Bio balls

BadFish619 · May 12, 2019

So I have decided to finally dispose of my bio balls. I want to scoot my skimmer over to make room in the sump and they are the logical disposable item. I'm thinking I'll remove them in steps, maybe a quarter at a time while adding bottled bacteria. Any input on this? Could I do half the bio balls at once, wait a few days and take out the remainder or should I go slower? Should I shake my bio balls to hopefully keep any good stuff in the tank? Amy suggestions would be appreciated

Deiblerj · May 12, 2019

How much live rock do you have? You might already have enough good bacteria growing in your rock and sand that you won’t even need the bio balls

BadFish619 · May 12, 2019

I have about 80 pounds in my 75 gallon along with several sponges in the sump with the bio balls

BadFish619 · May 12, 2019

So I ended up taking all of them out. Problem is my water is looking murky now. I wonder how much mechanical filtration they were providing? Or because I shook them a bit i just need to wait for it to clear up. I've never run without them before so I'm a little nervous about it.

Biocube32 · May 12, 2019

I would guess you’ll be fine

BadFish619 · May 12, 2019

Biocube32 said:
I would guess you’ll be fine

Hoping so. I'm going to get rubble tomorrow to provide a bit more surface area for catching debris.

jsvand5 · May 13, 2019

You don’t want rubble in there to catch debris. Use either a sock or filter floss to catch debris and replace as needed. Also, don’t waste any money on the bottled bacteria. Your tank will be fine without it. Maybe feed a little less for a week or so but even that probably isn’t necessary

BadFish619 · May 13, 2019

Ok I'm hoping!

JumboShrimp · May 13, 2019

You bio balls may have been useful in the beginning, but I agree that you are probably established enough now that your tank can handle their removal. :)