Bio-balls per tank size

[Anonymous]

i know most people who are agains UGFs realise they work, but in a year or maybe 3 its gonna crash from the built up poop under it... sure it works for a while. also i believe l/r is good in a aggressive tank, you must turkey baste it 2 or 3 times a week and filter out the waste accumulated, but this is true for any l/r setup, properly maintained a l/r tank is going to be more stable than a tank without l/r.

trickle filters are fine... as long as you dont let waste build up on the balls and keep your prefilter clean. this is gonna require about as much work ass l/r

I hate to be the voice of constant dissent, but I disagree again. I don't see how glancing at a prefilter pad or sponge and changing it out every couple weeks even comes close to having to crawl all over your tank with a turkey baster or similar device every couple days.

though so i dont see why someone wouldnt want to invest in some l/r that makes the tank look nice than blowing it on some plastic balls.

I can tick off a couple reasons. For some, it's pure cost. Granted, if you're in this hobby you should be used to an empty wallet. Some people just flat-out don't like the look of a lot of rock in the tank. A more likely reason, though, is that if the tank is a large FO tank, open swimming space would be at a premium. Cramming a bunch of rock into the tank would limit the very possibilities that the hobbiest is trying to create.

 

[shr00m]

so your all for large sterile empty aquariums huh?

 

[ChrisRD]

I think understand where Sharkky is coming from. IMO there are pros/cons to any setup. I say use what you want, as long as you can keep your fish healthy. Personally, one of the things I liked about my FOWLR tanks was the extremely low maintenance.

I never cleaned the rockwork (I do this in my reef though). Daily, I just fed the fish and manually topped-off evaporation. I cleaned the skimmer weekly. That was it for months on end. I rarely did water changes (maybe once or twice a year). No DSB - never had any detectable nitrates <shrug>...

Personally, I would never try going that hands-off with a UGF or a wet/dry.

Again, FWIW and YMMV...

 

[Anonymous]

so your all for large sterile empty aquariums huh?

Did I say that? Don't put words in my mouth, please. Just because you can't envision a scenario for a tank in your own head doesn't mean it doesn't exist. My current tank is a full-reef with lots of rock and a good refugium. That doesn't mean though, that I can't see the aesthetics of a fish-only system with a couple of large triggers, a big dogface puffer, and not much rockwork to clutter up the view.

 

[Anonymous]

i know most people who are agains UGFs realise they work, but in a year or maybe 3 its gonna crash from the built up poop under it... sure it works for a while. also i believe l/r is good in a aggressive tank, you must turkey baste it 2 or 3 times a week and filter out the waste accumulated, but this is true for any l/r setup, properly maintained a l/r tank is going to be more stable than a tank without l/r.

trickle filters are fine... as long as you dont let waste build up on the balls and keep your prefilter clean. this is gonna require about as much work ass l/r though so i dont see why someone wouldnt want to invest in some l/r that makes the tank look nice than blowing it on some plastic balls. (im not talking about this situation because of the copper being used in the main tank for whatever reason)

shr00m, do you realize that what you're saying regarding the maintenance required for a system with live rock is par for the course with ANY captive system? You do seem to realize this... and while no one will argue with you that live rock is better, you will get lots of argument about long term viability and stability of properly maintained U.G.F. and bioball systems. Every system has its caveat, you appear to realize this, what you don't appear to understand is that these other forms of filtration can and do have their place, and can and are plenty stable. It all takes knowledge and understanding, all of it.

Now, when you make statements regarding longevity of a system run with U.G.F. or a wet/dry filter, I don't believe you are speaking from a base of great knowledge. I do not understand where you get these timelines from, either. Any system will crash if not maintained properly (how difficult is a gravel vac with each water change?), including a system with live rock.

 

[shr00m]

i said a trickle filter is fine if you keep the balls free of debris and keep the prefilter cleaned. but in a reef tank i wouldnt want it. now a UGF in any system i would say isnt a good idea, unless your only planning on leaving the tank up for a limited amount of time, unless its a reverse dsb where your pumping water under it, its the debris that build up underneath that cause the crash, its very hard to vacuum everything through a UGF. but yes trickle filters can work long term if properly maintained.... i wasnt arguing this, only saying i prefer a l/r setup in every instance if possible at all.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't really find my WD filter hard to maintain. Twice a month, I clean the sponge. Once a month, I do a 20% WC. I scrape algae off the glass with a magnet once a month as well, and top off with about 2 gallons of distilled water. That's about the extent of my maintenance.

In case you're wondering, all the fish are 2 years old +, including a Majestic angel that was very skinny when it was bought for the tank (without my permission :roll: ) and is now very fat and pretty.

 

[teevee]

The problem with these online forums is that people who don't know a thing seem to do the most talking (excluding of course a few exceptions).

 

[Anonymous]

Heh.. it's not just online that happens..

 

[teevee]

Right my bad. But at least in real life you can give people dirty looks.

 

[Anonymous]

Right my bad. But at least in real life you can give people dirty looks.

:lol:

 

[shr00m]

i eat bio balls for breakfast.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd hage to pay your dental bill.
<sm looks at shr00m with all those orange things in his teef> :x

 

[shr00m]

hehehe