Bad Idea?

[LionessN3cubs]

My filter (penguin mini bio filter) has 2 parts to it. A insertable carbon filter and a little wheel that spins. I just added ammonia since it was only at .5-1ish ppm, in anticipation of receiving my activated sponge filter today (just did and havent checked the level yet) and it occurred to me that maybe it would work faster if I took the spinning wheel off and floated it in the tank...full on direct contact with the ammonia water. Is this a bad idea?

 

[waterdrop]

Well, the theory of the Bio-Wheel proprietary feature is the implementation of what is known of as a "Wet-Dry biofilter" I believe. Wet/Dry is any technique whereby the bacteria stay wet enough to survive (as you know, they go dormant and/or die if they dry out) but are also exposed to the air a lot. Exposure to air allows much, much higher availability of oxygen than exposure to water. The clever part is using the HOB waterfall return to spin the wheel.

Having more oxygen may be a factor for the good bacteria in both growth rate and also how efficiently the mature population processes waste through the nitrogen cycle. Submerging your biowheel might actually slow development due to less oxygen. The bacteria would find enough ammonia to eat either way, whether they are submerged or whether they are being constantly dipped in the water as the wheel spins around.

~~waterdrop~~