Green Algae On Bio-wheel

[Mr. Blue]

I have had my Bio-wheel for about a month now and I am starting to get green algae forming on the wheel itself, should I be worried?

I do not see algae anywhere else in the take, other than the filter.


When I bought my tank, it came with some pos filter that didn't work very well (my water was cloudy) and I had an extreme algae problem, because my tank was in the sun :duh. I moved the tank out of the sun, and bought a Marinelab Bio wheel filter. But even since I bought the Bio-wheel, my water is still cloudy I have been changing out the filter every 2-3 weeks like they tell you to, plus doing 25% water changes every 2-3 weeks to get rid of all of the algae (stuff is hard to get rid of :angry):

I have a 20 gallon tank, with 3 tetras and 3 danios. I think I put them in early when I bought the tank (like 28 hours after I set it up ) but I figured that the tank would be properly cycled by now.

Any suggestions?

 

[raptorrex]

I have had my Bio-wheel for about a month now and I am starting to get green algae forming on the wheel itself, should I be worried?

I do not see algae anywhere else in the take, other than the filter.


When I bought my tank, it came with some pos filter that didn't work very well (my water was cloudy) and I had an extreme algae problem, because my tank was in the sun :duh. I moved the tank out of the sun, and bought a Marinelab Bio wheel filter. But even since I bought the Bio-wheel, my water is still cloudy I have been changing out the filter every 2-3 weeks like they tell you to, plus doing 25% water changes every 2-3 weeks to get rid of all of the algae (stuff is hard to get rid of :angry):

I have a 20 gallon tank, with 3 tetras and 3 danios. I think I put them in early when I bought the tank (like 28 hours after I set it up ) but I figured that the tank would be properly cycled by now.

Any suggestions?

changing out the filter is, the likely, cause of this. though the wheel is a bio area, some will be in the filter pack too. instead of throwing it away. float it on the surface of the tank, till the next clean, then rinse it out with tank water and replace the one in there with the one that's been floating. then do the same again. two should last quite a while.

though i would need more information to be sure, the tank seems to be acting un-cycled. guessing that the cycle has finished is perhaps not the best way of keeping the tank in good condition. it may be worth looking at the pinned posts on cycling.

 

[Mr. Blue]

I have had my Bio-wheel for about a month now and I am starting to get green algae forming on the wheel itself, should I be worried?

I do not see algae anywhere else in the take, other than the filter.


When I bought my tank, it came with some pos filter that didn't work very well (my water was cloudy) and I had an extreme algae problem, because my tank was in the sun :duh. I moved the tank out of the sun, and bought a Marinelab Bio wheel filter. But even since I bought the Bio-wheel, my water is still cloudy I have been changing out the filter every 2-3 weeks like they tell you to, plus doing 25% water changes every 2-3 weeks to get rid of all of the algae (stuff is hard to get rid of :angry):

I have a 20 gallon tank, with 3 tetras and 3 danios. I think I put them in early when I bought the tank (like 28 hours after I set it up ) but I figured that the tank would be properly cycled by now.

Any suggestions?

changing out the filter is, the likely, cause of this. though the wheel is a bio area, some will be in the filter pack too. instead of throwing it away. float it on the surface of the tank, till the next clean, then rinse it out with tank water and replace the one in there with the one that's been floating. then do the same again. two should last quite a while.

though i would need more information to be sure, the tank seems to be acting un-cycled. guessing that the cycle has finished is perhaps not the best way of keeping the tank in good condition. it may be worth looking at the pinned posts on cycling.

So I should leave the filter floating in the tank after I put in the new one? I don't really want to always have a filter floating around my tank, maybe I am misunderstanding what you are saying...

 

[raptorrex]

So I should leave the filter floating in the tank after I put in the new one? I don't really want to always have a filter floating around my tank, maybe I am misunderstanding what you are saying...

yes you do. sorry you do not misunderstand. its one of the problems if the filter is a fixed cartridge. thing is you are throwing away some of the bio mass of your filter, if you continue to do this, potentially, the tank may never fully cycle. personally i think, some, hobs and bio wheels are the wrong choice as a main or only filter.

 

[Mr. Blue]

yes you do. sorry you do not misunderstand. its one of the problems if the filter is a fixed cartridge. thing is you are throwing away some of the bio mass of your filter, if you continue to do this, potentially, the tank may never fully cycle. personally i think, some, hobs and bio wheels are the wrong choice as a main or only filter.

Hmmm. Maybe I should look into a new filter....What would you recommend for a 20 gallon tank (freshwater)? For some reason, I thought that the Bio-Wheel was the best filter for me to use.

 

[raptorrex]

yes you do. sorry you do not misunderstand. its one of the problems if the filter is a fixed cartridge. thing is you are throwing away some of the bio mass of your filter, if you continue to do this, potentially, the tank may never fully cycle. personally i think, some, hobs and bio wheels are the wrong choice as a main or only filter.

Hmmm. Maybe I should look into a new filter....What would you recommend for a 20 gallon tank (freshwater)? For some reason, I thought that the Bio-Wheel was the best filter for me to use.

the bio wheel is a fine filter just, from my view, not the best as the only filter in a tank. a rena 1 or 2 will do the job. i would still keep the wheel, wet and dry is a really good way of creating bio filtration. however it may prove to give too much flow used with another filter, only you can decided this from you observation of the tank in action. having thought, could you modify some bio sponges to fit into the cassette section of the filter. if this is possible, you could then clean the filter in the more traditional way. rinsing the sponges out in tank water and then simply putting them back in the filter.

