To bio-wheel or not to bio-wheel??

[tjara03]

This is the question... i have a penguin bio-wheel running on my tank. should i take out the bio-wheel or leave it in? TIA!!!

 

[theatrus]

I'd pull it - but you do only have 30lbs LR.

Whats your nitrate reading at?

 

[tjara03]

my nitrates are less than 20ppm right now..

 

[flamingonhot]

No bio-wheel.

In sw tanks nitrates are bad and also the biowheels are said to compete with the bacteria on the lr and substrate for oxygen. The competing part may not be true but i've heard it said a couple times before.

 

[tjara03]

so i should take it out even though i dont have alot of LR right now??

 

[flamingonhot]

IMO yes

 

[tjara03]

cool its out!!! thanks!!!

 

[melosu58]

Even though I am not a bio wheel fan, I thought the purpose of the wheel was to house Denitrifying bacteria. And even though your assertion about nitrates are bad for a salt water tank is true,Ammonia is even worse. That is the purpose of the bio wheel to get rid of ammonia and nitrites. I think an appropriate question down the road is what is your ammonia reading?

 

[FishyFamily]

Sorry for my ignorance, but I am new to saltwater aquariums.

If you don't use a biowheel, is there another filtration system that should be used or just a protein skimmer?

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

more lr....1.5 - 2 lbs per gallon of water....

 

[melosu58]

That`s actually a very good question. Like the prior person said you could add more live rock where your good bacteria would be at to reduce ammonia and Nitrates and A refugium with calerpa to reduce the nitrates. Water changes also reduce nitrates. And yes skimmers will remove DOC that contribute to nitrates.

 

[AMANIQU77]

No to Biowheel

 

[phishead]

You guys are always so quick to jump on the bio wheel. Melo is totally correct, The ammonia is way worse than the nitrate. I ran 2 penguin 330's in my 75 gal tank for over a year and never had a reading for nitrate.

When a tank is new and just getting settled, the benefits of a bio-wheel far outway the drawbacks specially in the absence of corals! It caries the bacteria that you want so you don't get an ammonia spike and does it in a wet/dry environment. You can add new livestock and worry less and until the detrius builds up in the bio-wheel, it is not going to create more nitrate.

 

[AMANIQU77]

Hmm, I thought wet/dry filters or wet/dry environments aren't necessarily efficient as well when it comes to marine tanks? I may be wrong.

 

[flame82]

Well i'll jump in here I go along with "Phishead" I run 3 penguins on my tank with some soft corals, fish, inverts. Going on a year and half now and still no problems with any reading. By the way three zero's across the broad

Side note i got over a hunderd pounds of lr with it covered in all types of alage and after reseting the tank back up with ro/di water compared to tap, i still have die off off two months later.

If you have some safe rock that is completely clean just throw it in and the other rock will sead it in time. MUCH CHEAPER than buying live rock.

For instantce i bought a few pounds every now and then to add to the tank with the bio wheels. Also when i started with the tank i used dead coral skeletons for decorations. Know they are coverd in coraling and all kinds of stuff so with a poress as the skeleton is i would consider them know live and also helping my bio load.

So a over a year out the bio wheels work for me and i have heard that eventually they will so called "gunk up " and if your worried about this i would just buy and extra bio wheel and start it in the tank and try and slowly switch out old vs new. I dont remember the stats but i think after a weeks the quote the weel as full of bacteria?

GOOD LUCK!

 

[JPloman]

I have had my bioballs for over two years. I am very happy with them. Many people have suggested switching to lr rubble instead. I have not taken their suggestions after long consideration.

I clean the bioballs regularly and I feel that they are more a benefit to my tank and a hindrance. It is a preference call; some will tell you no bioballs, others will tell you that they are fine. As long as you have proper filtration and user ro/di water for changes, you will be fine with bioballs.

 

[boardsurfer]

Just a precaution, if you have the penguin dual bio-wheel and you want to take the biowheels out- I'd take out one at a time (especially if you have little LR). For example, take one out- wait a week or two and then take out the other. I really doubt it matters too much, but it's just a precaution.

I took the bio-wheels out after the first year of tank running (after I got 1.5 lbs of LR per gallon.) and my nitrates decreased a bit. Zero readings across the board for ammonia, trates, and trites. I agree with one of the above posts...the bio-wheels help if little LR present, but take them out if you have 1lb or more LR per gallon.

 

[Genix]

i have an emperor powerfilter with bio-wheel running on my 15 gallon nano. i have four decent sized fish in there....0 nitrates. people call them nitrate factories...that's kinda the point. you get the nitrate from converting ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate.

 

[phishead]

I have had my bioballs for over two years. I am very happy with them. Many people have suggested switching to lr rubble instead. I have not taken their suggestions after long consideration.

Yeah, plus bio balls are cheaper, and live rock rubble is going to fill with the same detrius that is collecting in the balls. You just cant clean it out. Put the rock in the tank where it works well.

took the bio-wheels out after the first year of tank running (after I got 1.5 lbs of LR per gallon.) and my nitrates decreased a bit. Zero readings across the board for ammonia, trates, and trites. I agree with one of the above posts...the bio-wheels help if little LR present, but take them out if you have 1lb or more LR per gallon.

Good point. Plus if you have this much cured rock you would not need the bio-wheel anyway.

people call them nitrate factories...that's kinda the point. you get the nitrate from converting ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate.

Yes, the problem is when they do get full of yuckies, then they will create more nitrate than without!

I removed the penguins slowly about three months apart. THe water quality went down until I figured out how to filter the water well. Now I run just a sump with a filter bag on the inlet. I rinse it weekly, and the water stays much cleaner. The standard filter cartridge in the HOB does provide some quality mechanical filtration that is obviously needed, I do not believe in running straight Berlin method, because when I did, the water was really bad. THat could be because I do not have a very good skimmer though.

 

[lando]

I used an Emperor 400 with biowheels on my first reef tank. I always have NO3 readings of 0-2.5. I also had over 2lbs/gal of LR to help reduce the NO3. Biowheels and all wet/drys do a wonderful job of keep NH3 and NO2 at zero. They create a great aerobic enviornment for benefical bacteria to thrive (which help in the consumption of NH3 and NO2). NO3 consuming bacteria do better in an anaerobic environment, ie...submerged LR. While things like converting bioballs to LR rubble and removing biowheels MAY help decrease NO3, it is still good old fashion changes, appropriate stocking, light feedings and plenty of LR that will have the biggest effect. Do an experiment...remove the biowheels for a couple months and do everything else exactly as you are now. Test NO3 along the way and see if it changes. Let me know...I an curious myself