Review on the new Penguin bio-wheels out there now

Emg

Emg

AC Members
Jan 16, 2005
2,931
0
36
62
Northeast Connecticut
emgstanks.blogspot.com
JUNK...that's the review...lol...

I picked up one of the latest versions of Penguin's Bio-wheel power filter..specifically the 100 model.

It's made of the cheapest plastic I'm sure they could get away with and still have it "work". They did something different with the intake tube...added some new fangled contraption on it and made if fit in such a way that the tube is too long for a 20L tank if you use it....or.....it's too short if you choose not to add it on.

Now, this model is supposed to be for up to 20 gallons....if I can't fit it in a 20L..I don't know what the geniouses in the engineering dept were thinking when they drew this thing up ....

Junk......I'm bringing it back and looking for one of the older models. I do have the older model mini penguins in one of my 10 gallons and it works great ! I Guess the pencil pushers decided they need to have a bigger profit margin on these things and have cheaped out on the quality in order to do it. Too bad, they had a great product before this.... :rant:
 
I've never been impressed with any bio-wheel. IMO it's all show. Cute little wheel spinning in the water. For about 3 days before it stops. Then you have to practically scrub it with a brush to make it spin for another couple of days.

And this was on a 10 gallon tank that was fed starvation portions, had 60-70% of the water changed weekly, and only had 4 small fish in it(1 betta and 3 cory julii).
 
I'm going to have to disagree on that one. I picked up two of the new Penguin 350 power filters in February because at the time they were on an introductory sale price.

I think that the plastic that they chose to do the filters in is just fine. It's thick and has some flex to it. Flex is definately a good point as far as I'm concerned, as 2/3 of my AC500 filters are repaired due to cracks in the shell. Most HOBs are made from rather brittle plastic, ime. Secondly, the nature of the plastic and design of the extender allows one to easily cut the intake extender tube to the exact length that is preferrable. Try fine tuning the intake depth on a Whisper or AquaClear...not so easy.
The media space allows the use of lots of foam (or 4 cartridges if that floats your boat), and there's less potential for media bypass when compared to some other top-name HOBs that I run.
Oh, and the wheels? I haven't touched them and they're still spinning with good speed (one on a tank that is packed and well fed).

It's not my favorite filter, not even my favorite HOB filter, but I've recommended it to others who are also quite happy with the product.
 
I have a 350 and my only issue is the intake tube setup. I'm not really a fan of the rectangular intake tube. Mostly because the plastic is thin enough that it kinda "warped" and so it doesn't fit quite right. And they really could've just gone without the mid-level intake thing.

On the other hand, I'm a HUGE fan of the body of the filter. The new cover is great, larger bio-wheels are a plus, and the outlet is deeper, so you don't have to keep the tank filled to the very brim to keep it from splashing.

Overall, I like them. I just wish they'd re-work the intake tubes. Go back to the round tubes or make them with thicker, sturdier plastic.
 
My experience with these is that the smaller ones don't work and the bigger ones do. I have a 125 that is just garbage (very frustrating--it's not very old but I will be replacing it this month with an aquaclear). On the other hand, I have 2 350s and 1 Emperor 400 and both run perfectly. Perhaps the wheel does better with a greater mass of water flow?
 
I have about 7 of the 170 models (not the new, redesigned version) that have been running continuously for 4-5 years each. I've never had the biowheel stop turning and these filters are much better about restarting/repriming after water changes than my Aquaclears, Whispers, etc. The greatest weak spot is the mechanical media; the cartridges are too expensive, but they can be replaced with foam blocks that last pretty much forever.

I haven't seen the new model (close up, anyway) but it will be too bad if they aren't up to snuff. Other than the choice of plastic, if indeed it's less durable, what is the big deal about the length of the intake tube? Can't it be cut to length? I've done that a number of times. Took 1 minute with a hacksaw or utility knife.

Jim
 
Watcher74 said:
I've never been impressed with any bio-wheel. IMO it's all show. Cute little wheel spinning in the water. For about 3 days before it stops. Then you have to practically scrub it with a brush to make it spin for another couple of days.

And this was on a 10 gallon tank that was fed starvation portions, had 60-70% of the water changed weekly, and only had 4 small fish in it(1 betta and 3 cory julii).
Click to expand...
Odd. I have two Penuin 125s on a 29 gallon and they work smashingly well. n fact, I am watching one of them turn right now. It has been 10 days since I cleaned the tank and filters (whih is a long stretch for me, so I am glad this came up when it did) and my wheel is completing a revolution once per 2-3 seconds. I only clean with a vigorous swishing in tank water I have removed to a bucket. This bio-wheel has been in use for 6 months, when I set up the tank. I am an overfeeding kind of guy because the tank is planted and I want to make sure the cories get some flake. I have the fattest non-pregnant livebearers I have ever seen. So, in my experience, well, it's just completely the opposite of what you say, I guess.
 
Well, I guess I will have to try them again one day. I should try more than one Bio-wheel filter before I remove the idea of ever using one.

Thanks for the input.
 
I have 2 of the Penguin 350b's. They work great, and are quiet. I had to exchange one of them because the impeller made a lot of noise. Turns out they were on sale, so I got $5.00 back too, from Petsmart. I'm gonna take the 2nd one back as well, and get the $5.00 refund for that one too.

If you bought one of these filters for $44.99 at Petsmart, take it back, or take the reciept back and ask for the sale price difference. If they don't want to give it to you, just tell them you're going to return it and then buy another one at the sale price anyway, so what's the difference. Petsmart's return policy is great, no questions asked.

About the noise problem. I think some sand got into it and screwed up the impeller shaft. Otherwise, I'm satisfied with the new Penguins.
 
I had the same problem with the 100, I attempted to put it in my son's 10 gallon tank. I did a slight modification, cut the tube so the new fangled thingy could be used.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom