shao-lin nano Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 im making the final mods to my 24g nano cube and was wondering who left their bio balls / ceramic rings in and who has taken them out and their reasons. also if you've taken them out, what did you replace them with? Link to comment
jessran_88 Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 I posted a similar thread abouit this too. I work at a LFS and we set them up as displays and my boss usually leaves them stock with no problems. We have customers that modify them and others leave them stock with no problems. Jessica Link to comment
Island Hopper Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 Left mine stock (12 gal.) so far no poblems been up for 2 months Link to comment
dymaxiun Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 All mine are still in, havent heard any concrete evidence that thay are actually bad. Just basic maintenance you'll be jsut fine... SOmeone correct me if i am wrong! Please! Link to comment
skipm Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 The rings and bioballs turn into nitrate factories. I removed all of the balls and rings and all but one sponge. I placed a bag of carbon and a bag of chemi-pure topped by a sponge in the first chamber. You can then mod the second chamber for a refugium or just add rubble rock for added filtration. If you read the instruction sheet that comes with the nanocubes they tell you to remove the rings and bioballs if using the tank for a reef. HTH, Skip Link to comment
trekbear Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 If you read the instruction sheet that comes with the nanocubes they tell you to remove the rings and bioballs if using the tank for a reef. HTH, Skip RTFM... LOL Link to comment
skipm Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 Chemipure is an ionic exchange media, it has some carbon in it though but also contains other ion exchange resins (information from Boyd Enterprises website). I add a bag of carbon too because I will change the carbon out more frequently than the Chemipure just as an added precaution. Link to comment
LHEA87 Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 My LFS was really unclear about taking them out/leaving them in. They are still in, just one week into the set up. I know, the (VERY LIMITED) instruction sheet said take them out...but when the LFS says, well, it doesn't really matter, you can if you want...I just wasn't so sure. What exactly should I replace them with? What's in those bio-balls, anyway? And - how important is a skimmer in this (12 g) size tank and what can you recommend? Lots more questions, if anyone wants to deal with a real novice just let me know. Link to comment
shao-lin nano Posted March 20, 2005 Author Share Posted March 20, 2005 The bio balls are just made of plastic with lots of surface area for bacteria to grow aren't they? I've noticed that some large tanks with sumps/filters use bio balls, even the LFS filter setup have bio balls in it. So why would the instructions say not to use them? People who have haven't complained right? Link to comment
doncb Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 See, this is where it gets confusing for those of us new to nano-reefing. You hear everything from "leave them in" to "if you don't take them out you'll kill every fish in a 10 mile radius!" You also hear to take EVERYTHING out including the sponge, to leave EVERYTHING in. Some have a sponge in bay 1 and nothing else. Some do the sponge and have LR in bay 2 (I do). Some say putting LR in bay 2 is a problem waiting to happen. Some even add something to bay 3! My brain hurts! 8) Link to comment
shao-lin nano Posted March 23, 2005 Author Share Posted March 23, 2005 I'd found something on bio balls that I think might help: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/nitrateco...eanbioballs.htm It basically says that bio balls aren't the source of the problem, it's lack of good maintaince. Link to comment
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