How much do bio wheels help ?
- Thread starter tcarswell
- Start date
Well, that depends I think. Is the P200 enough mechanical filtration? If so & all you want is more Bio, I have a DIY fix for you:
I bought a Whisper 10i internal filter ($15 bux) & threw away the filter cartridge it came with. I put a thin, coarse sponge in the bottom to screen out big chunks, then stuffed a BioMax bag from an AC70 on top of that. Its basically just a motorized cup of biomedia. With this media combo, the 10i flows a lot more water than its rating suggests & would be plenty of bio for you. Also, you can clean out your P200 without killing all your BB. Now that I've switched to dual HOB's, I stuff it with polishing floss & move it from tank to tank for polishing duty. IMO, a 10i is very versatile & a great little utility filter.
I bought a Whisper 10i internal filter ($15 bux) & threw away the filter cartridge it came with. I put a thin, coarse sponge in the bottom to screen out big chunks, then stuffed a BioMax bag from an AC70 on top of that. Its basically just a motorized cup of biomedia. With this media combo, the 10i flows a lot more water than its rating suggests & would be plenty of bio for you. Also, you can clean out your P200 without killing all your BB. Now that I've switched to dual HOB's, I stuff it with polishing floss & move it from tank to tank for polishing duty. IMO, a 10i is very versatile & a great little utility filter.
You can always add a sponge filter or a mini ac powerhead with sponge attachments. I run an Emperor280 on a 20gal, too. I never had any problem with ammonia.
I think sponge filters are usually recommended for quarantine tanks, but I dont know the pro's & con's other than cost.
sponge filters are excellent for BB and you already have mechanical filtering going on. get the sponge.
dwilder;3270395; said:
I may have to disagree, depending on the circumstances & stock. If its a 20g tall Q-tank that is empty all the time, I agree a P200 would cover it. However, if its a feeder Q-tank & stocked constantly I think the long, shallow shape of a 20Long requires at least two filter intakes, one on each end. A 20 tall is a lot different.
JakeH;3270687; said:
I could see your point if it was for mechanical filtration/ debris removal.
But for biological filtration it does not matter where the filter is as long as it has access to the water column.
and to the OP --------Bio wheels are as good as it gets with HOB filters. It is said that the wet and dry affect of the rotating wheel builds a stronger and denser population of bacteria. Its the same comparison as a wet sump and a wet/dry sump. The wet/dry is allways superior with the same given media. Because of the added oxygen the dry part gives.
But most peoples definition of a quarintine tank is a tank that is used for a few weeks with new incoming fish. So that any health concerns can be addressed. And then it is not used again until the next new fish.
In this situation the biological filter will never have the time needed to fully populate and stabilize before the ammonia source (its food) gets removed and placed in a main tank.
Now if its a grow out tank that a whole other story. And it should be treated just as the main tank.