 

[Mr. Blue]

the bio wheel is a fine filter just, from my view, not the best as the only filter in a tank. a rena 1 or 2 will do the job. i would still keep the wheel, wet and dry is a really good way of creating bio filtration. however it may prove to give too much flow used with another filter, only you can decided this from you observation of the tank in action. having thought, could you modify some bio sponges to fit into the cassette section of the filter. if this is possible, you could then clean the filter in the more traditional way. rinsing the sponges out in tank water and then simply putting them back in the filter.

I am not sure what you mean by the sponge thing. Sorry I am pretty new to the hobby

But I did look at my Bio-Wheel filter a second ago and noticed that there is a slot for another filter cartridge. Could I slide a new one in there every two weeks or so, then just remove the old one when it is time to change it? This seems like a way to accomplish your 'floating filter' idea without having to actually have a filter floating around my tank, or does it?

 

[raptorrex]

the bio wheel is a fine filter just, from my view, not the best as the only filter in a tank. a rena 1 or 2 will do the job. i would still keep the wheel, wet and dry is a really good way of creating bio filtration. however it may prove to give too much flow used with another filter, only you can decided this from you observation of the tank in action. having thought, could you modify some bio sponges to fit into the cassette section of the filter. if this is possible, you could then clean the filter in the more traditional way. rinsing the sponges out in tank water and then simply putting them back in the filter.

I am not sure what you mean by the sponge thing. Sorry I am pretty new to the hobby

But I did look at my Bio-Wheel filter a second ago and noticed that there is a slot for another filter cartridge. Could I slide a new one in there every two weeks or so, then just remove the old one when it is time to change it? This seems like a way to accomplish your 'floating filter' idea without having to actually have a filter floating around my tank, or does it?

i guess you could, but would it not be better to modify some bio media that you do not need to throw away, even just for reasons of cost? you could try to remove the contents of the cartridge and replace it with some sponge as i said.

 

[Mr. Blue]

i guess you could, but would it not be better to modify some bio media that you do not need to throw away, even just for reasons of cost? you could try to remove the contents of the cartridge and replace it with some sponge as i said.

So are you saying to try and remove the charcoal from the filter cartridge and replacing it with some sponges? Does filtration work without the use of the charcoal element?

 

[raptorrex]

i guess you could, but would it not be better to modify some bio media that you do not need to throw away, even just for reasons of cost? you could try to remove the contents of the cartridge and replace it with some sponge as i said.

So are you saying to try and remove the charcoal from the filter cartridge and replacing it with some sponges? Does filtration work without the use of the charcoal element?

indeed it does, in fact most people in the hobby will not use carbon, except for the removal of meds. it is useful but it has potential to cause much harm. you could put some ceramic rings in the cartridge, these are almost as high in the surface area as carbon. they are safe and you get to use them more than once.

 

[Mr. Blue]

indeed it does, in fact most people in the hobby will not use carbon, except for the removal of meds. it is useful but it has potential to cause much harm. you could put some ceramic rings in the cartridge, these are almost as high in the surface area as carbon. they are safe and you get to use them more than once.

Interesting. Ok, I will look into trying to rig up something like that with my filter cartridges. In the meantime, would it be a good idea to put in a new cartridge and have two in there so I can replace one when need be? Sort of like cycling the filter cartridges out?

I have a Penguin BIO-Wheel 150 that uses the Penguin'Rite-size B' filter cartridges. Do you think I could find so pre-made cartridges like you are talking about?

And I am assuming that these problems I am having are related to the changing of the cartridge; because I am taking away a lot of the BIO media...
What about the green algae on the Wheel? Should I be worried / do something about that?

 

[raptorrex]

indeed it does, in fact most people in the hobby will not use carbon, except for the removal of meds. it is useful but it has potential to cause much harm. you could put some ceramic rings in the cartridge, these are almost as high in the surface area as carbon. they are safe and you get to use them more than once.

Interesting. Ok, I will look into trying to rig up something like that with my filter cartridges. In the meantime, would it be a good idea to put in a new cartridge and have two in there so I can replace one when need be? Sort of like cycling the filter cartridges out?

I have a Penguin BIO-Wheel 150 that uses the Penguin'Rite-size B' filter cartridges. Do you think I could find so pre-made cartridges like you are talking about?

And I am assuming that these problems I am having are related to the changing of the cartridge; because I am taking away a lot of the BIO media...
What about the green algae on the Wheel? Should I be worried / do something about that?

first one is tricky for me, i dont use carbon. my guess would be yes, but i an unsure i am the right person to ask. as for finding ready made adoptions for your filter, its unlikely, but they may be out there. perhaps a goggle search may turn up some ideas in the diy sections of different fish forums. i would not worry about the green on the wheel, i doubt it has any effect on your tank and it seems quite normal for those type of filters

 

[Mr. Blue]

first one is tricky for me, i dont use carbon. my guess would be yes, but i an unsure i am the right person to ask. as for finding ready made adoptions for your filter, its unlikely, but they may be out there. perhaps a goggle search may turn up some ideas in the diy sections of different fish forums. i would not worry about the green on the wheel, i doubt it has any effect on your tank and it seems quite normal for those type of filters

Thanks for all of your help!!
I will look into it a little further and update this thread as things come together.

 

[murphyk32]

I have a marineland penguin biowheel 350 (bigger but same as urs), my wheels arent green, but it really shouldnt be too much of a problem. They are great filters, but im currently considering not using the pads it comes with and replacing them with sponge and carbon inserts (similar to how the aquaclear filters work) to get better filtration. if there is a bad algea problem on the filter, quick rinse, but dont remove all, its needed for the tank. I wouldnt sit old pads in my tank neither, the wheels contain the required stuff that he plans on saving by putting them into the tank, thats the point of them. honestly, google the sh** outta it. and look at aquaclear on google to see what i mean when i refer to the media they use. just a thought,

hope it helped,

Murph