Replace bio wheels with pot scrubbies??
- Thread starter JoelR
- Start date
sry for being confused. I don't know of any good research on how well the bio-wheels work in comparison to other media or their colonization SA, either. IMHO, the wheels would be better than the scrubbies.
pwmin;2837800; said:
I'm thinking the same thing. The more I think about it, the scrubbies would have more channeling going on, where the wheels would get better coverage. If nothing else though,, the scrubbies would be a cheap replacement alternative and or a temporary emergency fix.
Thanks to everyone for their input.
Lets look at it this way. According to info from this link https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14727&prodid=29038&catid=3 you need 1 gallon of these bio balls per 45 to 60 gallons of water. These bio balls have half the surface area of the pot scrubbies. So I would say you should have a 1/2 gallon of scrubbies to filter 45 to 60 gallons of water. 13 srubbies make up a half gallon.
I think the 4 scrubbies that are in the emp 400 are good for about 20 gallon fish tank.
I think the 4 scrubbies that are in the emp 400 are good for about 20 gallon fish tank.
So, assuming that the biowheels have more than 270 sq inches of surface area for bacteria, the biowheels would be better than the scrubbies.Bderick67;2837734; said:
I have never been able to hear my biowheels on either of my filters (Emp 400 and Magnum 350 Pro) so I do not know how these would cut down on noise... Plus, you would not get water flowing over the whole scrubbie so you would have even less area than the wheels.
wow_it_esploded;2839153; said:
Put some scrubbies in there, you'll notice a difference. It is quieter.
As far as the area he gave, Keep in mind that it is dimensional surface area, just like the bio wheels. You do get more growing area due to the type of material.
pwmin;2839477; said:
It doesn't bother me either. It's no more noise than any other filter with the water level lower than the rim of the tank. LOL
The real beneift to bio-wheels is the fact that the nitrifying bacteria are exposed to air, thus maximizing their efficency. Very similar to a wet/dry filter.
Remove it and replace with pot scrubbies and you may have more surface area for the bacteria, but they will be submerged bacteria, and not as efficient as bacteria exposed to air. Will it in fact make for better filtration having more less-efficient bacteria?
Remove it and replace with pot scrubbies and you may have more surface area for the bacteria, but they will be submerged bacteria, and not as efficient as bacteria exposed to air. Will it in fact make for better filtration having more less-efficient bacteria?
