My BIO wheel filter is horrible!!

[zachjohnson65]

Ok so i come home to my 10 gallon with a Bio wheel filter 10 dead in the water. This filter has been cutting on and off for the last 2 weeks. Each time it stops i fiddle with the intake tube and the housing that surrounds the impeller. I have cleaned out the impeller/motor many times: no sand grit found.
This is the second bio wheel filter in 2 months. my first one did the same thing but i put that off that sand got in the motor. Well this time i covered my intake with a sponge. ( I tried pantyhose first but the filter did not like that much restricted flow). But it still stops.

Are these filter that bad? I have an AC 30 that in a tank with a sand bottom with no intake sponge and it has not stopped. :help:

[jm1212]

if you found it in the water, then it may not've been put on the tank right. are you sure it was level?

[DarkSoul]

if you found it in the water, then it may not've been put on the tank right. are you sure it was level?

LMAO...... re-read that dude... i dont think he literally meant his filter was found floating in the water :p

[zachjohnson65]

Yes i was using a play on words. it stopped working. Sorry Zach

[soobie]

I have a Penguin mini with a biowheel, and it has been running constantly for a year and a half with absolutely no problems. Super quiet and it never stops. Sometimes the wheel slows down, but all I have to do is clean the intake tube and impeller, and it's good to go again. Is the impeller fully seated in the case and intake tube? Or is it that the motor itself stops working completely? Sometimes if the impeller isn't fully seated, it will seem like the motor's not working.

[zachjohnson65]

I find that motor is spinning but the impeller get stuck. When i reassamble it i make sure the case is down and seated in the molded grooves in the filter body. But when it stops i have to lift the impeller casing and tube to get things going again.

[J double R]

never had a problem with my biowheel.. are you absolutely sure there is no sand? it doesnt have to be very large to impair operation.

[snickle]

I have two Penguin 100s. that have been running for a year no problems. They never stop pumping. If they start o get clogged I notice the bio-wheel slow down and I clean the impeller.

They work great IMO

[jm1212]

LMAO...... re-read that dude... i dont think he literally meant his filter was found floating in the water :p
you'd be surprised....

it could be a defective impeller. is the entire impeller intact?

[DarkSoul]

you'd be surprised....



no i wouldnt...trust me.

[vhx5438]

I don't really like all my bio wheel filter they make too much noise for my taste, but none of them stoped working.......for about 3 years now..

[musho3210]

There good quality products, i would suggest you to call up marineland for the best info on these. Perhaps one fish got sucked in and the skeleton is somewhere in the impeller lol? Seriously marineland can help a lot better than we can, where did you buy these filters?

[zachjohnson65]

I was going to call Marineland this weekend. I just wanted to ask first. I also got it at petsmart so i know that i can always take it back. Just like the first one.

[greenzfish]

I have a pengiun 100, and a pengiun 350, both give me troubles once in a while. Just fiddle man that is all i can say, short of taking it back, its all you can really do. ps, water level is key to the noise level. keep the level up and it is whisper quiet. its no canister filter. but for the money it is good.

[loaches r cool]

I've had problems with other HOB's but my Penguin hasnt given me any problems in a few years - despite I dont clean it until it practically stops working each time (yeah, I am lazy with that tank).

I believe the motors in most all our pumps and filters are shaded-pole motors. Perhaps I should dissect one to be sure. They probably use a 1 turn coil in front and off center the field poles to create a rotating magnetic field to get the rotor spinning. I noticed that one of my HOB's that wouldnt start would infact start and function normally if I manually spun the impeller by sticking a piece of wood dowel in and moving the impeller slightly(I dont recommend doing that though). So I believe most the problems, at least the ones I have seen, have probably something to do with the shading coils not working properly, not sure if they get damaged or what causes this. But this type of motor already has a very low starting torque by design so that would probably be where problems would arise first.

[Rbishop]

I'm confused. is the wheel not turning do to no flow, or you have flow but the wheel isn't turning?

[zachjohnson65]

My impeller stops, which stops the water flow.
Has anyone tried the new Rena HOB filters. They seem to be a little different with their compartments.

[grannylvsfish]

my bio wheel is awsome!! I had to take different filter back becuase it kept stopping after I bought it, but my bio wheel, never fails

[Shane Reynolds]

Penguins/Emperors are the only filters I have NOT had a problem with. I had AC's stop after power outages and Eheim Libertys that really didn't seem to do much filtering. I have tried the Rena and am going back to the Emperor. The Rena is VERY nice, but for a couple of things: (1) there is a turn lock on each of the little caddies and the plastic piece that turns inside is cheaply-made and will break easily (two of mine broke in less than four months - it will still lock for now) and (2) apparently there is a price-fix on the refill cartridges as they are no cheaper online than they are at PetsMart. I can get a giant bag of BioChemZorb for my xP2 for $7 that will last two months, but it costs almost $25 for two months' worth of those four-sided BioChemZorb pouches? I will also state that there was never that much stuff on the Rena pouches, yet a Marineland cartridge is usually in dire need of washing after a couple of weeks, so my conclusion is that the Marineland does a much better job of mechanical filtration. Overall, though, I was pleased with the Rena's performance, and it will certainly be interesting when they finally get around to bringing the SmartHeater to market (it will replace the intake on the SmartFilter).

[memphisgirl39]

i have a marine lane bio wheel 100 for a 20 gallon in a ten gallon tank and ive had no problems with mine.