Another "Great Debate" for the ages...

[Star_Rider]

The other important part on the page that I forgot to paste...


"Because the Filtering Media moves as the BIO-Wheels spin, the BIO-Wheels are able to adjust to a rapid increase in the amount of fish waste, as might happen in a fish store, when the aquariums are restocked from the fish wholesaler.
But filters, such as canister filters, with filtering media that does not move will not respond quickly to an increased bio-load, and the amount of waste in the water will increase for about two days, until the bacteria can respond to the increased bio-load."

most fish stores don't rely on HOB's with bio wheels.
they use sumps...they have large bio media stores in them..the draw back to a wet/dry sump..large field of bio media = more nitrate.

 

[ROLLIN]

most fish stores don't rely on HOB's with bio wheels.
they use sumps...they have large bio media stores in them..the draw back to a wet/dry sump..large field of bio media = more nitrate.

I think they were just using that an example, a time when it would come in handy.

 

[liv2padl]

it's unfortunate that your source of information is in my opinion, one of the poorest on the net. i've read more erroneous stuff on that site than alot of other sources combined.

canister filters and especially fluidized bed filters are almost always starved for oxygen. They have lots of fish waste and lots of surface area with lots of bacteria, but the water in these filters lacks an abundant supply of oxygen for the bacteria.

not so. test the water in a cannister and it'll have about 8 ppm O2.

Air is 20% oxygen, that is 200,000 ppm compared with the 7 ppm in water, and the abundant oxygen in the air rapidly replenishes the oxygen at the surface of the water, such as on the surfaces of a BIO-Wheel. So the water on the surfaces of the BIO-Wheel is always very rich in oxygen.

again not so. at 70°, water is considered 'oxygen saturated' at about 9 ppm. it doesn't matter at all that the atmosphere contains 20 percent O2. water cannot hold more than 9 ppm unless under pressure.

 

[gagaliya]

Read this about bio-wheel filters. http://****************/information/bio-wheel_filters.htm#top2

I agree with it, I use bio-wheels on all my aquariums.

The most important part about bio-wheels on that page is..... (this is pasted from ****************)....


"Most biological filters are limited by the amount of oxygen that is dissolved in the water, and oxygen is not very soluble in water. In fact, aquarium water rarely has more than 7 ppm (parts per million) of oxygen.

So biological filters, that rely completely on the water flowing through them to provide oxygen for their bacteria, are limited by the small amount of oxygen that's dissolved in the water.

Under gravel filters, canister filters, sponge filters, and especially fluidized bed filters are almost always starved for oxygen. They have lots of fish waste and lots of surface area with lots of bacteria, but the water in these filters lacks an abundant supply of oxygen for the bacteria.
So all of these types of filters are greatly limited by the small amount of oxygen in the water that flows through them.

BIO-Wheels, spinning in the air and water, are not limited by the amount of oxygen in the water. Air is 20% oxygen, that is 200,000 ppm compared with the 7 ppm in water, and the abundant oxygen in the air rapidly replenishes the oxygen at the surface of the water, such as on the surfaces of a BIO-Wheel. So the water on the surfaces of the BIO-Wheel is always very rich in oxygen.
The beneficial bacteria living on the BIO-Wheel are able to use the abundant oxygen in the water that's on the BIO-Wheel to rapidly oxidize the fish waste that's also dissolved in the water."

**************** is a joke

 

[Lobo.]

of corse, if amount of surface area is an issue, then why not just add media behind the filter? when i broke down my two 10gallon tanks, i took out their filer media, and after rinseing them off in declorinated water, I just stuffed them in the bio-wheel filter of my 30gal... now almost the entirety of the filter is full of media... and the filter never uses the overflow either... sooo if you have the same area, and the same GPH, then it shouldnt matter too much. Now you could go into which ones you like better based on looks, and noise ect....

so, just get what fits your situation best, for me that was what was cheap.

 

[cyberbeer65]

My ceramic Bio-Media in my AC's do just fine.

 

[Squawkbert]

"Because the Filtering Media moves as the BIO-Wheels spin, the BIO-Wheels are able to adjust to a rapid increase in the amount of fish waste, as might happen in a fish store, when the aquariums are restocked from the fish wholesaler.
But filters, such as canister filters, with filtering media that does not move will not respond quickly to an increased bio-load, and the amount of waste in the water will increase for about two days, until the bacteria can respond to the increased bio-load."

Assumption: There is more room for bacteria in a given tank.
When the bioload changes, the bacterial population changes. There's going to be a lag and it doesn't matter what's moving. I'll opt for a canister for my 46 bow when I set it up because there will be more surface area, more media, more flexibility. In the unlikely event that the biowheel people are on to something with the oxygen turnover, it would mean that they can sustain a little more bacteria per unit surface area than a canister can. It would still take lots of biowheels, even at double or triple the bacterial population density, to equal the surface area found on a couple of pounds of ceramic chunks.

 

[Grundy]

No brainer, canister of course. Why is this a debate

Well, I agree that I think the canister is better overall, but I think that there are enough posts on this thread to show that there are different opinions on the matter. Also, most of the posts are based on opinions and assumptions (which I believe are true) but I have not seen a lot of hard evidence. I love my canister and I will probably get another before too long, but I was just curious about the situation is all.

 

[gagaliya]

Well, I agree that I think the canister is better overall, but I think that there are enough posts on this thread to show that there are different opinions on the matter. Also, most of the posts are based on opinions and assumptions (which I believe are true) but I have not seen a lot of hard evidence. I love my canister and I will probably get another before too long, but I was just curious about the situation is all.

just dont see how anyone would go back to a hob (or multiple hobs) after trying a good canister on a decent sized 55G or more tank. Did anyone here who posted for hob actually tried a real canister filter?

 

[Grundy]

Gagaliya, you have really added to your tank in the last two months - looks nice!