biowheel

[maigen]

the instruction manual that came with my biowheel says to never clean it & it should never need replacing. as long as it's turning, it's working.

well it's not turning.....so now what? do i clean it? if so, how? do i replace it?

 

[tomm10]

Make sure its seated correctly. The little pins at each end should be resting in the slots made for them. The only part of the wheel you should ever clean is the pins and theslots they ride in.

Tom

 

[blitzen25bm]

which filter? if its a penguin make sure the filter cartridges arent too clogged, if its an emperor make sure spray bars aren't clogged. its not turning at all? are the bearings dirty? take about a quart of your tank water in a jug and toss the wheel in there and swish it around a little and see if it would work then.

 

[NikkO]

You can try cleaning the bearings of it, since my biowheel on my 55 gal used to stop spinning, so i cleaned the bearings of it and it started turning again.

 

[maigen]

well it seems it was a combination of things. the bearings were dirty & so was the filter. i've never had the wheel stop spinning when the filters were clogged.

is it just me or does anyone else who ones a penguin biowheel seem like they are forever changing filters?

 

[tomm10]

I have a penguin 125 on my tank. I tend to rinse it out every week when I do a water change. Nothing crazy just a good swishing around in the water I just took out of the tank. It keeps things pretty fresh.

Also, no need to use the Marineland filters. I took the plastic backer from a used one (ripped off the blue filter and dumped the charcoal) and strapped some cheap filter floss to it with a couple of thin rubber bands. Works like a charm and its waaaay cheaper.

Tom

 

[maigen]

thx tomm....what a great idea. can't wait to try it. do you replace the charcoal? or just use the floss?

 

[tomm10]

I don't use the charcoal unless I need to remove medication really. It doesn't do too much good after a couple of weeks anyway so why bother running it unless you knwo you need it.

Tom

 

[often dignified]

I don't use those cartridges on my 125 either... I picked up an AquaClear 200 foam and I trimmed it just a bit to fit, and then put some filter floss on top. I wanna pick up another foam to keep those stray polyester fibers out of my tank Filter floss sammich

 

[fishman101]

i own 2 penguins and i notice the mini wheels i have the same problem with. good advice so far but if problem persist try cleaning intake tube,this was one of my problems it did not have enough flow to turn the wheel.