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Bioballs, biowheels and other media are a solution in search of a problem. Always have been. Essentially an invention of the aquarium supplies industry.
The denitrifying bacteria that occupy your tank will assume a population based on nutrient supply (ammonia / nitrite) and not surface area. Just look at the bare tanks of feeder fish in pet stores stocked to brim with goldfish or guppies. Bacteria aren't having a hard time consuming all the ammonia produced by those fish in a bare glass tank.
I'll give you one strong negative against mechanical or artificial biological filtration. Lets say the power goes out and your external gadget housing all these colonies of bacteria gets decoupled from your main tank. Now your screwed because ammonia levels will rapidly escalate because you've encouraged bacteria to grow on media external from the main biology producing ammonia. It would be like having a colostomy with a healthy colon just because you like having a bag hanging off your abdomen. I prefer to keep the biology in the tank. The Berlin method works - live it / love it.
I'm all for mechanical deitrus filtration. I just prefer to do it with a device that can be easily cleaned on a frequent basis to keep bacteria from establishing; HOB filter, etc.
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