Bio wheel stops spinning.

[wackydan]

So I have a 100 series with the tiny wheel. Sometimes it stops spinning, and usually that's an indicator for me to either flush/rinse the filter pad or replace it and the water volume will pick up again and the wheel will spin fine.

Today, I was planning some serious maintenance anyway, and noticed it stopped again. adjusting the filter pad and even removing it did not cause the wheel to start.

SO I decided to break down the filter and give it a good cleaning, impeller, lift tubes, body. Every thing is fine again, existing pad is in it and wheel is spinning fine - i have a 2nd filter so I'm not too worried about upsetting the balance of bacteria too much and again, used the existing pad.

Is this common to have the wheel stop spinning? and if so, what have you found that helps that happen less frequently?

[desertgoldhound]

Ahhhhhhhhh just spray it with WD40 or use a multipurpose grease. (NO DON'T)

Stuff can get coated with different stuff in the tank and yes this is a common thing. Don't worrie about it you handled it just fine.

[gomezladdams]

Thats exactly what you do,filters start to slow down the wheel gives you a good guage of when to clean it.

[tankfan]

just take the wheel off and rinse it in your *tankwater* in the bucket you use for cleaning. lightly scrub each fold of the paper part of wheel & then use tank brush to clean the sides and pins. these get built up sludge over time and virtually have a lifetime of use when properly maintained.

[Ghost_knife]

DO NOT 'SCRUB' BIO-WHEEL YOU WILL KILL YOUR COLONY!

[JoeRags3]

The wheel is supposed to slow down over time, it says so right in the manual.Its supposed to spin stop spin stop, or slowly spin as long as it doesnt dry out then its fine. If it stops completely then you need to check the two pegs it sits on, and wipe them with a q-tip also check where the wheel sits and clean that as well. and like ghost said DO NOT SCRUB THE WHEEL ITSELF!!

[wackydan]

The wheel is supposed to slow down over time, it says so right in the manual.Its supposed to spin stop spin stop, or slowly spin as long as it doesnt dry out then its fine. If it stops completely then you need to check the two pegs it sits on, and wipe them with a q-tip also check where the wheel sits and clean that as well. and like ghost said DO NOT SCRUB THE WHEEL ITSELF!!

Don't worry.... I wouldn't do that, but yeah, I cleaned the pins and mounts/sockets and it still didn't spin, so the full body cleaning commenced.

[desertgoldhound]

When you clean just use aquarium water and you will not lose that much. I would clean the whole thing with aquarium water.

[tankfan]

it is ok to "lightly" rub the paper folds. i just run my fingers in between the folds. i didnt mean to come across as literally scrubbing the wheel clean, thats why i originally used the word lightly. ive been doing this on my penguin 330 that ive had for years and its still running and my wheel has never stopped because of the folds being covered in too much build up nor did i have any problems as far as water parameters go. It tells you in booklet i believe..."been so long cant remember for sure" but im sure i read it somewhere. Maybe i read on a forum somewhere ;) Ive had no problems. The only way you will loose all your bacteria would be to scrub folds totally clean. i light brushing removes some of the heavier sludge that is on the paper. However, some...yes some bacteria will be lost, but not enough to thwart your system...but i wouldnt do this wheel cleaning at the same time that you change your used filter pad with a new one as this would surely put a strain on the balance in your aquarium. Cleaning the wheels usually only has to be done maybe every few months.

a question for the others? Wouldnt these two cleaning scenarios, {bio-wheels & filter pad only filters} be basically the same:

do you or have you clean(ed) your removable filter media with your tankwater to remove the sludge on the floss and put it back in the filter? would you or have you done this with a filter that has no bio-wheel? If so, did you lose all your bacteria? If i had to guess i would say no as there is still bacteria in the carbon in the filter and also throughout the tank, gravel..etc. But you can also lose some bacteria off of the back of the filter pad when cleaning it without harm to your system. Cleaning the bio-wheels lightly will help it continue to turn.

In saying this...how old is the filter? Is the bio-wheel in fact too far gone as far as build up on it to not harm it? It may take getting a new 1 and then keeping up on the cleaning regimen as soon as you see the wheel starting to stop, but not when seen slowing down as slowing down is normal as the others have stated.

LMAO - MAYBE IVE JUST BEEN ONE LUCKY S.O.B. :)

[dizzykylie]

DO NOT 'SCRUB' BIO-WHEEL YOU WILL KILL YOUR COLONY!

oops!! I (a noob) just scrubbed mine with a toothbrush because the lfs guy told me to do that. Well...now I know. Mine had completely stopped spinning for like an entire month. I took it apart and cleaned the filter and now it runs perfectly. I am so dumb...I guess part of learning is knowing whose advice to take.

[tbarblover]

Just go buy an aquaclear and you wont have to worry about it anymore..... :)