Expirences with Marineland Bio Wheels 350 for messy fish?

[Yogosans14]

Hello, I'm going to be setting up another goldfish tank (55 gallons) and I'm putting 2 pearlscales and probably a ryukin in there. I have aquaclear 50 that does 200GPH and I saw Petco had the marineland bio wheel filter on sale for 50$. I like the design, Ive only owned Aquaclears but I like how it pushes 350GPH for that price. I have heard its noisy and the wheels can stop spinning. Is this true?What are your experiences with it?

And those "bio wheels" are they actually effective or just a gimmick?

 

[freak78]

I ran two of them on my 55g for years. Never had a problem out of them. Sometimes the wheels will slow down but mine always kept spinning. Had good experiences with them.

 

[Yogosans14]

I ran two of them on my 55g for years. Never had a problem out of them. Sometimes the wheels will slow down but mine always kept spinning. Had good experiences with them.

Thank you! I will pick one up soon and give it a try.

 

[BrookKeeper]

Only the smaller bio-wheel models have a tendency to stop spinning, the bigger units (at least the 350) have a spray bar that turns the wheel. The smaller units only turn the wheel with the outflow stream, so when that is low (from clogged suction or from bypass due to clogged filters) the wheel stops turning. The 350 will spray water on the wheel and keep it running even if the pads are fully blocked... Not that you should allow your filter to get that dirty...

as for the noise concern... the bigger the model, the noisier it is, in this case... My 350 is obnoxious, I will be replacing it with a canister so when I move that tank to my baby's room AND I won't have to listen to it in my living room anymore...

 

[duanes]

If you perform regular maintenance on the spray bar the wheels won't stop.
This means pulling the wheel mechanism off, rinsing, and brushing in and outside the spray bar tube with a thin bottle type brush, to keep it, and the spray holes free of detritus.
I also find taking an appropriately sized screw and reaming out the spray holes occasionally goes a long way to maintaining a strong enough flow to keep wheels spinning.
For me, this was a needed weekly.
I also find keeping the canister sludge free with regular cleanings helps keep the slime build up that will slow flow is needed.

 

[BrookKeeper]

If you perform regular maintenance on the spray bar the wheels won't stop.
This means pulling the wheel mechanism off, rinsing, and brushing in and outside the spray bar tube with a thin bottle type brush, to keep it, and the spray holes free of detritus.
I also find taking an appropriately sized screw and reaming out the spray holes occasionally goes a long way to maintaining a strong enough flow to keep wheels spinning.
For me, this was a needed weekly.
I also find keeping the canister sludge free with regular cleanings helps keep the slime build up that will slow flow is needed.

I sort of forgot... I run my 400 on a gravel bed pickup, so there is nearly no detritus in my filter, I rarely ever perform any maintenance on any component of the filter, and my wheels have never slowed down. The gravel in that tank, on the other hand, should probably get vacuumed more than it does...

 

[fishnatics]

I ran 350's and 400's for a long time. They do the job if you're not overstocked and keep up with maintenance. As far as the wheels stopping it does happen just rinse off in tank water and it's good to go.