I have a HOB biowheel filter that was working great for a long while but about a month ago i noticed it stopped and i thought it was clogged.All i did was lift up on the intake tube and it started up again.Well today when i woke up i turned the lights on to my aquariums and let them be not knowing there filter turned off again.I just now checked it and noticed it was off and all my fish were gasping for air and the snails were at the very top too.I don't know when it stopped working but im guessing it was in the middle of the night.Should i get a new filter and scratch this one?i have only had it since december.
So annoyed at my filter
- Thread starter Fishy_Fun
- Start date
It sounds to me like it needs cleaning. The HOBs with biowheels are sensitive to the balance of the wheel and the bearing cleanliness. I would rinse the wheel part thoroughly in used tank water and use a q-tip to clean the spot where the pins on the wheel go. The slightest dirt in that area can stop the wheel and so can an imbalance in the wheel.
If your problem is not the wheel but that the pump has stopped turning, take the filter apart and clean the impeller housing (I use a small bottle brush like a test tube brush to get way down into it) as well as wiping off the magnet on the impeller. When you put it back together, be very careful to make sure the top and bottom bearings on the impeller are seated properly. That is a place where clearances are very tight and it is critical that nothing be binding at all. If your pump won't move water after a good cleaning then you are right that it is time to give up.
To me its worth a few minutes to get it going again and save $30 or $40.
If your problem is not the wheel but that the pump has stopped turning, take the filter apart and clean the impeller housing (I use a small bottle brush like a test tube brush to get way down into it) as well as wiping off the magnet on the impeller. When you put it back together, be very careful to make sure the top and bottom bearings on the impeller are seated properly. That is a place where clearances are very tight and it is critical that nothing be binding at all. If your pump won't move water after a good cleaning then you are right that it is time to give up.
To me its worth a few minutes to get it going again and save $30 or $40.
Dangerdoll
Global Moderator
your impeller may have debris stuck around it. You should probably take the filter off and clean the impeller and impeller hole to be sure there isn't gunk or gravel in there getting caught up, forcing the impeller to stop spinning.
Dangerdoll
Global Moderator
LOL no prob, old man, I actually thought the opposite, that sometimes I don't explain things well enough, LOL we must've been posting at the same time though.
Any filter can get clogged with debris, whether or not it has a biowheel. I've run my Emperors for 7 or 8 years, long enough to WEAR OUT the impellers and replace them. They have been absolute models of reliability, no Eheim (or any other filter) ever made has ever withstood more neglect and kept running.
I've taken them off the back of the tank to clean them after a year or two of continuous running, and found live cory catfish living INSIDE the chamber where the media pads fit, apparantly sucked in when just eggs or as fry, and living off the bits of food drawn in each day when feeding the fish on the outside.
I've also had so much accumulated silt and mulm inside the chamber that the filter pads wouldn't fit all the way down in their slots (I've gotten a bit more conscientious about maintainence since then).
My point is, biowheel filters are popular for good reasons, namely, they provide exceptional water quality, even on planted tanks, and they are marvelously reliable.
Clean your filter and continue to enjoy it for years, if not decades.
I've taken them off the back of the tank to clean them after a year or two of continuous running, and found live cory catfish living INSIDE the chamber where the media pads fit, apparantly sucked in when just eggs or as fry, and living off the bits of food drawn in each day when feeding the fish on the outside.
I've also had so much accumulated silt and mulm inside the chamber that the filter pads wouldn't fit all the way down in their slots (I've gotten a bit more conscientious about maintainence since then).
My point is, biowheel filters are popular for good reasons, namely, they provide exceptional water quality, even on planted tanks, and they are marvelously reliable.
Clean your filter and continue to enjoy it for years, if not decades.
Bio wheels are a gimmick (of a sort). I have read of repeated tests that removal of the bio-wheel never showed a discernible change in the water quality or makeup.By the same token having a bio-wheel does have some advantages - mainly the beneficial bacteria collected on it is of a greater quantity than a filter with bio-foam. So if you had to perform an emergency set up you could move the entire filter over with a new filter pad and still maintain a decent amount of bacteria.
JM2¢.
JM2¢.