Bio-balls per tank size
- Thread starter Ryan7
- Start date
dont use bioballs thats old school, it would be like building a car and instead of using fuel injection you slap a carb on it.
edit. plus you will eventually get nitrate buildup. www.saltwaterfish.com has a good deal on live rock if you dont have any availible locally.
edit. plus you will eventually get nitrate buildup. www.saltwaterfish.com has a good deal on live rock if you dont have any availible locally.
Ryan, I would prefer to think about bioballs per quantity of livestock. Is this 100g tank going to house one 6 inch triggerfish, or a school of 50 green chromis? You see my line of thought?
What size sump are you using? Just cram as many bioballs in as you can. Do you want to add a refugium but are afraid to in case you need bioball space? How bout a good old fashioned Eheim wet dry filter, if you are not using a sump? That would hold a couple gallons of bioballs.
PS, I have used bioballs in Fluvals and Eheims on FOWLR tanks many times, with no problems whatsoever, and any rock added will eventually become "live", as will your sand bed.
What size sump are you using? Just cram as many bioballs in as you can. Do you want to add a refugium but are afraid to in case you need bioball space? How bout a good old fashioned Eheim wet dry filter, if you are not using a sump? That would hold a couple gallons of bioballs.
PS, I have used bioballs in Fluvals and Eheims on FOWLR tanks many times, with no problems whatsoever, and any rock added will eventually become "live", as will your sand bed.
ok, I was hoping I could just get a suggested or recommeneded amount, but on the other hand I agree the more info you get the easier it is to help.
It is actually for a 300G tank. The tank is stocked with mostly triggers, but other fish as well. The coral and rocks in the tank are periodically bleeched when cleaned (the owner likes it that way). The sump and overflow are being redone as a larger return pump is being added for more flow. There is no room in the sump, so I am building a trickle box to hold the bio-balls and it is to be placed just in the top part of the sump. There is no room for a fuge. I am trying to get a estimate on how much bio-balls to use since I am custom building the trickle box. I don't want to build the box bigger than it needs to be, as I don't want to waste what little space there is.
It is actually for a 300G tank. The tank is stocked with mostly triggers, but other fish as well. The coral and rocks in the tank are periodically bleeched when cleaned (the owner likes it that way). The sump and overflow are being redone as a larger return pump is being added for more flow. There is no room in the sump, so I am building a trickle box to hold the bio-balls and it is to be placed just in the top part of the sump. There is no room for a fuge. I am trying to get a estimate on how much bio-balls to use since I am custom building the trickle box. I don't want to build the box bigger than it needs to be, as I don't want to waste what little space there is.
Although, answering the question, as Unleash'd has attempted, would be nice. 
I'd start with about 5 gallons (volume) of bioballs. (Though, it's been so long I'm really just visualizing and taking a guess.. trying to recollect what I saw at Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. 8O YES! They use bioballs in the coral lab filtration! However, they have access to unlimited quantities of seawater most of the time, too.) As a suggestion, a well thought out refugium would be a nice addition to deal with the nitrate build up.
I'd start with about 5 gallons (volume) of bioballs. (Though, it's been so long I'm really just visualizing and taking a guess.. trying to recollect what I saw at Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. 8O YES! They use bioballs in the coral lab filtration! However, they have access to unlimited quantities of seawater most of the time, too.) As a suggestion, a well thought out refugium would be a nice addition to deal with the nitrate build up.
Ryan7":ik2d1v5n said:
ahhh now I understand. My random thoughts: figure out how much room you actually have, build the trickle box as large as possible, and cram that sucker. There is no way to tell you how many bioballs you will need unless you can give us an approximate number of fish being stocked...and even then, I can only give you an educated guess.
If you have one fish in a 20g, and one of same size fish in a 40g, you need the same amount of bioballs to support the bacteria for that quantity of livetock.
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