what to use instead of bioballs?
- Thread starter stratton
- Start date
People use those little plastic toy soldiers, never tried it myself though so I don't know how well they work. I dont see why they woudnt though.
Those nylon pot scrubbers you can get at most .99 cent stores. They are cheap and have a ton of surface area.
Check this page out for a few differnt alternatives.
Thanks to Bizdaddy for the link from this thread
Check this page out for a few differnt alternatives.
Thanks to Bizdaddy for the link from this thread
anything that's inert in water and has a lot of surface area will work. The problem is, you'll run into high nitrates no matter what you use due to the efficiency of wet dry filter. So you're still gonna have to do your water changes, changing the media you use won't change that fact
i use nothing at all in mine, just have it for extra water like a sump. i had high nitrates with bioballs and other similar type mediums. i eventually settled with the fact that LARGE FREQUENT PARTIAL WATER CHANGES cured all of my problems. now the only bacteria i have is in the lava rock and gravel that decorates my tank
High nitrates means your filter is working well and your probably not doing enough water changes, your tank is overstocked or you are feeding too much.
Ammonia and nitrite are converted into nitrate. This happens in any biological filter be it wet/dry, canister, hang on etc... there is no getting around it. If bio balls create more nitrates than another form of biological media then bio balls are more effective, thats how I'd see it anyhow?
Ammonia and nitrite are converted into nitrate. This happens in any biological filter be it wet/dry, canister, hang on etc... there is no getting around it. If bio balls create more nitrates than another form of biological media then bio balls are more effective, thats how I'd see it anyhow?
the problem is people fail to realize that they need good mechanical filteration before the water hit the bioballs. bioballs should not pruduce enormous amounts of nitates if there is no crap collecting on them
i use a pure flow 100 mircon filter pad and i have yet to see ANY debris in my bioballs
i use a pure flow 100 mircon filter pad and i have yet to see ANY debris in my bioballs
I used pot scrubbers for a while and found they got brittle and disintegrated. No toxicity issues to mention, just a hassle.
Locally now most folks are using "gutter guard". The stuff from the hardware store that snaps over evestroughing to keep leaves out. I use 4 rolls in my 30 gallon sump. Just loosen the roll and let it fill the space.
Agreed about the absolute requirement for a pre-filter. I recently added a layer of pillow stuffing (polyester) over my existing sponge prefilter and have noticed a big difference in both water clarity and fish activity. (I don't test as often as I should, but things went from perfectly acceptable to better without question).
/Kris
Locally now most folks are using "gutter guard". The stuff from the hardware store that snaps over evestroughing to keep leaves out. I use 4 rolls in my 30 gallon sump. Just loosen the roll and let it fill the space.
Agreed about the absolute requirement for a pre-filter. I recently added a layer of pillow stuffing (polyester) over my existing sponge prefilter and have noticed a big difference in both water clarity and fish activity. (I don't test as often as I should, but things went from perfectly acceptable to better without question).
/Kris