# Bio balls vs ceramic rings?



## latchdan (Sep 7, 2007)

I use both, I'm not sure if one is better then the other.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

'Same Difference' really. Both effective for housing beneficial bacteria.


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## imcmaster (Jan 30, 2015)

Points to consider:
- The largest surface area will host the most bacteria (ceramic wins here)
- Bioballs do best in a trickle filter where the design enables a thin layer of water as the water rains down which allows for a higher oxygen exchange with the air.
- If you don't have a good prefilter before the media, the ceramic with smaller holes is more likely to clog (preventing good O2 exchange), whereas the bioballs are likely better to keep clear and allow for O2 exchange with the water.

In summary, if you are confident the ceramic will stay clean, it should provide a better biofilter due to being able to host more BB.


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

Lava rock works well.
HD $5 for about 7 lbs.

I use Bio-balls in the base, lava rock above it, foam/wool above that.
Bag of Purigen on top of everything else.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

There may be a difference in the way they are designed to be used. I only know of each by what Eheim uses them for so it may/may not fit for other brands. What Eheim uses as the first stage in their canisters is the ceramic barrel shaped media. They use it first to spread the water out so that it moves through all the media rather than heading straight up using a "tunnel" through the media. They also describe it as the first stage, very course media where stuff like leaf bits may wind up. This keeps the other finer media cleaner. Next stage for them is course sponge and then the balls of bio media. By running it through both really course and course media before letting it go to the balls keeps the balls working better.


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

Cannot offer much advice on the smoother ceramic rings (plantedrich is likely correct), but I am very happy with the Fluval BioMax material in my AquaClear 50 and from the research I have done. As stated previously, the ceramic media has more surface area but is susceptible to clogging. Bio balls cant clog, but I dont believe they have the surface area of the various brands of porous ceramic material.


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## larusaquarium (Feb 21, 2015)

Thanks guys!
Special thanks to imcmaster


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## Izzy- (Jun 11, 2014)

I've had both,both are good, but i prefer ceramic media. I did notice my nitrates slowly rising with bioballs though, never had that problem again once i switched to ceramic.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Izzy- said:


> I've had both,both are good, but i prefer ceramic media. I did notice my nitrates slowly rising with bioballs though, never had that problem again once i switched to ceramic.


I would not expect rising nitrate to be due to a difference in media as it is the result of the filtering rather than a step in the middle. If there was a difference, I would blame it on a difference in the cleaning of the media or a difference like water changes or feeding rather than the media holding more or less bacteria. If all ammonia is filtered in each case, I would expect the same results. "X" ammonia in gives "Y" nitrate out?


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## imcmaster (Jan 30, 2015)

PlantedRich said:


> I would not expect rising nitrate to be due to a difference in media as it is the result of the filtering rather than a step in the middle. If there was a difference, I would blame it on a difference in the cleaning of the media or a difference like water changes or feeding rather than the media holding more or less bacteria. If all ammonia is filtered in each case, I would expect the same results. "X" ammonia in gives "Y" nitrate out?


I agree. In a perfect world your media stays clean, and you get x->y and no other factors. I think the problem is allowing the media to get dirty. A bio-ball is more likely to trap larger debris. In time this would lead to higher nitrates when decomposition occurs. This points to the importance a good pre-filter to keep your media clean.


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## Clear Water (Sep 20, 2014)

I have had bio/balls for over 15 years.

They don't wear out and also they don't plug. You can a lot of times buy them used. For me it's a no brainer. They work and for the most part require no extra cleaning or maintenance.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I think part of the factor is how much room you have to devote to bio, and how much you need it. 
In a planted tank or pond the plants are doing a lot of the nitrogen removal, so the bacteria population does not have to be that high. So a low population material like bio balls works just fine. Especially if you have a sump or even a large canister (compared to tank size) to keep the bio balls in. 
A smaller tank, especially with a smaller filter just does not have room for the plastic bio balls, so needs to depend on good filtration to keep the ceramic media clean. The ceramic media can house a lot more bacteria in a small volume, but does need to be kept clean. 

The beneficial bacteria are growing on all the surfaces. Sponges, floss, biomedia as well as most of the surfaces in the tank that suit them (high oxygen, out of direct light).


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## alcimedes (Dec 7, 2014)

IIRC, things like the plastic dish scrubbing brushes offer some of the highest surface area, and are dirt cheap.

Lava rock is supposed to be pretty terrible if I recall correctly.

I've found that some of the fish fry that get sucked into the sump like the bio balls to hide out in at the surface too. Go figure.


