What is a bio ball

[125mph]

I hear lots of talk about no bio balls .. what are they?

Is it a filtration system such as the 350B Penguin Bio-Wheel Filter?

 

[duijver]

I hear lots of talk about no bio balls .. what are they?

Is it a filtration system such as the 350B Penguin Bio-Wheel Filter?

Here is an example of a system that uses bio balls.
http://www.seatrademarine.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=AMR75&Category_Code=FWD

 

[Lotus]

Bioballs are basically bits of plastic with lots of surface area for bacteria to colonize. They're a filter media, rather than a filter themselves. They're most commonly placed in a sump.

The problem with them in marine aquaria is that they make the tank very efficient at processing ammonia and nitrites, which leads to higher nitrates. For a low nitrate system, use either live rock rubble or macroalgae in your sump.

 

[Lotus]

Oh, and welcome to the tank

 

[125mph]

Bioballs are basically bits of plastic with lots of surface area for bacteria to colonize. They're a filter media, rather than a filter themselves. They're most commonly placed in a sump.

The problem with them in marine aquaria is that they make the tank very efficient at processing ammonia and nitrites, which leads to higher nitrates. For a low nitrate system, use either live rock rubble or macroalgae in your sump.

I see.. thanks.. so do marine aquariums need filters like the 350B Penguin Bio-Wheel Filter? I'm looking at the nano guide and the regular saltwater guides but don't see any mention of a filter system other than live rock.

 

[TRe]

these are bioballs

no filter other than the liverock and a couple of powerheads for water movment... in lager tanks youll need a protien skimmer i guess u could call that a filter if u want to