Biowheel Question

[MattL]

A biowheel is placed into the return flow to the tank. Picture a mill wheel with water cascading over it. This is how a biowheel performs. Its constant turning allows it to have a higher concentration of oxygen available for bacteria to do its job. Studies have shown that a typical tank has 7ppm of disolved O2. Whereas a bio wheel has upwards of 200,000 ppm of O2 available for converting waste!

Does this mean the biowheel also assists with oxygenation of the water? Is it superior to a conventional filter in this respect?

Matt

 

[Jaws]

yeah apparently, the oxygenation i read from several ppls post on this forum is from the agitation of the water, so yeah logically it helps with that, i woudlnt take out the aereator though.

 

[smb]

A biowheel is placed into the return flow to the tank. Picture a mill wheel with water cascading over it. This is how a biowheel performs. Its constant turning allows it to have a higher concentration of oxygen available for bacteria to do its job. Studies have shown that a typical tank has 7ppm of disolved O2. Whereas a bio wheel has upwards of 200,000 ppm of O2 available for converting waste!

Does this mean the biowheel also assists with oxygenation of the water? Is it superior to a conventional filter in this respect?

Matt

The bio wheel doesn't assist in providing any oxygen.

I'm a huge fan of the bio wheel so stick with me here.


There is, in a perfect Aquaria, 7ppm of oxygen in water.

In air there is 200,000 ppm.

The biowheel is based upon this and uses the air (200,00ppm) as the nitrifying bacteria to have oxygen to thrive. Would you rather have 7ppm dissolved oxygen or 200,000ppm to fight ammonia and nitrites?

Canister filters, UGF's, Fluid beds and especially HOB's can't even begin to compete with a bio-filter when it comes to the colonization of beneficial bacteria.

In normal aquaria there is nothing that can compete with a bio-wheel and that's why The Penguin/Emperor is the best there is unless you want to move into the sumps.

 

[Lateral Line]

I posted this on the end of the last BioWheel thread, but never got it answered. I don't want to bump so...

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I have never had a BioWheel filter. I just read the pinned article at the top of the forum and have a basic question, it says this BioWheel thing should be placed at the tank return. Surely, if you have a properly sized and functioning canister, by the time the water gets to the Wheel, the jobs done. So why have this extra stage? Surely it will be starved of nutrient for the bacteria.
<<<

... BTW, I well understand O2, redox etc.

 

[Great Lakes]

Lateral, I undestand why you are questioning this and you make a point. But consider this, A perfectly functioning canister filter still only has the 7 ppm of O2 available for bacterial absorbtion due to being submersed in water. In practicle application a canister can function perfectly yet not be 100 percent efficient due to the limiting O2 factor. Yes, the canister can perform admirably, yet the biowheel aids in speeding up the process.

GL

 

[smb]

GL is spot on and explained it great!!!

Beneficial bacteria has to have oxygen to thrive. It doesn't matter how much ammonia is in the water, if there isn't the oxygen for growth, it won't happen.

A canister doesn't give any extra oxygen but a bio-wheel, while sitting where it does, uses 200,000ppm instead of the usual 7ppm of what water gives for the nitrifying bacteria to colonize and thrive in massive numbers.

You should try a bio-wheel, Lateral. I think you'll be impressed.