Bio-balls or live rock in sump?

[reefer_420]

I currently have a 72 gallon bow front reef that has been in operation now for going on 2 years. I am running an Aqua-clear 20 gallon sump, w/ a aqua-clear protien skimmer,The sump contains a little live rock and a few bio- balls, Current Outer orbit MH and Actinic light.The tank itself has about 90lbs. of live rock. I was wondering if I should take all of the bio-balls out of the sump and replace them with all live rock or if I should just leave it a hollow shell and run reef carbon 1 to 2 times a month? Also how many powerheads should I be running at once? I have 1 at each end of the tank and 1 directly in the middle, plus the output back from the sump, is that too much flow?

[Reefland]

Hi reefer_420,

I would remove the bio-media and just leave it empty. The little bit of liverock you can add in that space isn't going to give you any real benefit over the 90lbs that you have in the display. The purpose for removing the media is to remove the possibility for waste accumulation.

[reefer_420]

What about the powerheads? Too much flow? Or not enuf?

[Reefland]

You really can't give an answer on the flow not being able to observe the tank. The keys are to make sure water is moving freely and rapidly throughout the entire tank, yet not so much that your fish can't swim and your corals are disturbed by it.

Kind of vague I know but it is hard to get more detailed than that. I would venture to say that it is hard to add too much flow. I had at one time 2 Tunze 6060's, 4 MJ 1200's and the return pump in my 75 gallon reef.

[pearl_aqg]

Avoid blasting currents directly at corals as well - other than that, agreed with Reefland