my bio-wheel was stolen!

[randalizm]

so i had a party at my house and some idiot thought it would be funny to take the bio-wheel out of my 30 gallon eclipse. i have 6 cardinal tetras and 2 angels. im not sure what to do... with the whole tank built up with bacteria you think it will be ok to just put a new bio-wheel in with the fish?

[Kasakato]

Lol. Some friends!

Just dont touch the meida, and add a new bio-wheel. You shouldent have any problems.

[sublime1184]

No, you won't have any problems with adding a new bio-wheel, you have a tank that has allready established bacteria and will be fine.

[randalizm]

its gonna have to cycle all over again right?

[sublime1184]

No, you allready have established bacteria, you should be fine. Just don't remove any thing and try to get new bio-wheel ASAP.

[Kasakato]

The bio wheel just had extra bacteria on it. Im using a filter with no bio-wheel, and it works just fine.

[Galaxie]

The bio-wheel and the filter media combine to handle the typical bio-load. You should monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels closely over the next days and be prepared to do partial water changes if they do spike.....the filter by itself will be overloaded until it can catch up. The beauty of a bio-wheel is it never needs cleaning or changing and therefore is much more stable than the replaceable/ cleanable media.

Give your friend a good smack. Not funny messing with pets.

[f8ldzz]

What's your tank size and bio load (i.e. how many fish?)?
If the bio-wheel filter was borderling in supporting the tank and bio load, I'd watch the water quality.
If you're overkill on your filtration, I wouldn't worry and just use a new bio wheel - they should be available from your local LFS or order online.

Do you know who took the bio wheel as a joke?
I'd grab them and dunk they heads in the toilet bowl.
Tell them - this is how the fish feel without the bio wheel.
I'm sure they'll get the picture QUICK.

[ashdavid]

You should be fine without the biowheel for a short period, get a new one asap.Watch ammonia and nitrite levels and also monitor the water clarity if it becomes a little cloudy there could be a problem brewing, this is not necessarly so in some cases I must add. Do your water changes a little more often than usual, and cut down feeding to a minimum for a week or two.
Ill tell you about friends, I had a party once and when I had a 200g in the living room, everybody put their empty beer cans in the tank. There was like 40 cans in there in the morning and the tank smelt of beer, I was lucky and I didnt lose a fish. Friends seem to think these kind of things are funny. :huh:

[greendeltatke]

If you're worried, just buy some bio spira and pour it on the new bio wheel. It doesn't hurt to add bio spira to an established tank. Some people use it when they add more fish to a tank.

[TKOS]

Don't forget that the bacteria are established on all the surfaces of your tank, nit just the biowheel and filter media. Considering most people still change their filter media monthly without fish loss, the chances of you loosing fish now is very low. Add a new biowheel and continue with regular water changes. This is also a good reason why overstocking fish tanks is never a good idea. The crazy things can always happen.

[NatakuTseng]

Don't worry about it, you could run the tank without the bio-wheel indefinitely. Its just an extra amount of surface area to handle a higher bio load. Just put a new one on there. You won't have probs at all.

[xhibition]

I agree with Natakutseng, I indefinately took one my wheels off for my 20 gal. and have not a single change. You will be fine till you get a new one.