DIY biowheel filter

[noelberg]

has anybody tried and/or succeeded in making a DIY biowheel filter? It seems like every time I replace the filter, my cardinals get ick, so then I have to tear the carbon out of the brand new filter

I was thinking of sandwiching floss between two plastic filter grids (with carbon and blue stuff removed). Either that or use those plastic knitting grids. Would a mesh bag of carbon or other medium floating in front of the grid be effective?

**wishing marineland made some alternative filters for the biowheel 125**

 

[a1wonder]

With the risk of being banned from this section of the forum I'll post. If I think I know what filter your talking about I'll tell you what I did before I resently upgraded to the next biggest biowheel filter.
Firstly when you next have schedualed to change your filter take out the black plastic piece and with a knife rip of all the filter media and such left (ie the blue spongy stuff) and whatever charcole you have remaining then slide the remaining black piece back in. Now you can use reuseable carbon bags and sponge instead of paying 8 bucks every months. Also you may have to fiddle with your filter media as I found getting the correct water flow was important for making the biowheel spin. This worked for me and it may work for you worse come to worse it doesn't damage your filter case and you can shove another biowheel filter cartage in it if you can't get the waterflow correct.

 

[gale]

With the risk of being banned from this section of the forum I'll post. If I think I know what filter your talking about I'll tell you what I did before I resently upgraded to the next biggest biowheel filter.
Firstly when you next have schedualed to change your filter take out the black plastic piece and with a knife rip of all the filter media and such left (ie the blue spongy stuff) and whatever charcole you have remaining then slide the remaining black piece back in. Now you can use reuseable carbon bags and sponge instead of paying 8 bucks every months. Also you may have to fiddle with your filter media as I found getting the correct water flow was important for making the biowheel spin. This worked for me and it may work for you worse come to worse it doesn't damage your filter case and you can shove another biowheel filter cartage in it if you can't get the waterflow correct.

How do you keep the reusable carbon bags and sponge in the right position in the filter case-wouldn't they be all over the place?? Or does it matter? I have a penguin biowheel 170 and a 125 and would love to not have to buy the expensive cartridges.

 

[Small Fry]

On a small tangent - you can save some money on replacement filters by buying the Wal-Mart Regent filters cartridges. They fit (I'm told that Regent and Marineland use the same factory) The proper size for the 125 would be the 10-20 size. Works for my 125.

As for carbon bags - try a large bag that hangs over the back - you'll have to be careful to not let it hang too low or it'll drip (I found this out the hard way) fold it over the top of the plastic cover when it is placed into position. The cover will prevent the bag from dropping into the filter - you'll have to lightly fill the bag or it'll clog. Works for me.

 

[konrad05]

I would just get the sack of "ammonia remover" and once it has stopped working, just use it as a bacterial colony that you never rinse under tap.

 

[a1wonder]

Sorry I didn't get back to you on that one actually the top of my filter always remains maybe half a cm out of the water to the carbon nevers leaves the filter I just lightly add a bit in tap it down in place usually add a bit of A-remover as well and just rince the filter once every two/three weeks or so. I've never had any carbon go anywhere else but in the filter.

 

[BobK]

I've got an Emperor 400 and a Penguin 125. I was thinking of doing something similar. I don't have 2 grids to sandwich together so I was going to look at Home Depot for some type of plastic mesh or screen that I could use to house some filter fiber. Currently in my Emperor 400 I have filter fiber stuffed into the optional media trays and that works great. I wonder if one of those would fit your Penguin 170. I know they sell them as replacements.

I never heard of plastic knitting grids. Next time I'm out shopping maybe I'll investigate. These are really great ideas. Most of the time carbon is unnecessary and paying all that money for cartridges is a real rip-off.

Regent filters are made by Marineland, the manufacturer of Penguin and Emperor filters. I don't remember if you can buy them outright but I got mine in a 10 gallon kit I bought from Walmart. Another way to save $$$$ is to buy the replacement cartridges off e-Bay or another on-line retailer. You can usually get them for at least 1/2 the price.

 

[gale]

I would just get the sack of "ammonia remover" and once it has stopped working, just use it as a bacterial colony that you never rinse under tap.

what is this ammonia remover? Not a chemical right? I need this. Badly.

 

[BobK]

Here's a link Gale: http/www.aquariumpharm.com/aqfilter.html

Konrad, this is what you're talking about, right?

 

[Lateral Line]

There are many ammonia/nitrite/nitrate absorbing granules around. Nitrazorb is a common make, I think Rena make it. The manufacturers all claim they absorb vast quantities and can be re-used again and again. In reality, they run down quite quickly and are pretty useless after they have been recharged a few times.

They are fine for an emergency, but if you find yourself relying on them, then there is something wrong with your setup.

 

[gale]

They are fine for an emergency, but if you find yourself relying on them, then there is something wrong with your setup.

Definitely an emergency-I set up a new tank using bio spira and the bio spira is apparently not working. I had high (.25) ammonia on day 3 and 4 so I did 30% water changes but maybe one of these in the filter box would help.

 

[gale]

I went to petco and got the ammonia remover packets. It barely fit in the filter box but I managed to squeeze it in there. We'll see if it works or not.

 

[BobK]

Went to the Petsmart yesterday and noticed for $2 they have mesh bags for filter media so I'm sure it would work fine for ammonia remover or biomax or whatever you can fit in 'em.

 

[gale]

Went to the Petsmart yesterday and noticed for $2 they have mesh bags for filter media so I'm sure it would work fine for ammonia remover or biomax or whatever you can fit in 'em.

I looked for those but I was at petco and they didn't have any. Petsmart is a little further away but I might go after the holidays-I want to get some more bettas and petsmart is the only place I haven't looked at them yet. Thanks for the heads up-now I know to look for the mesh bags when I go.

 

[BobK]

My pleasure. Good luck with the new tank. I'm sure it'll be fine with daily water changes. The ammonia remover won't hurt because tetra's can be sensitive. You could always put the ammo-chips in a clean stocking and then place in the filter. BTW, what type of filter do you have?