Opinions on Bio-wheels

[IGKYA!!!]

What is the real value of a bio-wheel in terms of total biological filtration? In a tank of 55 gal+ with an undergravel filter and canister filter, what real benefit does the bio-wheel add?

Thanks for your opinion,
IGKYA

 

[pinballqueen]

Well, this sounds almost identical to the setup I had up until recently. The main benefit I could tell was additional water movement, and a little more in the way of bioload capacity, but there's not much of either that can be added, IMO. I did away with my HOB filter altogether because of a nematode problem I had (the little worms were living in the HOB filter, and the only way I could get rid of them was get rid of the filter... plus the thing made me need to "go" every time I was in the room with the tank...)

All of this depends on exactly what kind of other filtration you have, the bioload in your tank, etc. I had a VERY heavy bioload, so every little bit helped in my situation. Your experience may be different.

 

[NJ Devils Fan]

Like PBQ said, the biowheel is another place for your biological bacteria to grow on and help surface movement.

 

[JSchmidt]

I would suspect that the biowheel is a preferential site for bacterial colonization than gravel in a UGF. The biowheel gets a lot more exposure to oxygen than does the gravel, making it able to support greater numbers of bacteria.

I use biowheels on several tanks and I think they are probably a little better at handling abrupt changes in stocking levels compared to other types of power filters (e.g., Aquaclear and Whispers) and I bet they're much better at adjusting to increased bioloads than UGFs would be.

HTH,
Jim

 

[PunkMartyr]

Originally posted by pinballqueen
Well, this sounds almost identical to the setup I had up until recently. The main benefit I could tell was additional water movement, and a little more in the way of bioload capacity, but there's not much of either that can be added, IMO. I did away with my HOB filter altogether because of a nematode problem I had (the little worms were living in the HOB filter, and the only way I could get rid of them was get rid of the filter... plus the thing made me need to "go" every time I was in the room with the tank...)

All of this depends on exactly what kind of other filtration you have, the bioload in your tank, etc. I had a VERY heavy bioload, so every little bit helped in my situation. Your experience may be different.

I thought you were saying nematodes made you go but after thinking about how my hob's sound I know exactly what you mean

 

[wishmaster]

You said you had an UGF, HOB, and a Canister for a 55 gallon that seems like a lot of filteration to me. More is better in my eyes, I have never been a fan of HOB or UGF filtration setups do to the amount of noise and space they take up. Go with a quality canister like Fluval or Eheim.

 

[OrionGirl]

The other perk to a bio-wheel versus the UGF--much easier maintenance. You don't have to worry about what all nastiness is being sucked in, like you do with the UGF. And,
I agree that the wheel supports the bacteria a bit better, because of the availability of oxygen as well as the stable water movement. With UGF, you have to be careful decorations don't take up too much floor space and restrict the flow.

 

[FishmasteR2002]

When I first got into the hobby my friend had an UGF. The guy at my LFS told me about the bio wheel and I bought one. I haven't used anything since. Right now I am running a H.O.T. Magnum with a bio wheel pro 30 attachment. It is great. I wanted to do some experimenting with other HOB filters so I bought the Tetratec. I like them and they work great once you get them working right but they don't hold a candle to the Bio Wheel filters. I think they are great and work better than an UGF.

 

[GobyGuy5]

I have a biowheel on my 15 gallon community tank, and it's simply all the biofiltration I've needed, I don't have an undergravel filter, etc.

I know a Local Angelfish breeder, and he absolutely loved the things, they were on almost all of his tanks, and he had only praises for it's biofiltration abilites.

Also because the biowheel uses oxygen from the air rather than your water, doesn't that mean you'll have higher oxygen levels in your tank? (Just Curious )

 

[Tiger15]

Originally posted by JSchmidt
I use biowheels on several tanks and I think they are probably a little better at handling abrupt changes in stocking levels compared to other types of power filters (e.g., Aquaclear and Whispers) and I bet they're much better at adjusting to increased bioloads than UGFs would be.

HTH,
Jim

I think the statement is purely theretical speculation. There is no scientific evidence that other form of biological filtration aren't as effective in responding to abrupt change in bio load. I am not saying that biowheels aren't good biological filter. l have seen them used in a LFS where the fish are packed like sardine and the the biowheels are critical in providing the extra biological filtration .

However, I run my Penquen filters without biowheels. The reason I don't use them is that they back up the water slightly and cause bypass earlier. My tanks have sufficient water current and biological filtration in the substrate and elsewhere and so the biowheels are non-essential. There are many different forms of filtration that don't use biowheels at all and they are just as effective.