I have an idea for the BIO wheel.

[kgb]

Do you think theres a way to motorize the BIO-wheel rotation? I was thinking about one or maybe two small motors spinning the wheel... Would it really help that much? Would it be worth the time?

[Fish_3456]

you could try.... for what kind of filter you talking about?

[Fish_3456]

i dont think regular bio wheels need a motor to spin it?

you know what.. it sounds like a good DIY project!, im working on this too

[kgb]

My new Penguin BIO wheel 200 doesn't spin that well. It soaks up too much water and stops spinning. :mad:

[Fish_3456]

i guess you could try adding a motor on it. but dont get a fast speed one, that will just be a mess!

[Fish_3456]

how do bio wheels work anways?

[blitzen25bm]

its supposed to spin slow, just as long as it moves.

kgb check the axels on it and if they are clean just give the wheels a shake in a bucket of old tank water.

[kgb]

I did that, blitzen25bm and it started spining again. Maybe one revolution every five seconds or so :thm:

[reignman40]

Do you have any sponges or filter pads on your intake? I have 2 bio wheel filters and it sounds like you may just not be pulling in enough water to spin it correctly. Both mine have a nice steady spin at all times.

Like others have suggested, make sure there is nothing hindering the wheel from spinning freely. Make sure your getting enough water flow. Sponges or what not over the intakes will slow the rate it can pull in water.

Just a thought.
Curtis

[thesydmonster]

I also have a biowheel and it changes speed... as long as it is spinning it is working. I have sponge material over my intake tube and it does not affect the water flow. Occasionally I have to clean the little things sticking out on the sides when it slows too much.

[mvigor]

:OT:

I hear about so many people whose bio-wheels stop working. How long do you have your tanks set up before this happens? How stocked are the tanks? I have 3 bio-wheels, one since March or so and so far it's spinning mad-fast just like the day I turned it on. They all are. They look super clean.

[anonapersona]

1) there may be a lot of build up inside the biowheel, as slime collects in the folds of the pleats. You can shake this out somewhat by swishing in used tank water and knocking on the wheel to dislodge the gunk.

2) check to see that the pleats run straight across, if they are twisted the water will run under and not push the wheel. Untwist if necessary.

[chiefmorales]

Here is a link of Bio-wheel FAQ.

http://www.marineland.com/science/pdf/BIOwheel_QA.pdf

I had a problem with mine here it wouldent spin becaus i had 3 filter cartrages in it i solved it by putting a piece of plastic on one side to narrow the water stream it helped the spinning.

[hle_81]

If you want your bio-wheel motorized, get an emperor or a bio-wheel pro system. They're powered by a spray bar so you shouldn't have a problem with it stopping.

[Fish_3456]

WOW you never replace the bio wheel!!! man i need to get me one of this bio wheel things!!!

[Left C]

I've got an old gas powered weed eater motor that you can hook up to a bio-wheel. HeHe!

[Fish_3456]

lol, nice one. :thm:

[Left C]

I've had many of the Penguin filters with the Bio-Wheel. Sometimes, the intake tube and impeller would get a little crusted over and the Bio-Wheel would act wierd. Check it out. It would't take but a little bit of crust either. It used to baffle me too. I'd change the pads and still it wouldn't work until I discovered about keeping the intake and impeller clean. I never changed any of the Bio-Wheels. I had this tank running like this for five years and I gave it to a friend of mine. She's had it running for three years now with the same filters and Bio-Wheels. One of the things that I like about the Bio-Wheel is that when you change filter pads and clean the filter, you don't lose a lot of your good bacteria. Another thing that I like about the Bio-Wheel is that you could overstock the tank and it keeps up without any noticeable ammonia or nitrite problems. This was a planted tank too. I never got any pearling but the plants grew well. I just added more CO2 and CO2 is cheap too. There's even some pad kits that you can add any product you wanted and still kept the frame but replaced the pad. I used Seachem's Purigen sometimes.

[Kasakato]

You want pearling every week or so. With out it, the tank wont really be 'normal'. Adding more C02 is a wast. Sure it might be cheep but whats the point. Save up that money, and get a cainster. Or just get rid of the Bio Wheel. Seachem Purigen is a chemical media, with I dont like using. It is not needed, and can mess up a tank.

[Left C]

The main point that I wanted to make was that when people notice that their Bio-Wheel really slows down, starts and stops, or even stops turning alltogether and there is a new filter cartridge in it; to clean the intake tube and the impeller and it should start back up turning. I've seen this problem asked many times before.
The tank that I was refering to was 24 inches tall. It was too expensive to buy enough lighting to even think about getting pearling.
The Bio-Wheels added much needed oxygen to this tall tank.
Many plants flowered in this tank. Something was right, don't you think?
What's wrong with Purigen? It doesn't remove trace elements, it is reusable and sure makes the water look clean. Many people use this stuff.

[Slappy*McFish]

Purigen is a great product even though it isn't absolutely necessary. It can be helpful in tanks with heavy stocking levels or big, messy fish. Water changes are the single most important thing anyone can do for their tank, however. Use Purigen as a 'supplement' to your water changes. I use it with my cichlid tank and with regular water changes it keeps my nitrates below 10ppm and the water crystal clear. This is the only chemical filtration product I use. Much better than carbon or ion exchange resins.

[JinxXx0085]

You want pearling every week or so. With out it, the tank wont really be 'normal'. Adding more C02 is a wast. Sure it might be cheep but whats the point. Save up that money, and get a cainster. Or just get rid of the Bio Wheel. Seachem Purigen is a chemical media, with I dont like using. It is not needed, and can mess up a tank.
:troll: What is pearling? :huh:

[StacieA]

I was just wondering that myself!

[Slappy*McFish]

Pearling is when the plants supersaturate the water with oxygen during photosynthesis and the oxygen bubbles can be seen streaming from the leaves of the plants. It is common in high light/ CO2 injected tanks.

[Kasakato]

It looks cool too.