# bio balls in fresh water



## import_nation (Nov 1, 2006)

how effective are bio balls in fresh water tanks? i took some bio max out of my canister filter and put some bio balls in to see if they would hold bacteria. there seems to be some sort of bacteria collecting and sticking into the balls but i wanted to know if bio max is more effective in housing bacteria or bio balls in a fresh water tank.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Bio-max and bioballs are the same thing. Different sizes but serve the same purpose.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

In freshwater the balls would get covered in slimy brown goo after a time and that goo would grow to seriously reduce the water flow coverage in the media chamber, forcing the water to go into a few little streams, thereby drastically reducing the usefulness of the balls. If your tank were very lightly stocked and lightly fed, you could probably stave this off for a long time, but not many people who want to use balls tend to want a tank like that.


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## import_nation (Nov 1, 2006)

what would the slimy brown goo come from? would washing them then work? i have a mix of bio max and bio balls in my canister.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Its the mulm and a bit of algae that gets clogged in there. Common no matter what you do.


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## Humpy (Oct 15, 2006)

well as with any filter system you need to maintain and clean it


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## redpaulhus (Jan 18, 2005)

Bio-balls (or similar media) are really at thier best in an open air filter system, such as a trickle or "wet/dry" filter - preferably a system where all solid waste is removed by a pre-filter or mechanical filter _before_ the water reaches the bio-balls. 
The whole point of bio-balls was to provide reasonable surface area AND large void spaces - this allows for two-fold filtration:
a) the water flows over a thin bio-film in a high-oxygen environment, leading to rapid bacteria growth and nitrification; and 
b) direct removal of ammonia via outgassing 

Neither of these are likely in a canister filter.
While plastic bio-balls have ok surface area, they really don't compare to the surface area modern ceramic or sintered glass media can provide (ie the little ceramic cylanders )


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