What's better? Trickle or Wet/Dry/Biowheel?

[mound]

What do you all think provides better bio filtration? A trickle filter or a wet/dry with a biowheel? I currently have one of those TidePool biowheel/sump systems.. it works nicely, but I'd like a larger sump. was looking at different DIY articles on building wet-dry systems, as well as trickle systems.. started thinking about which would be better, and possibly designing something that incorporated both.. just looking for thoughts...

 

[Biggen]

Go for the bio-wheel. You won't be disappointed.

 

[lmw80]

I have a bio-wheel in both of my tanks (10g and 46g) and I just love them!

 

[Bearfan]

Is this for freshwater? If so, you do not need a sump...biowheels are the thing.

 

[fishfreek]

IMO a trickle and a wet/dry are the same.

Corse a biowheel has the same principle as a tricke filter. They both provide an area for bactera to colonize and live in a highly oxygenated enviorment.

 

[mound]

well isn't a trickle - a bunch of bioballs or whatever enclosed i.e in a layer between a course mechanical filtration and carbon for example - but enclosed.. vs. the biowheel which rotates in and out of water the whole time. that was my primary question - which biological filtration is better, wet/dry (i.e. a biowheel) or the kind that isn't highly aerated (i.e. trickle, right? - or, say, inside a canister filter) perhaps my terminology was wrong..

Is this for freshwater? If so, you do not need a sump...biowheels are the thing.

yes I have freshwater, and a sump certainly doesn't hurt.. check out the Marineland Tidepool2.. it's a sump and a biowheel.. not so keen on the construction of the thing, but the concept I think is sound.

 

[fishfreek]

A trickle filter is highly oxygenated aswell.

Wet dry filters are usully setup with a trickle plate. (basicly a plate with a bunch of holes in it).

Water trickles over the bioballs keping them damp and thus allowing them to host the bactera. Since theyare not submerged under water all the time they are in an oxygen rich enviorment.

 

[Jack]

Personally, I prefer a sump w/a wet/dry. I agree that a wet/dry and a trickle filter are the same thing. I've only used biowheels in conjunction with powerfilters, but the biowheels always ended up "frozen" (i.e. stopped spinning). I haven't used the Tide Pool, so can't comment. One thing I like about using biomedia in a wet/dry is that if need be, some can be removed. For instance, if you for some reason wanted to remove some biomedia to remove debris or whatever, you could get away with it. You really can't remove the biowheel as it is your only source of biological filtration. Also, if you ever want to seed another tank with bacteria, you just have to add a little biomedia from your wet/dry. Again, you can't remove the biowheel.

 

[mound]

gotcha.. I guess I was thinking that since it was all enclosed, it wasn't as oxygenated as a biowheel..

so how can worthwhile bacterial colonies thrive say, inside a Fluval (or any canister)? that's entirely enclosed, can't imagine much oxygen is in there, but there's a tray for ceramic discs which acts as a biofilter..

 

[Biggen]

IMO a trickle and a wet/dry are the same.

I was going to say the same thing... There is so much confusion out there, the consumer hardly knows what they are buying anymore.

Heck, a Bio-Wheel is nothing more than a Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC). The wastewater industry in the US has been using them since the 60's.

 

[loganj]

so how can worthwhile bacterial colonies thrive say, inside a Fluval (or any canister)? that's entirely enclosed, can't imagine much oxygen is in there, but there's a tray for ceramic discs which acts as a biofilter..

As long as the O2 levels in your tank are where they should be, there's plenty of O2 for the bacteria to function. The bio wheels are probably more efficient because they are exposed to air. You can have a good filter either way. If you are going to have a sump under the tank, then a trickle setup probably makes the most sense. As Jack said, you can remove some media to clean it or seed another filter.
I have used bio wheels for years and have never had any trouble with them. I think, if you are using a canister or HOB, they are the way to go. The trouble I have had with them freezing up is when I didn't have enough flow on them. I usually power them with a PH instead of the filter and that seems to keep them turning. The bearings need to be cleaned once in a while too.

 

[TankGirl]

I certainly love my biowheels, but I have a canister on my 55-gal with no biowheel and have identical water parameters, consistently, as the other tanks. The nitrifying bacteria eventually colonize on hard surfaces throughout the tank; on the glass and on the ornaments and gravel, so once you get rolling the biowheel is not the only source of bacteria. If you remove the biowheel from an established tank you will not "crash" your biofilter. Also, if you do not have one you can certainly seed a new tank with gravel and other objects from an established tank. On my smaller tanks I like the power filter with a biowheel, and on my large tank I like a canister because I can keep the tank close to the wall and have no equipment topside, other than heaters in the tank. BTW, as the biowheel gets a good crop of bacteria it tends to hitch and stall a bit but I have never had one stop turning completely, unless the bearings (plastic shims that govern the pins of the biowheel) are misaligned. I say go for your own custom combination and see how it flies!

 

[mound]

I have a HOT biowheel on my 55G in conjunction with a Fluval 304.. when I need to setup a hospital tank, I use the biowheel from the 55g and don't see any changes in the 55. My 125 is an overflow/sump system with the Tidepool2 biowheel/sump.

 

[Jack]

Temporary removal of biowheels will not harm your tank. Longer-term removal could definitely harm your tank. Most FW tanks have too little current and too much bioload to allow gravel and such to make a significant difference in biological filtration. Even more importantly, bacteria tends to grow in the most favored places. If you have a biowheel or a wet/dry, the bacteria populations will be very significant in those areas, yet very sparse elsewhere.

Many folks with reef tanks use the berlin method of filtration (basically, they use liverock and sand to perform the biological filtration). This works because there is more current in the tank (increases oxygen) and less bioload. If you switch from a wet/dry or some other filter to the berlin method, you have to do so slowly. Even though the rock/sand might have been in the tank for years, it doesn't have enough bacteria to handle the tank's bioload. For a wet/dry, one would slowly remove the biomedia over several weeks, even months. A biowheel would be more problematic in that if you only had one wheel, you couldn't really remove slowly.