Bio Balls
- Thread starter tony_caliente
- Start date
I worked in the front section of the store, in the drygoods area. Ran the register. Do you remember a tall, slim guy that worked there with long hair, moustache, and a ponytail named Dave Malley?
We got the most diversity in clientele down there. Let's just say every lifestyle choice was in that shop at one time or another.
Tropiquarium was in an interesting area of town.... Within walking distance of strip clubs, private lingerie </em>modeling establishments, bars and clubs for every taste imaginable.....
I actually do remember a tall slim guy with a ponytail there, but never knew his name.
I bought my 30 long from there in '92, you were probably the one that sold it to me.... I just sold that tank two years ago to gaguy68.
He was one of the most knowledgable coral guys around at the time. He raced superbikes at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, he got killed in a bike wreck there a few months after I stopped working at Tropiquarium and started school for my RN Degre.
Wow... you guys are OLD!!!! :lol:
When I got into the hobby in the mid-80s, we had an undergravel filter and crushed coral. Then we "upgraded" to reverse flow.
Shortly thereafter, the bio BLOCK came into vogue. Similar to bio-balls but they were square. My LFS guy (at Imagine Ocean in Ottawa!) was ahead of his time and made standard tanks into all-in-ones by partitioning off the end of a tank (in similar fashion to the compartments in nano tanks, but with 55 and larger) and made an acrylic sleeve and filled it with bio-blocks which stacked neatly. I probably still have them in my attic. I still have the 55-g modded tank I bought in 1988 (for $710 including el-cheapo stand, standard hood, no canopy - with Mike's mod in it).
I don't remember DLS, but I do remember that the cheapest protein skimmer would run well over $400 and quite a few people still used diatomaceous earth filters.
Jenn
When I got into the hobby in the mid-80s, we had an undergravel filter and crushed coral. Then we "upgraded" to reverse flow.
Shortly thereafter, the bio BLOCK came into vogue. Similar to bio-balls but they were square. My LFS guy (at Imagine Ocean in Ottawa!) was ahead of his time and made standard tanks into all-in-ones by partitioning off the end of a tank (in similar fashion to the compartments in nano tanks, but with 55 and larger) and made an acrylic sleeve and filled it with bio-blocks which stacked neatly. I probably still have them in my attic. I still have the 55-g modded tank I bought in 1988 (for $710 including el-cheapo stand, standard hood, no canopy - with Mike's mod in it).
I don't remember DLS, but I do remember that the cheapest protein skimmer would run well over $400 and quite a few people still used diatomaceous earth filters.
Jenn
Diatomaceous earth filters, I remember the 'Vortex' filter that used it. Still great technology if your intent is to filter out really small things. I also remember it being touted for it's 'water polishing' abilities, in ad's.
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Man, you guys are old. I was just being born when y'all were just getting into the hobby 
As far as cleaning bio balls goes, if they are set up in an area where waste matter cannot accumulate, then there is no need to clean them, IME. I think a good placement for them would be in the return section of a sump, after all filtration sections. That way, the vast majority of particulate matter should be removed from the water already, leaving nothing to settle on the bio balls to decompose. I think you have the same issue with live rock, if waste particles are allowed to accumulate.
I plan on using bio balls in my 10 gallon AIO frag tank, as there will be very little live rock, and that will be in the "sump" section of the tank.
As far as cleaning bio balls goes, if they are set up in an area where waste matter cannot accumulate, then there is no need to clean them, IME. I think a good placement for them would be in the return section of a sump, after all filtration sections. That way, the vast majority of particulate matter should be removed from the water already, leaving nothing to settle on the bio balls to decompose. I think you have the same issue with live rock, if waste particles are allowed to accumulate.
I plan on using bio balls in my 10 gallon AIO frag tank, as there will be very little live rock, and that will be in the "sump" section of the tank.
I think the whole reason people hate them is because no one EVER cleans them...EVER. A simple dunking in old salt water after a watch change to get the crap off them every 6 months or so is all they need.
They are rarely used in reefs anymore, but are still more then effective for FO setups. I used them on my old nano reef since I couldnt shove 80lbs of rock in my 15g tank and have it look nice. they worked great.
They are rarely used in reefs anymore, but are still more then effective for FO setups. I used them on my old nano reef since I couldnt shove 80lbs of rock in my 15g tank and have it look nice. they worked great.
