Bio-wheels, are they needed?

[Meccathor]

I have a 30gallon tank with 8 cichlids in it currently. They all seem healthy and happy but my friend is telling me that they need a bio-wheel filter. I'm currently using the normal filter that came with the tank and it seems to be doing fine. The water is very clear, Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite levels are all 0, and the fish are all active. So my question is, Is it worth it to invest in a bio-wheel, or will my fish be fine with the filter I have now?

[Psyhampster]

What model filter is it? The [acronym:0484f2d98d="Gallons per hour"]GPH[/acronym:0484f2d98d] (gallons per hour) output on the filter should be atleast 7-10 times the gallonage, so for a 30 [acronym:0484f2d98d="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:0484f2d98d], 300 [acronym:0484f2d98d="Gallons per hour"]GPH[/acronym:0484f2d98d] would be good(someone correct me if I'm wrong). As far as bio-wheels go, they are great for the surface area for the bacteria, but not necessary as long as you have a comptent filter. You should also make sure you keep up on the water changes to keep your fish healthy.

[acronym:0484f2d98d="Hope this helps (or) Happy to help"]HTH[/acronym:0484f2d98d]
Psy

[SerLunchbox]

i personally love bio-wheels ... I attribute them to a lot of success that i had with my tanks

[KaiserFish]

If your current filter is adequate to turnover the tank water several times per hour ([acronym:6688e4c87f="Gallons per hour"]gph[/acronym:6688e4c87f]), then is it necessary to have a bio-wheel? No. Will your fish probably appreciate it more, maybe!

I use a Penguin 170 Bio-Wheel on my 30 gallon cichlid fry tank.

[TankGirl]

The biowheel assists in biological filtration, but if you have an established tank you have a full biofilter present on all of the tank hard surfaces and in the filter - so it won't do anything for you at this point.

What cichlids are you keeping? Some are heavy waste producers and you may need extra filtration, so that might be what your friend is getting at.

[kukerdan]

lol.... 300 [acronym:418affda8b="Gallons per hour"]GPH[/acronym:418affda8b] in a 30 gallon.... thats EXTREME overkill.....


you saying you need a 100 gallon + filter for it.

In my 90, i have a fluval 404, cost me 110$ and it pumps 340 GPS.

Its a canister, and it keeps the 90 crystal clear, and provides a decent current..

Your saying a 700 - 1000 [acronym:418affda8b="Gallons per hour"]GPH[/acronym:418affda8b] filter..... for my tank, thats insane!

[poppab02]

Biowheels are very good, but not necessary. What type of cichlids do you have and what is their size?

I have 680 [acronym:23e09733c9="Gallons per hour"]gph[/acronym:23e09733c9] filtration on a 55 gallon, it's not unheard of, it just depends on the type of fish you are keeping. A little bit of overkill but it doesn't hurt the fish. I would actually say 340 [acronym:23e09733c9="Gallons per hour"]gph[/acronym:23e09733c9] is a acceptable for a 90 gallon but a tad on the low side. I am somewhat concerned though about the type of fish mix you have in your 90 gallon kukerdan. An Auratus with black skirt tetras--Are you high?! 33 clown loaches! Parrots, a firemouth, african mbunas, and a peacock all mixed together? That's a problem. But I'll try not to hijack this thread.

[FishLover14]

I have 100gph on a 10 and it does fine- I beliece in the 10x rule for every gallon of water say like 1 [acronym:c7f7883ad7="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:c7f7883ad7] u need 10gph of filtration It can create quite a current but it is good for all fish and ciclids too. Meccaouthor-What type of cichlids do u have in your 30gal tank.Most cichlids wont go well in a 30gal tank their are some but not a lot. And i am inclined to agree with poppabo 33 Clwon loaches in a 90 gallon tank is rather overtstocking it to say the least consdiering each clown loach can get 12+. What [acronym:c7f7883ad7="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:c7f7883ad7] do u keep your tanl kukerdan? The fish need diffetn phs ranging from 6.8 For the Tetras to Almost 8.5. For the Mbuna cichlids.

[acronym:c7f7883ad7="Just My Humble Opinion"]JMHO[/acronym:c7f7883ad7]

[kukerdan]

whoops, thats a typo, its 3 clown loaches....

My black skirts are some of the tanks oldest residents, and actually chase the aratus!

No one beleives my set up, but its quite a peacefull community.

All my Mbunas are perfectly healthy, and the [acronym:cac403ae2a="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:cac403ae2a] is right under 7.

My mbunas are growing extremly fast, and will come to the surface to nip my fingers or tear apart food.


Trust me, my tank has No fish fighting problems... its a perfect balance, every fish keep sanother one in check, the parrots take care of the mbunas agression, which is only limited to when i forget to feed them for a day. the parrots and the mbunas will lip - butt each other..... class is over, ill post more later

[poppab02]

Well, I suppose if you have 3 clown loaches and not 33 then at least you don't have overcrowding issues. I've seen stuff like your tank work for periods of time but they always collapse. Oh well, to each his own and if you know the risks then I guess buyer beware. Hopefully if you start seeing problems you will move quickly to alleviate them, otherwise it would be cruel. If the skirts chase the auratus then I'm guessing that those cichlids aren't sexually mature. I have never seen a timid auratus.
Just so you know, the [acronym:b42b374ad9="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:b42b374ad9] is not why you don't keep SA and African cichlids species together--water hardness, greatly different diets, and very different aggression patterns and pecking orders are the reasons. Ph is rarely ever a problem with mostly any fish.