Benefits of bio-wheels

[DarkSoul]

Could you not basically make a bio wheel?

IE for a large sump, get a large pleated air filter and rig it up to a shaft that it can spin on.... the worlds biggest biowheel

what is the mater that bio-wheels are made of? its that grey paperish stuff isnt it?

 

[ct-death]

It souldn't be too difficult to do DarkSoul

I have bio-wheel on 2 on my tanks (and have had "instert generic name" HoB in the past). I can't say one is better than the other or better than any decent HoB filter, but I like them. All of my other Fishy-friends are constantly complimenting me on my clean tanks and although they always remark on the wheels, I'm not convinced that it isn't just a result of due-diligence that I put into my tanks...?

Anyways, any of the decent filters have all proven to work. We ALL overcomponsate out filtration as it is, so who is really to know?

 

[severum mama]

I wouldn't call the biowheel a gimmick, it works off of the same principle as a wet/dry filter and does a good job as the biological filtration. It's lightweight, takes up hardly any space, and never needs to be replaced unless damaged, pretty good for a biological filter component.

My point isn't that it doesn't work, just that it isn't superior to Aquaclear. I still prefer Marineland filters to a cheaper HOB filter like a Whisper or Cascade, and I do think that it does a better job with biological filtration than either one of those, or other cheaper brands. To me, it's a gimmick in the sense that all that BioWheel is, is surface area for the bacteria to grow on. The sponges and the ceramic rings in the Aquaclear filters accomplish this same thing, and like the BioWheel, they don't need to be replaced unless they are falling apart. Really, the only point of the BioWheel is so you have a biological media component left when you replace Marineland's proprietary cartridges (the main thing I don't like about the Emperors and Penguins vs. the Aquaclear, plus they are loud in comparison).

 

[Squawkbert]

Could you not basically make a bio wheel?

IE for a large sump, get a large pleated air filter and rig it up to a shaft that it can spin on.... the worlds biggest biowheel

what is the mater that bio-wheels are made of? its that grey paperish stuff isnt it?

If you want a huge amount of biological filtration, a wet-dry sump full of nylon pot scrubbers would be tough to beat. Just drop a pump in a tub, stuff w/ pot scrubbers, top w/ a layer of floss and some plastic w/ lots of small holes in it to diffuse overflow over the surface of the thing and you're in business.

 

[centralharbor]

Those ceramic rings all of you were talking about, the benefit to those is that it's porous, and thus has more surface area than a solid surface, right?

Well, if you look at your ceramic things, how much of it is covered in slime and gunk? I'd assume that it would probably get all dirty and slimy. Now, if you think about surface area, the slime and gunk that sticks to the ceramic is essentially making the surface solid, rendering the ring, not useless, but as useful as a solid surfaced object.

A while ago, I remember this being one of those issues with filter material, so it was the in thing to put plastic green army men as filter material (you know the ones you played with when you were young). I'm just throwing this info out for you guys to contemplate.

I personally have a bio-wheel and I can say that it has turned a nasty brown, but that doesn't really effect it's surface area since one of it's benefits isn't really being a porous surface, but actually being one that just has a ton of surface area to grow on. I have no scientific evidence to back this up, but bio-wheels seem to have more surface area/water contact ratio since it's dynamic and turns. Now if you made a ceramic disc that was similarly shaped and used in the same way, I'd bet both would probably have the same effective surface area amount.

 

[Soulcoffr]

Really, the only point of the BioWheel is so you have a biological media component left when you replace Marineland's proprietary cartridges (the main thing I don't like about the Emperors and Penguins vs. the Aquaclear, plus they are loud in comparison).

Which you don't have to do in the Marineland filter either. I can throw AC filter foam in the media compartment and then have even more biofilter than an AC could possibly have. Or ceramic rings, or whatever. Marineland filters aren't limited to just the cartridges. I don't think ACs are bad filters, but the material seems brittle to me. I prefer the more pliable plastics used by ML.

Also, while the biowheel technology is certainly a marketing push by Marineland, that doesn't mean it's bunk. That exact same technology is probably processing the waste you just flushed down the toilet a while back. Sewage treatment plants use wet/dry media like that all the time to process nitrogen compounds. And really, as fishkeepers, were just in the sewage treatment business anyway. What do you think your PWCs and filters are doing?

 

[centralharbor]

Actually, you can just make your own filter for marineland HOBs. I just tear off the filter material, buy a bag of loose filter material, then I use fishing line to tie it on. Some notch the sides so it doesn't slip, mine hasn't slipped, ever. You should actually leave the filter in there and just swish it around in old water changed water since the bacterial grows in the filter too. The only reason to change the cartridge is if you want carbon in your tank.

 

[severum mama]

Well, if you look at your ceramic things, how much of it is covered in slime and gunk?

Just cleaned my filters this afternoon, and surprisingly not much at all is slimy.

I can throw AC filter foam in the media compartment and then have even more biofilter than an AC could possibly have. Or ceramic rings, or whatever.

That only even matters up to a point. Once you have a sufficient biological filter, then that's all you need to break down waste- more surface area won't make any difference, as the bacteria will only grow a colony to handle your tank's particular needs.

I use both of these brands, so I'm not knocking the Marineland filter. The Emperors are reliable as hell and built tough (though I'm not too big on the Penguins). But the BioWheel is a marketing gimmick, and other quality brands of HOB filters can produce identical results. I have the same great rate of success (as do many others) in all my tanks regardless of which tanks use BioWheel filters. As long as you use a quality HOB with adequate turnover, it is sufficient biological filtration. I'm with rbishop on this one.

 

[severum mama]

I can throw AC filter foam in the media compartment and then have even more biofilter than an AC could possibly have.

I wouldn't be so sure. I've worked with TONS of Emperors (working at the LFS), and the way the water flows through the filter, it is designed to flow behind and through a cartridge. Cramming a sponge in there will cause the water to just flow over top of it IMO.

 

[jm1212]

Could you not basically make a bio wheel?

IE for a large sump, get a large pleated air filter and rig it up to a shaft that it can spin on.... the worlds biggest biowheel

what is the mater that bio-wheels are made of? its that grey paperish stuff isnt it?

isnt that whats in Marineland's wet/dry system?
yep, pretty much. but i dont think you would want to use an air filter from a herdware store.

i personally like biowheels because they do offer such a large ammount of space for bacteria to grow, not that it is all going to be used, like in a wet/dry filter without the need for alot of space.