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View Full Version : Can I put bioballs between baffles?


blugar44
07/06/2015, 08:41 PM
Hi all, I've got a bit of an odd and somewhat useless question for you.

I'm upgrading my sump and am currently siliconing in all my glass baffles. I have 3 compartments: the inlet where the skimmer and equipment is housed (with 1 baffle for fixed water height, followed by a baffle an inch off the ground, and another baffle on the ground collectively acting as a bubble trap), then a refugium (followed by one more small baffle as a divider) then the return pump compartment.

I've recently been interested in testing out the MarinePure bioballs because I'm curious about their apparently huge surface area but I don't have a specialised compartment in my sump for bioballs and mechanical filtration media.

I'm wondering if the same purpose can be achieved if I increase the gap between two baffles in my bubble trap and add some bioballs there? My main concern is that by increasing the space between the baffles, bubbles won't be as effectively reduced as every sump design seems to have very narrow baffles. I'm also worried that by blocking the spacing, flow rate to the rest of the sump will be reduced.


TL;DR: can I stick bioballs in the spacing between the baffles of my bubble trap in sump without negative effects?

Yep, as I said, it's an odd question. Thanks if you can calm my qualm.

ca1ore
07/06/2015, 09:10 PM
You 'can' yes .... whether you 'should' is a different question. Bioballs usually float, so you'd need some way to contain them.

scooter31707
07/07/2015, 07:52 AM
Also they can become a nirate factory, hence why a lot of reefer don't recommend them.

sowildpaul
07/07/2015, 11:12 AM
Oh, MarinePure bioballs?

Bioballs are made of plastic. MariinePure bioballs are made of plastic as well? MarinePure calls it spheres, not bioballs since they are not made of plastic.

blugar44
07/11/2015, 09:52 PM
Yeah, should have clarified. The MarinePure spheres are made of ceramic I think? I'm not entirely sure but they're designed to replicate live rock and maximise surface area. Wanted to give them a shot without having to redesign my entire sump even if they do generate nitrates. It's more of an experiment than an actual addition to my filtration arsenal.

kegogut
07/11/2015, 10:11 PM
You can definitely do it.

tharkins
07/12/2015, 06:50 AM
I would consider some live rock rubble instead to get the biological filtration benefits.

ca1ore
07/12/2015, 12:04 PM
What is it that you hope to accomplish? I am not personally a fan of putting biomedia in the sump as I think it's unecessary unless either you believe your display is deficient in bacterial surface area (unlikely), you are trying to cultivate pods (chaeto is better), or you are storing media for future QT use (OK, fine!).

blugar44
07/14/2015, 03:37 AM
I'm trying to achieve a mixture of redundancy, testing to see any positive or negative impacts, as well as seeing if I can use this media to ease the problem of replacing live rock after many years as it loses its porosity. I've seen conflicting opinions on this pretty unheard-of issue, but some findings suggest that live rock gets "clogged" so to speak with both debris and bacterial die-off.
With a comparatively low recommended # of this MarinePure media, it would be very easy to simply pull it out and replace it if need be. It won't solve the issue of the clogged live rock in the DT but it will ensure there is always necessary bacteria to keep the tank healthy in the meantime.

Further, MarinePure claims it accommodates anaerobic bacteria within the ceramic sphere for de-nitrification. This would actually be observable as I would expect a lowering of nitrates. Increase in nitrates may also be possible, but ammonia and nitrites are limiting resources for the size of a bacterial colony. If an increase in nitrates does occur, it is for the best as this implies there was an insufficient bacterial population (perhaps due to lack of SA) to process all ammonia and nitrites into nitrates previously.

I hope this makes my reasoning a little clearer! Note I am not at all relying on bioballs for my biofiltration other than to test it out and see if any benefits are made clear. My refugium in the next chamber will house live rock rubble and macroalgae as well (& 150 gal DT contains about 160lb live rock) , so this interest in MarinePure biomedia is not due to a lack of existing biological filtration!

kegogut
07/14/2015, 12:48 PM
You can always acid wash your rock to make it porous again. Its easy to do and the rock is like "new" again. Ive done it a few times when buying rock on c-list just to make sure Im not getting someone elses problems in my tank.