Marineland PA11486 Canister Filter Bio-Balls PC 160-360, 90-BioBalls

I bought these for a DIY airlift filter (using PVC pipe) and needed smaller sized balls. The only place that indicated the size was at a major pet store website that indicated that they are 3/4" in diameter. This is incorrect. The actual size is 21mm (0.83") in diameter so i had to use 1" PVC pipe for these to fit into.

These bio-filter balls have lots of surface area for bacteria to colonize, much much more than ceramic rings. The surfaces, both outside and inside, have a slightly rough texture which is important since the bacteria will have something to cling to. The multiple channels provide a lot of water flow that allows nutrients to reach and support the bacterial colonies.

The only complaint is that some of the balls are not fully formed. The plastic was not fully injected into the molds which reduced the amount of surface area and is not textured. They still work and won't be seen while inside a filter.

Not all bio-balls are created equal. I originally purchased some other (cheaper) bio-balls but it had a noxious smell so I immediately returned them. It used low quality plastic that leached toxic compounds into the air and water (which may be carcinogenic or mutagenic to your fish), did not have any texture, and had a design that limited water flow. These Marineland bio-filter balls, however, don't have any smell, appear to use quality plastic, are lightweight, are textured, and support large bacterial colonies.

If you are deciding between these bio-balls or other ones, I recommend choosing Marineland. You'll be getting a quality product that you'll know will be safe for your fish.

Edit: 03/13/13

These bio-balls float. Depending on your filter setup, you may need some kind of enclosure like a mesh bag to keep them in place or they will float to the surface.

This bioballs are great for cannister filters, you would thnik that 90 bioballs are to much, but they are really small in comparison to the standard size, so they are great because they give you a huge surface to the bacteria grow and doesn't ocupied a big space, in cannister filters this is quite an advantage.

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I love balls.

I do not trust sintered glass or ceramic biomedia claims about each piece having the surface area of Brazil. Water and oxygen won't flow through these microcrevices and nanoholes after the biofilm covers them up, so you really only have the surface of the object itself. These seem to work fine for all my tanks I have them in Fluval 305/6 filters on heavily planted and VERY overstocked tanks with 8 to 10 times the tank volume moved per hour. They don't clog, they are always covered in lovely disgusting slimy bacterial slick that never goes all death-stinky, and the water is so clear you would never know you are looking at a fish toilet.

But do please pay attention to what you are buying. They usually tell you how big they are, so read and don't be surprised.

It would be nice, though, if they would give you the VOLUME of balls, as I doubt anybody is looking for a specific number of balls, just enough to fill a filter basket that can hold [this much] balls.

Balls.

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yet another helpful addition to the filtration system. mixed in with the ceramic bio tubes the two work very well together.

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I had the hardest time finding the size of these bioballs because it doesn't say it anywhere, even on the Marineland website. Turns out they are the small kind, a little over 1cm in diameter and to be used for the Marineland canister filters. They are pretty decent, though I wish they could have molded in a different color plastic because with a light color plastic you can actually see the film of bacteria on them.

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