bio wheel

[skinless]

yep. unplugging the tubes has solved the odd wheel stoppages so far.

 

[CHOMPERS]

...a bio-wheel is a wet/dry filter...

Oh yeah, there was a question that we were supposed to answer

How easy it is to get side tracked

 

[HugeGhost]

lets say the 2 biowheels on the 350 are spinning whats the ratio of bacteria on them compared to submerged media.
the whole idea is when the bacteria get air bam they really work.

 

[Potts050]

well large cichlids a bio-wheel is a wet/dry filter. The spinning of the wheel allows for better access to oxygen by the beneficial bacteria. A bio-wheel has a tremendous amount of surface area for these bacteria to grow, Making it a great asset to your aquarium

Mac has nailed it.
The atmosphere is roughly 20% oxygen. Well aireated water has about mg/L of oxygen which is roughly 2%. With ten times more oxygen in air than water, a slow moving bio wheel makes it possible for rapid nitrogenous waste breakdown.
Once ammonia and nitrite levels are reduced as in a fully cycled tank it probably makes little differance except after large feedings, food spills, or after adding new fish, bacteria populations can grow faster in bio-wheels than in cannister filters.

 

[mac]

So when you put the two together OMG What a great product I wouldn't trade my bio wheels for anything.

 

[TenaciousTankBuster]

I had a bio wheel on my 55 gallon the thing was great for like 2months and now it doesnt perform like it use to. I would not buy one ever again.

This is a common misconception alot of people say about Marineland's Biowheels. They are SUPPOSED to slow down and even spin erradically when they become worn. This is what they are SUPPOSED to do. If you actually read the instruction manual, it clearly states this.

Trust me Large_cichlids, Biowheels are the best and the fact that they have them make them much better filters then even AquaClear. You should see my wheels turn. They don't spin perfectly either because they are not SUPPOSED to. They are SUPPOSED to stop and stutter with the spray bar!

 

[fishieperson321]

When a BIO-Wheel turns, it allows bacteria to be in water, then air, then water. This gives the bacteria as much as 30,000 times more oxygen than submerged media. Someone told me that slime algae grows on these and then the BIO-Wheel becomes unuseful as there is no bacteria on it. Is this true?

 

[Dr Joe]

When a BIO-Wheel turns, it allows bacteria to be in water, then air, then water. This gives the bacteria as much as 30,000 times more oxygen than submerged media. Someone told me that slime algae grows on these and then the BIO-Wheel becomes unuseful as there is no bacteria on it. Is this true?

Yes, rinse, clean, brush or scrape it off and start again. If it's really bad you can carefuuly use the garden hose with a sprayer to help clean it off(will kill most of the bacteria tho), then put it back on and in a week or so it's back.

Dr Joe

.