Heard you use Bio-wheel filters?

[bluefunelement]

Heard through the grapevine you use Bio-wheel filters pre-seeded to start up new tanks etc - is it true and if so what's your thoughts on it?

I ask cause I have an Eclipse 6g as a QT and would like to keep it empty but with the bio-wheel HOB running in a 15g frag tank to keep it seeded.

[johnmaloney]

i do, natural filtration for nitrates and nutrients, but the bio-wheels i feel are a sure bet to keep ammonia and nitrite at 0. I just like the security, and a place to throw in carbon and a filter pad never hurt. I clean the pads like every week or so though, to prevent a "detritus safe place". for a QT they work great, allows you to go bare bottom and all that. You can just throw some food in there to keep the bacteria happy, some people actually dose ammonia though, special compound etc I think, not just household cleaner. Might be wrong on that though. I also keep a biowheel filter in other tanks so should I need one in an emergency I can just throw it on any tank I have, and "bam!" instant cycle. I know a guy who did the same thing, but with a barrel full of bio-balls he could add on at any time to a drilled tank setup.

[bluefunelement]

do you have a model you use?

[johnmaloney]

i think they are penguins or something...I forgot those details, has been awhile....on the MARS system they are very large, , good for a sump on a bigger tank though.... I have 4 wheels that are about 16 inches long and 5 inches tall. not sure the models anymore to be honest, where would it say on the filter? all of them are marineland, maybe they have a bio-wheel patent, but I think they are the only ones who do bio-wheels. The ones I keep for backup reasons are 4 inches long or so, they use two on the filter itself. If I need them for a smaller tank, I just place the wheel in the carbon compartment part of a cheap tetra(?) HOB and throw that on the tank. The bacteria doesn't grow as fast supposedly because of lower oxygen amounts, but the wheels are all old, like 2-3 years or better, so they are all set to go. reminds me I still have one on loan...You can also grow mangroves in the compartment, put in filter floss etc... A guy who can't drill or plumb's cheap HOB refugium. Watch for salt creep though, sort of an issue with these things. Will buildup on the inside of the filter. Weekly maintenance includes cleaning the impeller and filter pads. They are also kind of loud. Personally I like the sound of the water, but if you are trying to sleep it is an issue, so keep them out of the bedroom...what else....can't think of much more about them. If you research them you will hear about nitrate factories this and that because they collect detritus, my reply is "clean it out often" and remove all that detritus. If you use it as a detritus trap don't be surprised if it catches some after all. A clean filter pad/filter floss etc... combined with daily turkey baster blasts to rock work will get you to a new level of clean. I think it works better in this regard than a sump/refugium because it pulls water in from a deeper spot in your tank setup rather than from the surface. Detritus tends to sink after being stirred, and HOB's are pretty good at pulling it in.

 

HOBS should be combined with powerheads, because the current can be sort of useless for parts of the tank because of the direction it goes in. Adding a skimmer is a good idea, and then denitrifying filtration.

 

Now that I am back on topic though.... I wouldn't mix a filter from a QT tank, to a tank that will be linked to a display/holding tank - risk of contamination...etc.... In your case, it would be better to place something like bio balls in your tank, but something that will sink. Anything with a lot of surface area to collect bacteria. Then place that in a dry HOB, run it for the QT period, and then discard the filter media after the QT period. You will probably get away with some cheating and using the filter media again if there were no concerns in the QT, but that is on you. If you had to replace the bio-wheel everytime something in the QT was sick, or caused some concern you would be out of pocket for a good deal I would imagine in time. Maybe something along those lines would better suit you.

[bluefunelement]

Perfect- great info!

Got a free marineland 5g - used it for a qt and like I for this but adding a 15g frag system so yeah- HOB with biowheel- then move to QT to quick start it and replace frag tank HOB with new biowheel to start cycle - these small ones are like $6 so np.

[johnmaloney]

glad you made sense of that. I tend to write like I ramble....