Best Filter?

[Tobigara]

it's true bio-wheels don't need to be replaced unless they're damaged.

Canisters are usually accepted as the better filter type but some HOB's are really good. it depends on tank size, fish stocking, budget, area around the tank etc. use your best judgement

 

[Tolak]

Is it true that the Bio wheels never need replacing and is there a noticable difference between a sponge filter and a HOB, What are all you pros using, Canister is it?
thanks

The tanks in my fishroom run a combo of air driven sponge & box filters. For freestanding tanks I use a combo of Eheim canisters & Aqua Clear hob filters.

 

[chibi]

Aquaclears are best. The fact you can change the mediums separately is a big win. I have a Penguin with a biowheel and it stops working sometimes.

 

[arvlyn]

Aqua Clear. I've heard of too many situations where the bio wheel on Marineland products stops turning, and there goes your bio filtration.

Not true. The BIO-wheels turn quickly some times, and slower at others, and can even stop once in a while altogether for a brief period of time. This is common and normal, as per Marineland's website and the instructional information that comes with them. It does not ruin the bio-filtration a single bit. The wheels are still wet, parts are still exposed to air and the water flow still goes through them. Also, bacteria is still on the filter media inside the filter.

Is it true that the Bio wheels never need replacing and is there a noticable difference between a sponge filter and a HOB, What are all you pros using, Canister is it?
thanks

My BIO-wheels are all over 7 years old and still fine.

 

[darknirvana217]

Eheim filters are the best I have ever used, whether external canister filters or submersible.

 

[*Fishkies*]

Marineland Penguin Bio-Wheels 150, 200 & 350
Emperor 400

I have all of them and love them! Bio-wheels are great!!!

 

[Tolak]

Aqua Clear. I've heard of too many situations where the bio wheel on Marineland products stops turning, and there goes your bio filtration.

Not true. The BIO-wheels turn quickly some times, and slower at others, and can even stop once in a while altogether for a brief period of time. This is common and normal, as per Marineland's website and the instructional information that comes with them. It does not ruin the bio-filtration a single bit. The wheels are still wet, parts are still exposed to air and the water flow still goes through them. Also, bacteria is still on the filter media inside the filter.

Is it true that the Bio wheels never need replacing and is there a noticable difference between a sponge filter and a HOB, What are all you pros using, Canister is it?
thanks

My BIO-wheels are all over 7 years old and still fine.

How long is brief? Over the weekend some time ago the bio wheel on the 72 gallon at the shop stopped spinning. Come Monday it's a white cloudy tank, a couple of smaller dead fish, and the shop owner's son & I scrambling to do a water change to drop the ammo & nitrite level.

A friend of mine who breeds angels went on vacation, and had his brother come by to feed the fish. His brother had no idea that bio wheels are supposed to spin, so when one of them wasn't, he didn't think anything of it. The result was a lot of dead fry, and one of the parents, who were parent raising the angels. These are situations I had to help deal with, I haven't trusted these filters since I tried one in '92, the wheel would stop, not briefly, but permanently, until you gave it a nudge.

James Quarles, a man who has been breeding discus for some 45 years, and has written a couple of books, refers to them in his book "Discus As a Hobby: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started" as a gimmick.

I make it a habit of not believing sales literature, Marineland or otherwise. They all promise the moon, few deliver.

 

[Tobigara]

Aqua Clear. I've heard of too many situations where the bio wheel on Marineland products stops turning, and there goes your bio filtration.

Not true. The BIO-wheels turn quickly some times, and slower at others, and can even stop once in a while altogether for a brief period of time. This is common and normal, as per Marineland's website and the instructional information that comes with them. It does not ruin the bio-filtration a single bit. The wheels are still wet, parts are still exposed to air and the water flow still goes through them. Also, bacteria is still on the filter media inside the filter.

Is it true that the Bio wheels never need replacing and is there a noticable difference between a sponge filter and a HOB, What are all you pros using, Canister is it?
thanks

My BIO-wheels are all over 7 years old and still fine.

How long is brief? Over the weekend some time ago the bio wheel on the 72 gallon at the shop stopped spinning. Come Monday it's a white cloudy tank, a couple of smaller dead fish, and the shop owner's son & I scrambling to do a water change to drop the ammo & nitrite level.

A friend of mine who breeds angels went on vacation, and had his brother come by to feed the fish. His brother had no idea that bio wheels are supposed to spin, so when one of them wasn't, he didn't think anything of it. The result was a lot of dead fry, and one of the parents, who were parent raising the angels. These are situations I had to help deal with, I haven't trusted these filters since I tried one in '92, the wheel would stop, not briefly, but permanently, until you gave it a nudge.

James Quarles, a man who has been breeding discus for some 45 years, and has written a couple of books, refers to them in his book "Discus As a Hobby: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started" as a gimmick.

I make it a habit of not believing sales literature, Marineland or otherwise. They all promise the moon, few deliver.

i believe you when you say they stop and i agree with you that you shouldn't believe sales literature. my question is did the people ever clean the grooves that the bio-wheels spin in? i've seen mine stop til i gave tem a nudge but only if that groove is funky. after i clean it they'll spin well with only the tiniest bit of water flow

 

[IrishPunk4748]

I've used many brands of filters and i found and now swear by Aquaclear and Marineland. I use Aquaclear for the smaller tanks(ie. anything less than a 55USG) it proves to be very durable and but most of all the way you can adapt it easily to many different filtration needs (the filter bags; activated carbon, Biomax, sponge block works the best for a typical tank). I prefer Marineland for larger tanks(anything over 55USG) but you have smaller tanks so I vote Aquaclear.

