hey guys, i have an 8ft x 2ft x 2ft tank on lay-by coming in about 2 weeks, i've already got a fluval fx5 filter system that I'll use for it, but read somewhere that the bio balls can drive up your nitrates after a while? I've got a saratoga jardini and i intend on only keeping him and only him in the tank, what recommendations would you guys give for having the bestest, cleanest nitrate free water possible for my guy. any advice would be awesome thanx
new 8ft tank....best set-up?
- Thread starter jimmey_zed21
- Start date
the bio balls will only drive the nitrates up if you never rinse them. I'm not sure but I believe that is more of a concern in a salt water setup. Is the tank coming drilled? If so I would do a wet dry/sump along with it.
The entire point of biological filtration is to convert ammonia and nitrite into nitrate, so saying that biomedia is bad because it increases nitrate is pointless. That's basically the same as saying biomedia is bad because it does what it is supposed to do.
However, if you never clean your filter media then all the waste collected in it will break down in your tank instead of somewhere else. Bio balls don't work well as mechanical filtration anyway so that isn't a problem. By rinsing out the mechanical filter media in the FX5 regularly you will reduce the amount of ammonia being added to your system
The FX5 will work fine, a powerhead or two might be helpful to add some current to the tank. Not sure what you've got in Australia, but Hydor Koralias are cheap and efficient.
However, if you never clean your filter media then all the waste collected in it will break down in your tank instead of somewhere else. Bio balls don't work well as mechanical filtration anyway so that isn't a problem. By rinsing out the mechanical filter media in the FX5 regularly you will reduce the amount of ammonia being added to your system
The FX5 will work fine, a powerhead or two might be helpful to add some current to the tank. Not sure what you've got in Australia, but Hydor Koralias are cheap and efficient.
Bio balls will not inherently drive up nitrates unless waste gets trapped in them, which means you are not pre-filtering properly. All bio media is designed to house bacteria which produce less-toxic nitrates from highly toxic nitrites. Read up on the nitrogen cycle for more information. Also, as a side note, bio balls are generally used in a wet/dry sump style filter and do not function as well when submerged.
Regular water changes will ensure that your nitrates stay low (I do a 50% water change every week). Plants will also help remove nitrates from the water column.
Regular water changes will ensure that your nitrates stay low (I do a 50% water change every week). Plants will also help remove nitrates from the water column.
make sure the water that gets to the bio-balls are clean(put balls in the last chamber after filter pads and all the others) and you should be ok.
i just did a quick read up and I've decided i definately haven't been rinsing my filter pads often enough, which is causing my nitrates. i was rinsing them every 2 months and 50% water changes, the bio-balls havent been touched in a year, do you guys think I should replace them with something else because I've let them get to this?
The filter pads or the bio balls? Bio balls don't collect a whole lot of debris, but you can rinse them off with some tank water if you want.
The foam that surrounds the media chambers should last pretty much forever, unless it is falling apart you can just rinse it out really well and reuse it.
The foam that surrounds the media chambers should last pretty much forever, unless it is falling apart you can just rinse it out really well and reuse it.