Are Bio Balls Enough?

[itsKRUDD]

So I just set up my sump on a 120g drilled tank and was curious on if bio balls are enough filtration or if I should go with more. Im new to the sump world so Im not too familiar with what all is adequate.

Here is a photo of it a few months ago when I brought it home

 

[pacu mom]

Bio balls are enough for biological filtration. You will need a mechanical component. Most people don't find the layer of filter floss over the bio balls adequate for mechanical filtration. A lot of fishkeepers use sumps with submersible media and use filter socks for their mechanical component. That style of sump filtration is quite a bit more versatile than a wet/dry trickle filter. That said, we have a wet/dry filter (ProClear--looks similar to yours) on our 300 gallon tank. It has provided superb biological filtration for us. We have a separate mechanical filtration system utilizing spa filters.

 

[itsKRUDD]

Thanks for the input pacu. Theres definitely room above the bio balls for mechanical but I fear that I will face a similar issue that Im already having. I dont know that I'd call it an issue really but the rate of return on the pumps is far superior to the rate at which it is draining. Therefore we had to ball valve the returns back just a little to help equal everything out. The 2 pumps inside the sump are good for about 1800gph, however I would guesstimate that they're doing 1200-1400gph right now. I obviously have no way to know nor tell for sure and this is just a guess. If I put something like filter floss above the bio balls do you think that would slow the rate of draining down even more, in turn causing me to have to slow the pumps down again? Also, do you have any suggestions as to what a good mechanical filtration would be, will the filter floss be sufficient?

Thanks!

 

[pacu mom]

Also, do you have any suggestions as to what a good mechanical filtration would be, will the filter floss be sufficient?

Thanks!

No.

Bio balls are enough for biological filtration. You will need a mechanical component. Most people don't find the layer of filter floss over the bio balls adequate for mechanical filtration.

Filter floss will trap large debris like uneaten food pellets. It doesn't retain particulates very well.

Our ProClear 400 wet/dry is rated up to 1600 gph. Our first pump was rated at 1560. The pump quit after five years, and I replaced it with the largest pond pump I could find (at our local feed store). It only runs at 800 gph. Whether you are going to have crispy water or not will depend on how heavily your tank is stocked. If I were in your situation and had a particulate problem, I would go with the easiest mechanical filtration and throw a couple of HOB filters on the tank loaded with stuff to polish the water. Or if HOBs are not feasible (HOBs won't fit on my acrylic tank), I'd go with a canister filter full of polishing stuff. Start with the filter floss over the bio balls. If you are not satisfied with your water clarity, then you'll have to add more mechanical filtration of some sort. Keep in mind that wet/dry filters are basically biological filters.

 

[itsKRUDD]

Ahhh okay that makes sense. I have a spare tank I wonder if I could create some type of mechanical filter out of for under it... I could do HOB but I like the clean look of not being able to see anything, so I think if I had to do anything I could go with a cannister. As far as what the tank will be for, it will be for growing out fish like bpass, aro's etc for a pond. So chances are there will be a high load of food being put into the tank. It'll stay bare bottom with no decorations to help with the cleaning of the tank

 

[sincebeen]

To the original question, it depends on the fish load of course, but there's plenty of dudes with the same setup.

As your fish get bigger, you MAY see your nitrites and nitrates go higher. When this happens gradually swap out the bio balls for media with more surface area like Pond Matrix (use Darice plastic to sheet the bottom of the bio space.)

Or you could start off with 1/2-3/4 of that space filled with Pond Matrix and stuff the rest with poly fill (pillow stuffing) and knock out mech/and bio in the same space and do a much better job of both.

As far as your pumps, I'm not sure if you've calculated for head loss, but either way you've been hyped up by turnover rate. More is not better for bio. You aren't doing the bio any favors by powerwashing it with that type of flow. Moreover you risk killing your fish from exhaustion with that type of flow in a 125. Turn off one of the pumps.

Also, the filter floss in the sump would not effect the flow rate out of the main tank.

 

[itsKRUDD]

To the original question, it depends on the fish load of course, but there's plenty of dudes with the same setup.

As your fish get bigger, you MAY see your nitrites and nitrates go higher. When this happens gradually swap out the bio balls for media with more surface area like Pond Matrix (use Darice plastic to sheet the bottom of the bio space.)

Or you could start off with 1/2-3/4 of that space filled with Pond Matrix and stuff the rest with poly fill (pillow stuffing) and knock out mech/and bio in the same space and do a much better job of both.

As far as your pumps, I'm not sure if you've calculated for head loss, but either way you've been hyped up by turnover rate. More is not better for bio. You aren't doing the bio any favors by powerwashing it with that type of flow. Moreover you risk killing your fish from exhaustion with that type of flow in a 125. Turn off one of the pumps.

Also, the filter floss in the sump would not effect the flow rate out of the main tank.

So if I am understanding correctly it would be completely okay to swap out the bioballs completely for different type of filtration inside there? Therefore the drip/trickle system would still work it would just fall over different media? That makes complete sense if thats what you mean.

Also, no I have not calculated "head loss" and the reason I have both pumps set up is bc thats what the guy I bought the tank from was using. I am completely new to the use of sumps and how exactly they work, in fact I had to have a friend help me set it up because it didnt fully click at first. I understand the concept now and am trying to nail down the exact details so any advise you can share would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sincebeen]

So if I am understanding correctly it would be completely okay to swap out the bioballs completely for different type of filtration inside there? Therefore the drip/trickle system would still work it would just fall over different media? That makes complete sense if thats what you mean.

Also, no I have not calculated "head loss" and the reason I have both pumps set up is bc thats what the guy I bought the tank from was using. I am completely new to the use of sumps and how exactly they work, in fact I had to have a friend help me set it up because it didnt fully click at first. I understand the concept now and am trying to nail down the exact details so any advise you can share would be greatly appreciated.

About the bio media, yes, you can change it, but as i first said, you may not need to. I like Matrix, but Seachem recommends using the Pond Matrix in drip systems because each piece is larger. I actually had a 50/50 mix of Pond Matrix and Matrix topped with a few pot scrubbies topped with filter floss (poly pillow stuffing from the craft store) in my Wet/Dry and it worked much better than with bio balls - to caveat, the bio space in that sump was only about two gallons. Your space looks to be at least 4 gallons.

As far as head loss, the only head loss calculator I know of is on reef central (google head loss calculator.) It's a decent estimator.

I did try a Mag 18 on my 125 when I was new, so I know exactly where you're at. It sounds like you have two mag 9's and one of those will be perfect IMO. Leave the valve on there so you can dial it back if necessary.

Pictures of your overflow and return would help.

 

[itsKRUDD]

Okay so i went to the LFS on my way home from work and grabbed some mechanical add ons for the sump. Above the bio balls is a drilled box which I used to put a layer of carbon down first in, and put a pad of regular filter floss over. The LFS said this is the same set up they use on their sumps as well and it works great. This slowed down the drainage a little more which in turn I lowered the return rate a bit too. Looks and sounds like its running well still.

Ill explore other options as well going forward

 

[itsKRUDD]

After checking the system I found that the way the water was coming into the sump the floss wasnt really being utilized as it sat flush with the inlets. This caused everything to just go down straight through one area, and then onto the carbon. It was definitely doing its job though as that part was dirty. To counter act that I put the carbon and floss UNDER the drilled box so that the box would fill up and then pour equally over the floss and carbon. Also drilled the holes larger to allow more flow as the new media seriously caused drainage to slow down and everything to be valved back a lot more. The tank is filtering at about 1200-1400gph right now guesstimated which is great and right at the 10x an hour turn over rate.