The biowheel on my Penguin has stopped running alltogether, I've tried rinsing it and all the parts around it, but it still dosen't do anything. What's the purpose of the wheel? Everything seems to be running fine without it.
Do I really need the biowheel?
- Thread starter Aussie_hippie_2
- Start date
The name is self explanatory.You may have lost the bioculture by rinsing it, unless you did it in aquarium water.
Does it have a spray bar you can adjust? That usually governs the speed the wheel turns.
As long as a biowheel is turning, however slowly (within reason) and unevenly, it is working. If it stops totally, that is a problem.
Does it have a spray bar you can adjust? That usually governs the speed the wheel turns.
As long as a biowheel is turning, however slowly (within reason) and unevenly, it is working. If it stops totally, that is a problem.
The purpose of a biowheel, if I understand right, is to provide a large surface area for the bacteria involved in biological filtration. The idea is that more can grow on a biowheel than on some surfaces, and since the bacteria involved (sorry I don't know the names) are aerobic and need oxygen to grow, the movement of the wheel in and out of the water provides ideal conditions for them.
However, I have no idea how you can fix yours if the rinsing hasn't worked. Good luck, and I hope this helped a little.
However, I have no idea how you can fix yours if the rinsing hasn't worked. Good luck, and I hope this helped a little.
Check the purple seating for the wheels, if they are even a little off than the wheel wont turn. and the high amount of oxygen that is naturally in air make the bacteria want to collect at a spot where the oxygen is highest, which is in the air. Next to those huge wet dry sump filter bio wheels are supposed to be darn good at culturing and keeping those bacteria alive as long as the wheel remains spinning.
Technically, you don't. Aquariums in the past survived without it...
But if you have one, you'd be a fool to not use it. It's a great source of beneficial bacteria. That wheel touches every inch of your water and helps keep the toxic levels at 0ppm.
But if you have one, you'd be a fool to not use it. It's a great source of beneficial bacteria. That wheel touches every inch of your water and helps keep the toxic levels at 0ppm.
You don't have to use the Biowheel; as others pointed out there are plenty of other filters that don't use them. However, I'd be a lot more careful changing your filter media if you decide to scrap the wheel. That's the difference, IMO, between the BioWheel filters and a filter like an AquaClear, where you can just rinse the foam in tankwater to clean it. The Marineland filters use those proprietary cartridges, so once you pop it out and change it, you're throwing away a lot of your beneficial bacteria. In that respect I think using the Biowheel is a good idea if possible. Otherwise, I'd use an extra media basket in the Penguin along with the cartridge, and fill it with ceramic rings (don't change the rings, only rinse in tankwater when needed). That would reduce the impact of changing the cartridge.
IMO this is a major design flaw as compared to the Emperors, which have spray bars to drive the BioWheels.
IMO this is a major design flaw as compared to the Emperors, which have spray bars to drive the BioWheels.
I had penguins in which the biowheel stopped turning. I was usually able to solve this by cleaning the entire filter, especially the intake. After I got rid of all the gook, the water flowed more strongly and the biowheel started turning again.
The other reason could be that the tank is not level, but if it turned before this probably isn't the case . . .
The other reason could be that the tank is not level, but if it turned before this probably isn't the case . . .
i agree with the above posts.
make sure your tank is level, for if it is tilting to one side the bio wheel could be leaning and sliding down the runners and stopping.
giving the filter a good clean out could help too. there might just be a build up that is imparing the ammount of water that flows through the filter.
make sure your tank is level, for if it is tilting to one side the bio wheel could be leaning and sliding down the runners and stopping.
giving the filter a good clean out could help too. there might just be a build up that is imparing the ammount of water that flows through the filter.
