For the penguin bio wheel series do they make filter cartridges that arnt carbon activated? and if not what is the best alternative
Carbon pads suck
- Thread starter Belltrain
- Start date
Imagine brand makes clam shell replacement cartridges that can be filled with anything you want. I recommend sponges.
http://www.amazon.com/Imagine-Gold-Filter-Penguin-Cartridge/dp/B0006JLPOK
Find the right size, and buy the single pack.
I use AquaClear media in all of my HOB filters. A sponge with a bag of Biomax on top - x2 if they are the "double" sorts of filters such as the AquaTech 30-60.
You really don't need carbon, if your tank water smells bad or looks yellow it's time for a water change
Carbon is a holdover from when people didn't change much water. It's still useful in certain situations and I would recommend it for a reef tank, but typical FW....no. And certainly not planted FW.
You really don't need carbon, if your tank water smells bad or looks yellow it's time for a water change
Carbon is a holdover from when people didn't change much water. It's still useful in certain situations and I would recommend it for a reef tank, but typical FW....no. And certainly not planted FW.
The cartridges work for quite a while as a simple mechanical filter once the carbon is used up. Otherwise all of the ideas posted by others work.
For my Penguin 350B I have an odd setup but I did replace the catridges with Aquaclear sponges. The AC110 sponge is a good size (and very cheaply priced) for cutting and shoving into the spots where the cartridges go. Cut the blue stuff off of the existing cartridges if you need something to hold the sponge in place (I use the media baskets from an old Penguin 330).
For my Penguin 350B I have an odd setup but I did replace the catridges with Aquaclear sponges. The AC110 sponge is a good size (and very cheaply priced) for cutting and shoving into the spots where the cartridges go. Cut the blue stuff off of the existing cartridges if you need something to hold the sponge in place (I use the media baskets from an old Penguin 330).
I made a write up on DIY replacement pads for penguin filters. search for it. it will prove helpful.
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
modifying the cartridge style hobs is easy with an Aquaclear sponge and some polyester batting (if you want fine particle filtration). i've done it now with a penguin, a top fin, and two different sizes of the elite hush.
cut the sponge to fit the space the cartridge would normally slide in to. wrap the front half of the sponge in polyester batting. i save the plastic frame from the cartridges and slide that back in the filter to help keep the sponge in place. tada! lol.
cut the sponge to fit the space the cartridge would normally slide in to. wrap the front half of the sponge in polyester batting. i save the plastic frame from the cartridges and slide that back in the filter to help keep the sponge in place. tada! lol.
Thanks all for the responces, as for the fine particle filter I have used it for a while and it's a pain in the *** and once a few particles gather the biowheel stops spinning right and water overflows through the overflow canal
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
i've been running my penguin biowheel 350b for a couple months now with polyester batting wrapped on the front of the sponge, and have no issues at all with the wheels not turning. have changed out the floss once in that time if i recall correctly. perhaps you need to give your biowheels a good vigorous dunking in a bucket of tank water to get some gunk off? and use a wet pipecleaner to clean in and around the little notches where the wheels connect to the filter. that's what i do on filter maintenance day (for this hob, about once every 2 months) and i never have a problem.
also sounds like you have too much media in the filter box itself. these cartridge style filters aren't designed to push water through a whole bunch of media like the aquaclear filters are, so a piece of sponge about twice as wide as your average cartridge is what i recommend.
also sounds like you have too much media in the filter box itself. these cartridge style filters aren't designed to push water through a whole bunch of media like the aquaclear filters are, so a piece of sponge about twice as wide as your average cartridge is what i recommend.
Make sure the biowheels are oiled. Both of my penguin filter had a lot of trouble with blocked flow causing them to stop spinning. It had even gotten to the point where even with a mini-splash bar my Penguin 150 was on the edge of stopping (never did stop but was a very slow rotation). Then I put a tiny bit of vasoline (not sure if it is aquarium safe but not seeing any bad signs) on the little pegs that hold the wheels in place for both my 350b and 150 and since then haven't had any stopped wheels and they even spin faster.
I now check on them every week or two for slow down and have cut back cleaning from every 3-4 days to every 8-9 days (could probably go much longer without cleaning).
I now check on them every week or two for slow down and have cut back cleaning from every 3-4 days to every 8-9 days (could probably go much longer without cleaning).