Four benefits of bio balls

To some people, bio balls are just small, plastic balls that sit in your tank, but the reality is that they’re so much more than that. When used properly, they provide users with a powerful biological filtration system for your aquarium.

One of the biggest advantages to bio balls is that unlike a lot of other tank-related media, they’re almost completely uncomplicated and are very easy to maintain. Here are some of the benefits of using bio balls in your tank and why you should consider them for your aquarium.

Easy to clean

Just like anything, bio balls can become clogged over time, but they’re very easy to clean. A simple rinse and your bio ball will be ready to go again! They may get dirty, but they never go bad!

Easy heavy lifting

In every fish tank, there’s good and bad bacteria. Good bacteria converts ammonia into nitrate and that good bacterium makes its home in bio balls. While the open-ended design of bio balls might make you think it’s for aesthetic reasons, it’s actually not. There’s a method to it all and in fact, it serves an important purpose as it increases the surface area of each ball. Bacteria likes to cling to the surface of objects, so the design of the ball simply provides bacteria with additional parking.

Easy to use

Depending on the design of your filter, bio balls simply go in a bag or a space and then you submerge them in the tank. That’s literally the only thing you have to do! It’s hard to get that much benefit from something with so little work to do on your end!

What’s the downside?

The truth is – there isn’t much downside to bio balls as tank media at all. However, people do mistake their purpose and expect them to do things they’re not supposed to. Bio balls are to be used for biological filtration only. They’re designed to house bacteria, NOT trap and remove waste from water.

Your filter should be in place before bio balls in your system so that it can catch waste before it reaches your bio balls. So while bio balls are fantastic for maintaining chemical balance in your tank – remember that they’re not there to do everything.

When used effectively, bio balls are an outstanding form of biological filtration. If you’re interested in how they can make a difference in your tank or would like to purchase them – give us a call today!