Bio-wheel not turning, missing bushings - need help

[gingerinaustin]

I have an Eclipse 12 with a bio-wheel that is not turning. The bio-wheel seems to get "off track" moments after being set in its little spot. I've been doing net searches to try to find out how to fix this, and I keep reading about little rubber bushings that are supposed to be on the ends of the axle of the bio-wheel. My bio-wheel doesn't have no stinkin' bushings LOL. Does anyone know of a band-aid fix to this problem until I can (sigh) special order bushings from Marineland?

 

[J double R]

could you possibly take a pic and show us what exactly youre talking about? ive never heard of rubber bushings at the end of a biowheel, but maybe im being ignorant.

 

[wcandres]

I recently (about a month ago) purchased a "System 12", and my bio-wheel doesn't have any rubber bushings on the ends. It just has the white plastic axel that slips into the slots in the housing. So far, no problems with it (I hope it stays that way:grinyes: ).

 

[magakitty]

? not sure mine have bushings either - anyway - if the out-pour spout gets too dirty they don't turn right, if the filter medium is not seated correctly they won't turn right, also, check to see if you need to clean where the axle sets.

 

[gingerinaustin]

I haven't seen these alleged "bushings" either, I've just read about them. I don't have any on my biowheel and was wondering if I was missing parts. Anyway, the outpour spout and the little plastic wells where the axle ends go are squeaky clean, and I've reseated the filter medium 100 different ways (including taking it completely out), and still the thing jams. There seems to be too much "play" in the plastic wells where the ends of the axle sit, causing the biowheel to go "off track" after only a few turns. If I jiggle it or nudge it it will start turning again, only to stall out again seconds later. UGH! I tried sticking a bit of filter material in one of the axle wells and that worked great for about , oh, two minutes. What else can I try?

 

[magakitty]

hmmmm - a new filter? I have an eclipse 5 hex and I really hate the filter - have more problems with it than any of my other 4 million (slight exageration) filters (all but one biowheel equipped). keep playing with it - I hope you find an answer

 

[soobie]

Is the biowheel sitting level? Maybe you can prop up one side of the filter case (very slightly) to keep the wheel centered. I've never had an Eclipse, so I'm not sure if this is even feasible.

 

[ct-death]

2 things:

My Eclipse 3 had a bent 'axle' so I had to straighten it (it's plastic so be careful).

My Penguin 350 had algae buildup in the slot where the axle sits causing the wheel to be off balance and allowed it to get stuck.

Aside from this, the wheels are known to "stall" and this is considered normal, but not for prolonged periods. You can also rinse them off in old tank water if they are built-up with gunk.

 

[gingerinaustin]

OK, I tried to get some pictures, but it's a subtle difference between "turns" and "doesn't turn", I don't know if I captured it...look closely at the top axle tip.
The biowheel turns OK in this position:

but it stops in this position:

If you look closely at the top axle tip in that last pic, you'll see it's moved all the way to the right in the little slot or well, and the biowheel is bumping up against the black plastic side, which causes it to stop. In the top pic, the axle tip is more centered in the slot, thus the biowheel is not crooked, not bumping up against the black plastic side and can move freely. There's just too much play in that top axle well. URGH! I've tried sticking little bits of filter floss in the top well to keep the axle more stable but it's not working. The rest of the tank is operational. There's no algae buildup to clean off. What can I do??

 

[ct-death]

Is your floss pushed all the way down? It looks as though it is elevated (should be submerged). If the water was higher it would fall onto the wheel fins and keep it in place, but I think that the water being low it is flowing under the wheel and spinnig the fins from below effectively lifting the wheel slightly and allowing it to rise one end up and away within the "V" shaped well-slot.

Would be my guess...