 

[Tolak]

The owner of the 72 gallon is a neat freak, the engine compartment of his car is cleaner than the front seat of my truck. It took some time to break him of the habit of cleaning the filter twice weekly, he understands sales, but it took some doing to teach him about the nitrogen cycle. The filter, and grooves, were clean, he totally flipped at a cloudy tank, and bought an Eheim cannister online that day.

The angel breeder, I wish I put out fish as nice as his, if I were retired like him I probably could. He spends a good 3 hours daily in his fishroom, and has the cleanest setup out of any of our club members. He is the only person on this planet who I will get angels from, and not quar them. He's the kind of guy who has a designated area in a cabinet for smaller cleaning items, such as pipe cleaners & Q-tips.

 

[arvlyn]

How long is brief? Over the weekend some time ago the bio wheel on the 72 gallon at the shop stopped spinning. Come Monday it's a white cloudy tank, a couple of smaller dead fish, and the shop owner's son & I scrambling to do a water change to drop the ammo & nitrite level.

A friend of mine who breeds angels went on vacation, and had his brother come by to feed the fish. His brother had no idea that bio wheels are supposed to spin, so when one of them wasn't, he didn't think anything of it. The result was a lot of dead fry, and one of the parents, who were parent raising the angels. These are situations I had to help deal with, I haven't trusted these filters since I tried one in '92, the wheel would stop, not briefly, but permanently, until you gave it a nudge.

James Quarles, a man who has been breeding discus for some 45 years, and has written a couple of books, refers to them in his book "Discus As a Hobby: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started" as a gimmick.

I make it a habit of not believing sales literature, Marineland or otherwise. They all promise the moon, few deliver.

"THE bio-wheel on the 72 gal tank"? One? What size BIO-Wheel filter was he running? My 330s have two bio-wheels each.

I mentioned what is said in the product literature and the website information to echo what my personal experiences with those filters has been.

The bottom line for me is, I'm perfectly happy with the performance of my 330s and will always recommend them.

 

[Tolak]

He had a Magnum canister running as well, another piece of equipment I wouldn't waste my money on. Leaks like crazy, though it does have a high flow rate, as it should for a high flow canister.

I attribute that to the cheap metal clips they use to hold it together. The first one spewed after a couple of years, so he bought another one, which I can't figure for the life of me. It started leaking after a couple of years. They work if you keep them in a bucket.

My breeder buddy pulled the wheels off, runs them without. They run just fine like that, one less thing to go wrong.

 

[aluno]

thanks for all the information guys, you know the size on my tanks and i dont intend to keep that many fish in them at all, i feel sorry for the poor things if they dont have enough room so im gonna try the penguin 350s in both tanks and then work my way up from there, if i get 7 years out of them like arvlyn then ill be most impressed,

a friend of mine has a canister filter and he says he often finds fry inside the media, is this common or something seriously wrong?(hes concerned also, hes not heatless by any means, all ready got each fish a xmas stocking, OTT? i think so.

thanks guys and gals

 

[arvlyn]

Aqua Clear. I've heard of too many situations where the bio wheel on Marineland products stops turning, and there goes your bio filtration.

Not true. The BIO-wheels turn quickly some times, and slower at others, and can even stop once in a while altogether for a brief period of time. This is common and normal, as per Marineland's website and the instructional information that comes with them. It does not ruin the bio-filtration a single bit. The wheels are still wet, parts are still exposed to air and the water flow still goes through them. Also, bacteria is still on the filter media inside the filter.

Is it true that the Bio wheels never need replacing and is there a noticable difference between a sponge filter and a HOB, What are all you pros using, Canister is it?
thanks

My BIO-wheels are all over 7 years old and still fine.

How long is brief? Over the weekend some time ago the bio wheel on the 72 gallon at the shop stopped spinning. Come Monday it's a white cloudy tank, a couple of smaller dead fish, and the shop owner's son & I scrambling to do a water change to drop the ammo & nitrite level.

A friend of mine who breeds angels went on vacation, and had his brother come by to feed the fish. His brother had no idea that bio wheels are supposed to spin, so when one of them wasn't, he didn't think anything of it. The result was a lot of dead fry, and one of the parents, who were parent raising the angels. These are situations I had to help deal with, I haven't trusted these filters since I tried one in '92, the wheel would stop, not briefly, but permanently, until you gave it a nudge.

James Quarles, a man who has been breeding discus for some 45 years, and has written a couple of books, refers to them in his book "Discus As a Hobby: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started" as a gimmick.

I make it a habit of not believing sales literature, Marineland or otherwise. They all promise the moon, few deliver.

Points I didn't make last night in response to this post...

If the BIO-wheels stop turning, the water is still going into the filter, through the filter media and back out into the tank...how would it cause tanks to go cloudy and fish to die? All that's not happening is the BIO-wheels are not turning. They still stay wet, they'll still have bacteria on them as the filter media and insides of the filter will still have as well.

 

[dthoffsett]

a friend of mine has a canister filter and he says he often finds fry inside the media, is this common or something seriously wrong?(hes concerned also, hes not heatless by any means, all ready got each fish a xmas stocking, OTT? i think so.

thanks guys and gals

Fry fit easily between the slots on the filters intake, so it can happen. There are sponges that are sold specifically to fit over filter inlets, or he can buy a sponge and make his own. It allows most debris to be pulled into the filter, but not fry. He may need to rinse it out every week or so, but I'm sure the fry would appreciate it.