Bio wheel

[Kamdavid]

So noticed when we woke up that the bio wheel on my marine land penguin 150 had stopped spinning?!? Cleaned the filter. Put it together. The bio wheel will spin , then stop. Then spin. Then stop. Tank is filled with water to the top.

I ended up contacting the company. They are sending me a new bio wheel fixture .... hopefully that will help.

but for now. What do I do ?

 

[AbbeysDad]

Filter manufacturers would like us to think that beneficial bacteria lives only in the filter. Truth be told there's far more BB in the established tank, especially the substrate. Consider the vast surface area for BB colony(ies). So no worries if it's an established tank (6 months or more). If the tank is fairly new...if it turns here and there, it's fine. If it stops completely, take it of, tie a string or fishline around it and suspend it in the water. But I'd bet you could run without it and never have a problem.

 

[Fishmanic]

I use filter floss tied to a properly sized sponge instead of the cartridge. I find that if I cut the floss a half inch higher than the top of the sponge media, the biowheel has no problem spinning very quickly. Found this tip on youtube and it works ... and no more cartridges. I tied the sponge and floss to the framework of the cartridge after removing the filter material on it.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I use filter floss tied to a properly sized sponge instead of the cartridge. I find that if I cut the floss a half inch higher than the top of the sponge media, the biowheel has no problem spinning very quickly. Found this tip on youtube and it works ... and no more cartridges. I tied the sponge and floss to the framework of the cartridge after removing the filter material on it.

@Fishmanic can you take a pic? My bio wheels rarely spins.

 

[Fishmanic]

I'll take a pic probably tomorrow when I change out the floss which is due. Filter is a Marineland 200 filter.. pretty much similar to penguin 200. I also run a large sponge filter in the tank. The tank is a 29 gallon rectangular tank.

 

[Perbud]

I’m a aqua clear guy and have always found them much superior to penguins over many years.

 

[Fishmanic]

I have an Aquaclear on my 35 gallon hex tank. It’s easier to service than the penquin.

 

[FishGuest5123]

@Fishmanic can you take a pic? My bio wheels rarely spins.

@Fishmanic Could you just use a sponge without the floss?

 

[FishGuest5123]

I'll take a pic probably tomorrow when I change out the floss which is due. Filter is a Marineland 200 filter.. pretty much similar to penguin 200. I also run a large sponge filter in the tank. The tank is a 29 gallon rectangular tank.
[/QUOTE Penguin is a Marineland. I’m confused. I switched to Aqua Clear in all my tanks but one. It still has the bio wheel.

 

[Fishmanic]

I

@Fishmanic Could you just use a sponge without the floss?

didnt try that but Imagine that may work. The higher water level on the filter drops onto the wheel with a bit more force.

 

[nightpaws]

I believe your pump is permanently slowed. Mine was, from siliconing the intake.
I believe the biowheel speed is tied to the water speed. To fix this I place a peice of thin plastic between filter and cartridge, it speeds up the wheel because it forces the water on only one side of the wheel. I've just replaced my biowheel as you can see, so I'm not using the plastic piece anymore, but that was the only fix that worked for me.

 

[dmpfishlover]

I am honestly not sure how much the biowheel actually does to help filter the water. It's supposedly to help with Biological filtration as it is supposed to houses beneficial bacteria. ANY surface in your filter and your tank will house beneficial bacteria (BB), so I am not sure that the wheel or whether or not it turns is even important. I have heard that many hobbyists actually remove the biowheels from the Marineland Penguin and Emperor Filters, and add their own filter media to the filters... such as ceramic rings, sponges, etc.. which likely do a better job housing BB than a turning wheel does. As long has you have some sort of media in your filter that BB can grow on you should be fine if the wheel is not turning. I have the Penguin 350 that has Two biowheels. I left them in because I figured they wouldn't hurt, but I also added a layer of sponge, and ceramic ball filter media, as well as pieces of lava rock to my filter. Lava rock and sponge are excellent media for BB as they are full of holes and pores that BB can grow in/on. One of my wheels doesn't turn as much as the other one does because I have more filter media on that side of the filter blocking the flow some, but I am not concerned by that because I know that the sponge, filter media and lava rock are doing far more than the wheel is to grow BB. So I wouldn't worry too much about your wheel not spinning, as long as you have other material/media for your BB to grow on.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I don’t think it does much. I just let mine be. I have added so much extra sponge that it is full of bb anyway. Probably inhibits the flow too. Penguin Bio/Wheel use to be may fav but now like Aqua Clear.

 

[nightpaws]

Personally I just wanted the biowheel to spin because there was a loud dripping sound that happened even if the water was filled all the way up to the filter output. I also am skeptical of the wheel BB being necessary.

 

[Fishmanic]

@Deanasue
Here is my solution to biowheel not turning:
filter I have is a marineland 200 biowheel filter

• Remove all material from plastic backing of oem cartridge.. discard material
• Cut a media sponge to dimensions of plastic backing of cartridge
• Cut filter floss ( big roll is availabe at Big Al’s) to dimensions of sponge but make it about 1/2 inch taller than sponge
• Use wire ties to loosely hold them together.. install floss first against the plastic backing and sponge behind it
• Install in most forward slot of filter box with the sponge toward the back of the filter

The biowheel should now spin very rapidly..
I replace floss and squeeze out sponge in tank water every two weeks. I clean the backing under forceful tap water

here are some pics of construction