Are these bio-balls any good?

[Ali1]

I bought this 55G aquarium off someone.... and that someone took the time to setup the wet/dry filter. I used to have an aquarium with the fluval 404, and i definately like the canister over this wet/dry filter. I'm not sure if he setted it up correctly, but the water output is low (compared to my fluval 404). At the same time, the water on the outside box slowly drains to the hose, which leads to the bio-media chamber. I don't see where the mechanical part really shines because if the box sits on the top of the tank, i can't see how it grabs all the debri from the bottom.

should i put these in my new canister (RENA XP3)

 

[Wolf3101]

Nope...sell them with the sump and go with the ceramic rings...better water flow.

Your right about the mechanical filtration by the way. A wet/dry is basicly gravity fed so the mechanical filtration capacity is limited to very low restrictive types. They excell at bio filtration and can have bags of carbon...Zeolite....heaters and the like in the sump and out of the way but they just can't get the water as sparkling clear as a pressure fed cannister IME.

 

[Ali1]

I'm glad you feel the same way because i thought something was wrong with my setup. I definately like the XP3 and the fluval 404... should i take these orange media and throw it in one of the baskets of my xp3? can u link me to some media i should get besides floss? whats the difference between all these ceramic rings, theres tons of different types.....


thanks for the help btw

 

[rallysman]

The difference in flow is not the fault of the wet/dry, but the pump.
Those are alright. How many gallons of them are in the filter? They won't hold as much bacteria as other types of media, but they might get the job done.

 

[maseyferguson05]

Nope...sell them with the sump and go with the ceramic rings...better water flow.

Your right about the mechanical filtration by the way. A wet/dry is basicly gravity fed so the mechanical filtration capacity is limited to very low restrictive types. They excell at bio filtration and can have bags of carbon...Zeolite....heaters and the like in the sump and out of the way but they just can't get the water as sparkling clear as a pressure fed cannister IME.

I won't put anything but bioballs int any of my sumps. The whole reason for a wet/DRY sump is to expose the aerobic nitrifying bacteria to well air! I do not see any other ways of doing this that are better than a few gallons of bioballs. The ceramic media might have more surface area than a bioball, but bioballs certainly do not limit flow. If anything the cermic media limits flow.

 

[Wolf3101]

The ceramic rings were recomended for the cannister filter and NOT the wet/dry that Ali wants to get rid of. I'm not in any way claiming that a sump system cant have a large flow. You seem to be misunderstanding my point.

Finer mechanical media causes backpressure...it requires more force to push water through smaller openings (IE...an RO system). A pressure fed system like a cannister will always be able to run finer media in it than a gravity fed system reguardless of water flow. This is what causes HOB filters to overflow as the pads get dirty and limits how fine the media can be in them as well.

The only thing that happens with a sealed pressure system (cannister or componant system like a rainbow lifeguard) is that the water flow is reduced but it will still remove much smaller particals than any other type of system short of a DE filter.

Once the backpressure of a gravity fed system equils that of the weight of the water on a sump system the flow stops. in other words if you run too fine a prefilter on your wet/dry it'll stop altogether and your return pump will overtake the overflow and empty the sump.

 

[craig]

Pot Scrubbers have more surface area than bioballs. And they are alot cheaper.

 

[Wolf3101]

I like pot scrubbers in a wet/dry or bio-tower but I've never tryed them in a cannister before. Might be worth a try nevt time I repack the can's

 

[rallysman]

I like pot scrubbers in a wet/dry or bio-tower but I've never tryed them in a cannister before. Might be worth a try nevt time I repack the can's

I put them in one of my crappy XP3s. They got the job done.

My favorite media in a canister is floor scrubbing pads.

 

[Wolf3101]

LOL I did the same thing back when I had access to them. (Managed an unnamed auto parts store for some years and they thaughtfully provided me with such things free of charge.)