I have a 55 with a Whisper 60 and an emporer 400. I've had the tank set up for a year and change, have had the emporer in for 4 months, and everything is great. The thing is... my bio wheels have no biological growth on them. When I put the emp.'s in the tank, I packed the two empty filter containers with a lot of different stuff, smalll gravel, crushed coral, some carbon, some sponge filter (used in aquaclear). Is it possible all of the biological materials are being trapped here, and are therefore not forming on the bio wheels? Any other suggestions/comments?
Bio Wheel
- Thread starter nattybrack
- Start date
How do you know your biowheels don't harbor any bacterial colonies? It's hard to imagine they wouldn't...
I know that my biowheels in lightly stocked tanks don't get discolored for some time... is that what you're referring to?
Jim
I know that my biowheels in lightly stocked tanks don't get discolored for some time... is that what you're referring to?
Jim
Actually that is what I'm refering to. I thought I would be able to see some growth and discoloration?
They will change in color a little but it takes a while and I think that might be something other than the bacteria.
Alex
Alex
OK. So it seems like, I may in fact have growth but just don't see it. Many thanks. As I mentioned eveything looks good, but I'm excited to see the bio wheel "get some gunk". 
my lfs lady cut a small section out of one of her biowheels and sent it somewhere for analysis. turned out it had less nitrobacters on it than the same size snip of floss from one filter or sponge from another. she doesnt buy the hype. and since she sells them at twice big als price, she doesnt sell them very quickly either..
i think they work but i cant prove it. my water quality is good, but i cant prove its from the wheel or the filter cartridges..
i think they work but i cant prove it. my water quality is good, but i cant prove its from the wheel or the filter cartridges..
I had a 55 gal with a convict and a gt in it. The only filtration I had on it was a penguin 330. I was doing 30% water changes every week and vacuuming the gravel of detrius, but I still had trace amounts of ammonia, so I added a second 330 and my problems were solved. I have had this filter for about two months now and it is just now starting to turn brown. I think that they work, but how much gunk you get depends on your bio load. I was really feeding them well to encourage growth. What kind of fish do you have in your current setup nattybrack? I dont think you will notice very much growth if you dont have the bioload to fuel the growth of bacteria.
I also know someone who had a peguin 125 that he used with a UGF in a 40 gallon that he didnt even put floss or cartridges in and just used for bio filtration. Do I have any proof that they work? No, all I have is what I have seen and what I have been told.
This strikes me as highly unlikely, for several reasons. First of all, a growing body of evidence suggests that nitrobacter isn't even the important species of bacteria involved in nitrification. Second, unless there were pretty strong experimental controls (e.g., similar flow rates across media, identical titers of ammonia, special handling of the samples to prevent die off during transit, etc.), I don't know how you could make any comparative conclusions. Finally, measuring the magnitude of a population of bacteria (even when you're measuring the correct species) isn't that easy, if my memory of microbiology is correct.
I am highly skeptical that such an analysis could even be done without great expense, and I would bet that your LFS person never had such an analysis done.
Jim
Take one of your bio-wheels out and smell it. If it smells something like garden soil, then beneficial bacteria is growing on it.