Filter Problems

platydude

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i have a marineland bio-wheel 150 in a 14 gallon tank it clogs up so fast and i cant figure out why i have to clean it like 2 to 3 times a day and it just plugs back up is there a certain technique to clean it or is it something else
 
I have a Marineland Penguin 350. Is yours the Penguin or the Emperor? I am currently cycling with mine, so I haven't had any problems with it clogging (yet).

I think for folks to be able to help, you are going to have provide some more information.
What is it clogging with? Are you overfeeding? What part is clogging? Do you have a lot of algae in the tank? What fish are in the tank? Any other things you could add might help as well.


I will be following this...
 
I have been running penguins and emperors for 20 years. The only time I've had them clog up is if I haven't rinced out the cartridge for a very long time. that doesn't sound like your problem. Where is it clogging? The cartridge, the intake tube? :dunno:
 
I have a Marineland Penguin 350. Is yours the Penguin or the Emperor? I am currently cycling with mine, so I haven't had any problems with it clogging (yet).

I think for folks to be able to help, you are going to have provide some more information.
What is it clogging with? Are you overfeeding? What part is clogging? Do you have a lot of algae in the tank? What fish are in the tank? Any other things you could add might help as well.


I will be following this...


I have been running penguins and emperors for 20 years. The only time I've had them clog up is if I haven't rinced out the cartridge for a very long time. that doesn't sound like your problem. Where is it clogging? The cartridge, the intake tube? :dunno:

the cartridge is clogging up i am cycling to i have a black molly and a 2 inch oranda goldfish it doesn't have any thing that comes off when i clean it but about 20 to 30 min after i put it in it starts pushing water in to the over Flo
 
I have yet to find a way to keep my biowheels working right after a rather short time. When they are first set up the water returning to the tank easily rotates the wheels but in no time at all, let's say 4 months, the wheel either stops moving or requires very frequent maintenance to keep working. I have several that I treat as if the wheel simply did not work. That means that the cartridge is my main biological filter in those tanks and I take no credit for the wheel. I love the idea of a biowheel but it is not well executed in a real world practical filter. If you get a bad overflow back along side the inlet path in less than a day, or even less than a week, you are being too gentle when rinsing your cartridges. When I clean a cartridge on my tanks it gets a good cleaning and that means I do not see "overflow" water flow in less than 2 weeks or even more.
A side note on stocking: 2 orandas in a 14 gallon is grossly overstocked, even without the molly. Each fancy goldfish needs about a 20 gallon for the first fish and an added 10 gallons for the next. That puts you at 30 gallons plus another 3 or 4 gallons for the molly. This is not an issue with your filter but will greatly affect how often you must do huge water changes. Instead of the typical weekly 30% water change, you will be facing that big a change every 2 to 3 days. Please rehome your fish or get a much larger tank.
 
I have yet to find a way to keep my biowheels working right after a rather short time. When they are first set up the water returning to the tank easily rotates the wheels but in no time at all, let's say 4 months, the wheel either stops moving or requires very frequent maintenance to keep working. I have several that I treat as if the wheel simply did not work. That means that the cartridge is my main biological filter in those tanks and I take no credit for the wheel. I love the idea of a biowheel but it is not well executed in a real world practical filter. If you get a bad overflow back along side the inlet path in less than a day, or even less than a week, you are being too gentle when rinsing your cartridges. When I clean a cartridge on my tanks it gets a good cleaning and that means I do not see "overflow" water flow in less than 2 weeks or even more.
A side note on stocking: 2 orandas in a 14 gallon is grossly overstocked, even without the molly. Each fancy goldfish needs about a 20 gallon for the first fish and an added 10 gallons for the next. That puts you at 30 gallons plus another 3 or 4 gallons for the molly. This is not an issue with your filter but will greatly affect how often you must do huge water changes. Instead of the typical weekly 30% water change, you will be facing that big a change every 2 to 3 days. Please rehome your fish or get a much larger tank.

i only have one oranda and its only 2 inches long and i figured out the problem thank you for all the help
 
How good did you rinse before use? i have had the carbon block up on me from not rinsing enough before
 
First off, if you have carbon remove it, unless you really really need it (this will help with overall flow).

Personally I've never tried the biowheel filters.

If you continue having these problems and can't identify the solution, I recommend you pick up an Eheim Liberty, its cheap for a good solid filter.
 

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