Filter Question

[Kurt_Nelson]

Originally Posted by lance

Bio wheels are bad as they only collect nitrates...

Not really... they don't "collect" anything. They do what any wet/dry filter is supposed to do - convert the bad stuff to nitrates. And they do it very efficiently which is why they tend to pump out nitrates. Nothing bad with that, but with enough live rock you don't need a biowheel.

... and if you dont keep the other filters clean they will also cause more harm then good..

Totally agree with this though. If you don't keep the blue filter pads clean, those filters are what will cause problems... not the biowheel itself.

CluelessInNY...I run the same biowheel as you, but I run it on my 46g so that I have something I can switch over to a quarantine tank on a moments notice and have a cycled tank ready to go. I don't keep my QT up all the time. I swish out the blue pads in saltwater every week during my water change and put new ones in every 3 weeks. I rarely swish the biowheel itself off in saltwater. Maybe I do it every 3-4 months or so. Maybe. And the highest my nitrates have ever been are somewhere between 1-2 ppm. If you keep up your maintenance, you shouldn't have a problem with them. But if you have enough live rock, you might not need it either - unless you're using it for the same reason I use it.