provides plenty of area for de-nitrification but no area for de-nitrafication. Live rock has deep holes and crevices where anaerobic bacteria can colonize to support de-nitrafication and bioballs don't have any space of depleted oxygen. So the result of bioballs is high nitrates, but if you are doing your regular water changes that should keep it under control, I would think.

 

Is it really that big of deal? I don't know but it is accepted practice to chuck the bioballs and use live rock rubble.

 

Jeff

 

not necessarily true. there is only so much ammonia produced in your tank in the first place. having bio-balls will provide an area for de-nitrification, but it does not mean it's producing MORE nitrates, or are being nitrate factories. If this is true then everything with a surface in your tank can be classified as nitrate factories.

an example of ADDING more nitrates would be increased feeding (more waste byproduct)

an example of more nitrates would be less water changes as no export is taking place.

[midi]

not necessarily true. there is only so much ammonia produced in your tank in the first place. having bio-balls will provide an area for de-nitrification, but it does not mean it's producing MORE nitrates, or are being nitrate factories. If this is true then everything with a surface in your tank can be classified as nitrate factories.

an example of ADDING more nitrates would be increased feeding (more waste byproduct)

an example of more nitrates would be less water changes as no export is taking place.

 

I think we are saying the same thing. I didn't say bioballs produce more nitrates, just that it doesn't provide a surface to reduce nitrates like live rock does and that is why people refer to them as 'nitrate factories.' I guess the term implies an excess production; ie, the 'MORE', but I didn't use the term in my reply, and that the nitrates are exported with water changes.

[scarf_ace1981]

slowdrive it's been two weeks. how's the skimmer?

[ezcompany]

So the result of bioballs is high nitrates

 

that sounds like bioballs produce high nitrates

[midi]

that sounds like bioballs produce high nitrates

 

Don't bioballs in a proper wet/dry environment provide a more efficient mechanism of producing nitrates than no wet/dry media at all and isn't that how they are meant to be used? The sentence should probably say "any media used in an wet/dry filter area that does not allow for anaerobic bacteria to develop will produce nitrates and will not provide an anearobic area to break down the nitrates further." That would include bioballs and all the other stuff that are pushed by retailers.

 

I was also thinking about the comment about any surface being a 'nitrate factory' as in your example with glass (or rather, why they aren't nitrate factories). Doesn't bioball-type media have the reputation of being 'factories' because of the way they are supposed to be used in wet/dry filters (which is how I used them long ago). The media is supposed to have an air/water interaction which promotes the aerobic bacteria which breaks stuff down to nitrates. If you completely submerse the media in the chamber what does it produce and does it produce it in a volume to be considered a 'factory'? I don't think it would, it would be just like your glass example.

 

Jeff