Bioballs for a 180?

[dirtyblacksocks]

Recently setup a 60 gallon sump for a 180 gallon - output is only going to be about 750 GPH total after counting in the head for the pump.

I've got 4 gallons of bioballs dumped in there, including 1/2 a gallon of the ceramic filled ones and half a gallon of carbon filled ones.

I've never really used bioballs to be honest - I've always stayed away from sumps because they're noisy as hell.

Is this turnover rate, along with the amount of bioballs going to be enough to sustain this tank biologically in a fairly highly stocked 180 gallon with CA's?

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

no

I have a higher turnover on a 55 gallon

I would say atleast 1000gph but I personally would go well over that

 

[IITUFFTOBEATII]

put in as much bio media as will fit, at least 15-20 gallons should fit in a 60 gallon wet/dry.

use plastic scrubbers if you dont want to spend the $$$ on bioballs

 

[Mr Pleco]

no

I have a higher turnover on a 55 gallon

I would say atleast 1000gph but I personally would go well over that

Opinion or fact?Why 1000gph versus 750 gph..please explain your response

 

[Bawb2u]

Opinion or fact?Why 1000gph versus 750 gph..please explain your response

750 is fine. With wet/dry's 4-5 times an hour is fine, you want to maximize contact time with the bio-media, so a little slower is better than too fast.

That said, I'm assuming you have more filteration or powerheads for more water movement? I run a 180 with about wet/dry having about 10 gallons of bioballs turning over at 4x an hour, a Fluval 404 and a Fluval 403.

 

[IITUFFTOBEATII]

i agree with the 1000 gph, 180 gallons with a 60 gallon sump is 240 gallons. if the sump is only half full its still 210 gallons. So the 750 gph is only 3 - 3.5 turnover per hour. the 1000 gph takes you to 4.

thats is of course just my opinion that 4x turnover is better than 3x

and like i said in my previous post, get more biomedia.

 

[IITUFFTOBEATII]

i agree with the 1000 gph, 180 gallons with a 60 gallon sump is 240 gallons. if the sump is only half full its still 210 gallons. So the 750 gph is only 3 - 3.5 turnover per hour. the 1000 gph takes you to 4.

thats is of course just my opinion that 4x turnover is better than 3x

and like i said in my previous post, get more biomedia.

if it were me, i wouldnt upgrade the pump though. i would add another filter, a HOB or canister to acheive the added filtration.

 

[dirtyblacksocks]

Right now it's got an FX5 running as well, but soon the FX5 will be moved to sustain a 120 gallon - there's also a powerhead pushing 2300 GPH in the tank, and I'll be adding an additional ViaAqua canister, but it's an unknown GPH and size (same size as an XP3).

 

[VLDesign]

IMO: 4x the display tank is enough turnover for fresh water.

 

[dirtyblacksocks]

This is also a bare bottom tank getting weekly 80% water changes, forgot to mention that I think.

I just want to be sure I have enough media to not leave any trace amounts of ammonia or nitrite.