I've seen both biowheels and aquaclears in action and biowheels can definitely be noisy. I think some just get that way in time, because I've seen some that are perfectly silent. I'd just go with an aquaclear if I had a choice between the two, I like that you can see in them and they have plenty of media options.
As far as switching out filter media goes, don't do it. It's kind of a gimmick that some filter manufacturers push to sell more product. Some filters use an all in one kind of filter media insert that has sponge material, filter floss, and carbon all together. Since activated carbon only works for a few weeks to a month, they can justify telling people to swap out inserts monthly.
Activated carbon is optional, though, and nearly everyone I know does not use any in their setups.
The general idea with filter maintenance is to rinse old filter media in a container of old tank water and put it back in there till it is literally falling apart.