Used biowheels?

[fishie111]

I bought a used 75G tank on craigslist. It came with two Emperor 400s with 4 used biowheels. The biowheels are completely dry- I think the aquarium has been unused for at least 2 months.

Can I reuse the biowheels, or should I replace them to avoid possible contamination?

 

[le patron]

if i had known the owner and knew they had good habits about their tanks, id say keep em, but on craigslist you have no idea, so to be safe id get some new ones.

 

[RedTailKinG]

agreed

 

[Mike fail]

id run them threw some water that you were not gonna use on the tank to moisten the biowheels up and see if they still turn, and let them run for a bit to clean clean them out hopefully, your best bet is to get new ones though

 

[Bderick67]

if i had known the owner and knew they had good habits about their tanks, id say keep em, but on craigslist you have no idea, so to be safe id get some new ones.

For what? What could possibly contaminate these bio wheels? If they were contaminated with something, wouldn't the rest of the tank, filter and other equipment also be contaminated?

 

[le patron]

For what? What could possibly contaminate these bio wheels? If they were contaminated with something, wouldn't the rest of the tank, filter and other equipment also be contaminated?

yes and thats why he should get new filter media. you seriously need to take it down a notch, im just trying to help him out. a little on the aggressive side there, you miami dolphin

 

[Bderick67]

yes and thats why he should get new filter media. you seriously need to take it down a notch, im just trying to help him out. a little on the aggressive side there, you miami dolphin

take it down a notch Why not just answer the questions to back up your statement?

You not helping, your costing him money.

 

[le patron]

take it down a notch Why not just answer the questions to back up your statement?

You not helping, your costing him money.

i beg to differ. the fish that were previously in the tank could have carried harmful diseases that could kill his fish. i believe im just helping him maintain his investment. please stop arguing with me

 

[Bderick67]

i beg to differ. the fish that were previously in the tank could have carried harmful diseases that could kill his fish. i believe im just helping him maintain his investment. please stop arguing with me

So these harmful diseases that can survive dry conditions, would they not be present throughout the rest of the filter, tank, decor, etc?

So if you would need to disinfect the rest of the filter, tank, decor, etc. why not just disinfect the bio wheels?

 

[Mike fail]

any beneficial bacteria stored in those biowheels would have died and when ran through water would become waste in the water.