Bio-wheel effectiveness?

Jspigs

Jspigs

There is always more to learn
Aug 5, 2009
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Massachusetts
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Jacob
I have heard varying reports about the effectiveness of Bio-wheels. I have heard that Bio-wheels are extremely effective and this is due to the wet/dry effect created by the spinning and that this added efficiency lessens the amount of surface area needed for nitrifying bacteria. On the other hand, I have heard that there are many faults with Bio-wheels such as rotation speed problems (from spinning too fast for effective gas(?) exchange to spinning too slow/stopping) and the surface area being too small despite the added efficiency.

I personally have removed Bio-wheels from cycled tanks without experiencing any form of mini-cycle which leads me to question whether or not Bio-wheels hold a substantial portion of the nitrifying bacteria in an average tank.

Please note that I am not trying to say that Bio-wheels do not work, I am making this thread to try to get clarification on their effectiveness.

I would like to know a couple of main things:

  1. Is the surface area of a Bio-wheel large enough to support a large enough nitrifying bacteria colony for a tank with an average bio-load?
  2. Are there problems with biowheels rotating too fast and/or too slow?

P.S. DocTim, I would very much appreciate your input on this matter since I believe you were involved in the development of rotating biological contactors for aquariums (Bio-wheels minus the brandname, trademarks, etc.) and I would be very interested in a scientific view on all of this.
 
I have a mag 350 pro, with 2 biowheels on my 135. I have 0 ammo, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate. Is it because of the biowheel? I have no idea. It could also be in part of the plants I have.
 
I can attest to the problems with the wheels slowing down and stopping. I run a foam prefilter on my intake and when it gets dirty the wheel stops. I find it hard to beleive that the bacteria would survive without water contact for more than a couple hours but I never experience any change in water parameters when this occurs.

I would have to think that they work but I don't know if the stopping wipes out the entire colony or not, or how long they will survive in that situation.

I beleive the purpose of the biowheel was to colonize some of the other bacteria types such as those that inhabit a wet/dry filter. These are different BB than are in a wet filter. Those BB are a main reason for having wet/dry trickle filters on larger tanks. How this transitions to a biowheel i don't know.
 
I would try pming Dr. Tim for a faster answer from him too.
 
I think they arent all theyre cracked up to be. people make them sound like theyre to magic answer to your water problems but really theyre not IMO. Sure they colonize bacteria... so does the other media and everything else in the tank. If anything, they speed up Evaporation due to exposing the water to so much oxygen, and if you dont take care of that properly, it will in the end, raise your TDS.
:huh:
 
Actually,the exposure of the bacteria to more oxygen is the mechanical basis and function of the bio-wheel.Which in turn is where the problems arise when they suddenly stop,which also in turn seems to always happen when we are away from the tank.That leaves us with no idea how long the now O2 addicted bacteria have been without their precious oxygen.That is why I stopped using them.But,to each his own...
 
I think(and may be wrong) that all commercial media is hyped up...you have people running sponge filters with no fancy media on fry tanks when fry are supposedly very sensitive to poor water quality and they do just fine.
I have 2 penguin 350s and a 330 and I keep the bio wheels there because I already have them, but I don't think it's actually necessary...
Flame shield on :D
 
I think(and may be wrong) that all commercial media is hyped up...you have people running sponge filters with no fancy media on fry tanks when fry are supposedly very sensitive to poor water quality and they do just fine.
I have 2 penguin 350s and a 330 and I keep the bio wheels there because I already have them, but I don't think it's actually necessary...
Flame shield on :D
 
i run a penguin 350b (with two biowheels) on my planted 55 alongside an Aquaclear 110. i've modified the penguin's media by removing the cartridges and putting in sponge with the front half wrapped in polyester batting. IMO this boosts the surface area for bacteria to colonize versus using cartridges. i haven't considered removing the biowheels because i have no issue with them slowing or stopping - i inspect and clean with a pipecleaner the sockets the wheels sit in on a regular basis.

i'm sure i could remove the wheels with no detrimental effects to the tank or its inhabitants, but my theory is if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
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