# bioballs



## swamptrout (Jul 2, 2007)

Hey Guys,
Wondering if someone has some info or hard evidence about bio balls?

hypothetical - say you have 1sqm, and you can place 100 x 40mm bioballs or 200 x 20mm bioballs what has more surface area and therefore better to use.

Replies awaited


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## b_justb (Jan 23, 2008)

The formula for surface area on a sphear is πdÂ². We will use 3.14 for π

100 x 40mm bioballs = 
π(100) 40Â² mm =
π(100) 1600 mm =
(3.14)160,000 mm =
502,400 mm of surface area

200 x 20mm bioballs = 
π(200) 20Â²mm =
π(200) 400 mm =
(3.14)80,000 mm =
251,200 mm of surface area

So you get twice the surface area using 100 x 40mm Bioballs

p.s. on your empty 180g my suggestion is for you to give it to me for free


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

i dont use bioballs, but having seen pictures of them i dont think the surface area of the bioball exposed to the water corresponds to the surface area of a sphere,


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

boredatwork said:


> i dont use bioballs, but having seen pictures of them i dont think the surface area of the bioball exposed to the water corresponds to the surface area of a sphere,


Thats absolutely right. Thats the whole point of bioballs in fact. Otherwise we'd just use marbles. A bioball has many times the surface area as the sphere in which it is contained. The actual surface area differs by manufacturer.


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## swamptrout (Jul 2, 2007)

b_justb, i'd give you my tank and stand only that the freight costs would be to expensive.

I am way down south in Australia


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## swamptrout (Jul 2, 2007)

also thanks for the formula, although others may think it to be a little off the mark it definitely does give me some sort of an idea.


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

swamptrout said:


> also thanks for the formula, although others may think it to be a little off the mark it definitely does give me some sort of an idea.


Its a little more than off the mark. The whole point of bioballs is the surfaces WITHIN the sphere, not the sphere itself. Calculating the surface of a the sphere to figure out how much bio surface material you are going to have is like measuring the OUTSIDE of your house to figure out how much paint you need to paint the INTERIOR walls.


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## b_justb (Jan 23, 2008)

Surface area is surface area. Bio-balls are all symmetrical. So the surface area formula is the same no matter what size you are using. Since the calculations for surface area are fixed and they rely upon squaring the diameter and multiplying by a given factor (in this case pi) then the equations are all interrelated and directly proportional. Since bio-balls are not smooth the formula I used does not give an accurate area measurment, but the relationship is the same since the products are symmetrical. You will get more surface area using less quantity of the larger balls than with using a larger quantity of smaller balls. This appears illogical at first glace since the more balls of the smaller size should equate to more surface area. But since the surface area of any given symmetrical sphere depends on the squaring the diameter (that's of each cylinder shape protruding from the center base of the sphere as is the case with bio-balls) you get far more surface area with less numbers of the larger set of balls.

Weâ€™d need to know all the dimensions of each protuberance within the sphere and sum the total protuberances surface area. Or, and a much easier way, we could just read the manufactures specs on each product and it gives you the exact surface area for a given amount of product.

Though I agree that my original calculations are far from accurate given I calculated for a smooth sphere rather than for the specific symmetrical design of the bio-ball, I stand by my conclusions because the hypothesis of inter-relational space theory depends on symmetrical objects holding given directly proportional mathematical qualities.

OK, who just said, "Nerd"? I heard that


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

Unless you assume a linear correlation to the surface area of the lattice structure to the surface area of the sphere, you can't really rely on the outside surface to give you a reliable indication of the total surface area.



b_justb said:


> Or, and a much easier way, we could just read the manufactures specs on each product and it gives you the exact surface area for a given amount of product.


I really think that is the only way to get a real answer. I think that assuming that the difference in outside surface area is an accurate inference the manufacturing differences between the two sizes is too large an assumption. If you are creating a theoretical mathematical model and treating them like fractals the I completely agree with you. Bottom line, look up the manufactures specs to see what the surface area/gallon is and thats all the info you need.


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