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## AndreyT (Apr 28, 2011)

larusaquarium said:


> Which one is best for a canister filter? I know cermic rings got more surface area for the bacteria to grow. But other than that if I'm planning to use one or the other as main source of biological media for a canister which one is the best?


Bio-balls are more suitable for filters with direct access to open air, i.e wet-dry filters. For sealed systems, like canister filters, porous ceramic rings is a better idea.


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

All good points made here.
We all use bio-balls, ceramic, scrubbies, lava rock etc...
I recently added a "The Bag" with Purigen. (3 weeks ago)
I think this stuff is awesome from Seachem.
It works like water softener resin but attracts organics instead of ion charged particulates.
We all have rotted leaves etc... Purigen collects this matter at an unparalleled rate.
I would not consider a planted tank without it since I have used it.

Nitrates mentioned here are the end result until plants absorb them.
If nitrates are on the rise all beneficial bacteria are working hard.
That is pending a water change if you choose.
I perform water changes based on GH rise, I can't keep NO3 high enough.

My issue at this time is always <.25 ppm of NH3 but never 0 ppm.
NO2 is always 0, NO3 depends on the time of day 0 to 10ppm.
I dose Flourish Nitrogen if 5 ppm or less.

I reckon the aquatic world is strange enough as is.
I think my never 0 ppm of NH3 is due to fert dosing and not the true state of the aquarium.


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## adamfish (Feb 3, 2015)

I don't think it really matters, there's a guy on YouTube that uses plastic pot scrubbers in one tray and claims it works.


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## rick dale (Feb 26, 2014)

*bio media*

I will probably catch h__l for this comment , but I use neither of them . I use 2 course foam pads and one fine foam pad in my canister filter. Between these 3 foam filters and all the plants , wood , substrate , and everything else in the tank that collects bb , I dont worry with additional bio-media. Just something else to have to buy, clean , and worry about getting dirty and clogged. I also run a aquaclear hob filter with course foam and purigen , and my tank seems to do fine this way.

Bump: I will probably catch h__l for this comment , but I use neither of them . I use 2 course foam pads and one fine foam pad in my canister filter. Between these 3 foam filters and all the plants , wood , substrate , and everything else in the tank that collects bb , I dont worry with additional bio-media. Just something else to have to buy, clean , and worry about getting dirty and clogged. I also run a aquaclear hob filter with course foam and purigen , and my tank seems to do fine this way. And I see no difference in a plastic pot scrubber over a foam filter. A foam filter has tons of spaces to hold bb.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I also have some tanks without a specific bio media. I think in a planted tank it is less important to have a giant reserve of nitrifying bacteria. Plenty grow on all the other media, and the plants are part of the bio filter. 

But if you need a place for bacteria to live, then the considerations about the density of the media are important. 

I generally have bio media (Ceramic noodles, mostly) in most of my tanks because I have it on hand. It is also good for another reason: It keeps the lighter weight media like floss from falling out of HOB filters and landing in the tank.


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## Clear Water (Sep 20, 2014)

There is no wrong or right. What works for you will work for others.

My problem with pot scrubbers is they will break down over time. So will foam and the ceramic noodles will plug. I use ceramic noodles in my canisters. I have to clean them every time I replace the medium. Long term a wet/dry is the way to go with the bio/balls. Wish I had all my tanks set up that way. In the last two years I spent 20.00 on filter pads and that is it for cost. I know no other way to filter water at that cost.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

I use Fluval Pre-Filter ceramic knodes in one filter and Matrix in the other one(two tanks).
Both have some "Bio Bale" on top of the other media(water comes in from the top) and both seem to work well.
This is a chart sort of, that list a special type of ceramic media and regular ceramic media and also bio balls.
http://www.cermedia.com/marinepure-technical.php
You can easily see from this chart that the bio balls should stay on the shelf at the store.
I'll not hazard a guess at any percent of, but lots of breeders just use sponges.
See no reason not to. Plenty of pores and therefore surface aria/easy to clean.
Were I to use them I would put two of them and never touch the second one.
Unless I wanted to just sqease it out every six months. The first sponge that the water goes through would be to catch anything I didn't want in the second one. That first one I would sqease out and shake in the old tank water that I had siphoned each week.


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## Billium (Mar 13, 2015)

Installed my new Odyessea CFS500 canister filter today on my 55g. Man this thing has some crazy flow! I made a spray bar out of black irrigation piping and put it at the opposite site of the intake. Makes for a nice current in the tank. Comes with 3 sponges for filtration. I took out the very bottom black sponge and replaced that with a big bag of Fluval bio media and bio balls. I usually use balls and ceramic rings in everything, even the outside pond filter.


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