problems with my eclipse bio wheel

[angeltank]

ok so i got a 35 gal eclipse bio wheel hood and the darn thing wont spin for me, i have tried just about everything including getting a new wheel. does any one out there have the same problem or have an idea on how to fix this????

 

[dan81]

I inherited a 29 gallon eclipse system and when I got it, the Bio Wheel barely spun. I changed the filter and the wheel started spinning imidiately after the change!

 

[angeltank]

well your lucky then lol i tried that to iv even taken the filter out to see if it was the problem and still nothing

 

[dan81]

I guess so! its like clockwork for me. The wheel slowing is like a timer telling me to change the filter

I also had to clean the gunk off the pins in the end of the wheel but im sure you covered that base.

 

[angeltank]

yea i did but thanks!! i even took a qtip and cleaned out the lil u's that the ends sit in and still nothing!!

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Can you turn the wheel manually? Is there something in the hangers that hold the bio-wheel that is pinching it?

 

[angeltank]

yea i can move it manually and nothing that i can see

 

[miniflea84]

How high is the water? I've got an eclipse five gallon hex, and the wheel won't spin well if the water is below a certain level. It can look high enough but still not be. I guess it has something to do with how much water the pump sucks up, I guess the higher the level the more pressure?

May or may not help for you, but it worked for me.

 

[angeltank]

its right under the hood, the intake is about 8 inches down under water level

 

[SWerner13]

I have a penguin bio wheel and what I did to end up getting it to spin is put a really small round piece of gravel on one side lifting it slightly. Just a thought try a few different sizes on both sides of the aquarium. Obviously something similiar would work as well I just had gravel on hand. It is now the only way my wheel will spin for some reason.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

The location of the intake isn't important. Regardless of how low the intake is, water pressure will push water up the intake to at least equal the water level in the tank. The filter then has to lift the water above the water line to push it into the over flow tank. If the water level is too low, then the pump doesn't have enough strength to both lift the water AND do so in a high enough volume to make the wheel spin.

Based on what SWerner13 is saying... are the bio-wheel supports all the way down in the groves?

You say you can turn the wheel, but can you spin it. The water falling over the bio-wheel has almost no force to be able to turn the wheel (at least nothing compared to your hand). So the wheel has to be able to freely spin.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I had an issue with that happening too. I just tossed the hood and went with an AquaClear filter. I tried everything to get the wheel to spin with no luck. You don't have anything over the intake?

 

[SWerner13]

Yes I put the small rounded rocks into the groves. It seems one side or the other was slightly off. I have this set up for both my filters.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Likely a stupid question (hence the reason it likely has not been directly asked)...

Is there any water flowing over the biowheel? (Basically, is the pump turned on and is it flowing water to the bio wheel?)

If the water is flowing, how much is flowing? Can you get any sort of measurement, and is that measurement anything close to the specs for the filter?

What about filter material? Is the filter material positioned in such a way as to alter the flow of the water? What if you totally remove the filter material, does that get the wheel turning? Or if you have not inserted the filter material in the filter, is the filter perhaps spilling "under" the wheel and the solution is to get the filter correctly installed?

Otherwise, at this point, pictures would be a big help.

 

[angeltank]

Likely a stupid question (hence the reason it likely has not been directly asked)...

Is there any water flowing over the biowheel? (Basically, is the pump turned on and is it flowing water to the bio wheel?)

If the water is flowing, how much is flowing? Can you get any sort of measurement, and is that measurement anything close to the specs for the filter?

What about filter material? Is the filter material positioned in such a way as to alter the flow of the water? What if you totally remove the filter material, does that get the wheel turning? Or if you have not inserted the filter material in the filter, is the filter perhaps spilling "under" the wheel and the solution is to get the filter correctly installed?

Otherwise, at this point, pictures would be a big help.

as far as i know everything is correct. i will take pictures and maybe a video will help to. i will try to get that up latter today

 

[timwag2001]

if i point the water directly into my biowheel it can get water logged. i have to point the water down a little bit on the biowheel.

just make sure that its not full of water

 

[angeltank]

here are my pictures and vids of my problem hope these help
100_3181.flv video by justinprim - Photobucket
100_3185.flv video by justinprim - Photobucket

<a href="http://s123.photobucket.com/albums/o312/justinprim/?action=view&current=100_3174-Copy.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o312/justinprim/100_3174-Copy.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[HooKooDooKu]

First of all, I'm not familiar with this particular bio-wheel setup. The ones I've seen are the ones in the HOB Penquin filters and the smaller Eclipse tanks (like the 5 gallon corner).

Unfortunately, the video is too dark in the most critical area, where the water is actually flowing to make the biowheel spin.

But from what I can tell from the video, it loops like the wheel is not free-spining enough. For example, when you tried to spin wheel, it quickly stopped (thought that might have had something to do with the water). I also saw what looked like the wheel trying to turn a little, but get stuck.

So as best as I can diagnose the problem from the video, the wheel is not free spinning enough, something is binding it. To prove this, you can shut off the pump so that there is not water in the way. Try spinning the wheel again. If it stops as quickly as it does in this video, then that is your problem. I think you need to tweek the supports that hold the bio-wheel. Perhaps take a very small round file or try to use some sand paper to effectively make the hanger supports bigger and smoother so that the wheel can spin freely.

 

[bingo1]

Faulty Eclipse Bio-Wheels

I've had to replace the Bio-Wheel (7" long model) several times over the last few years. Over time, one or more of the bottom of the pleated material splits. I believe this allows water to fill the filter which slows or stops it and makes it noisy. Just last night I bought a new Bio-Wheel at Pet Supermarket to replace the erratic one in my 29-gallon Eclipse and it was already split so I took it back. I ended up having to staple the pleats together in my old wheel until I can buy a new one this afternoon. The old one works fine now for a very short-term emergency fix. That store only had one other filter wheel in stock but the package was opened and the wheel already had a split at the bottom of one pleat. This is my theory about why these filters fail. My wheel housing is clean and the water level is correct. I believe that these Bio-Wheels do not hold up 'forever' and you have to carefully check out any new one you buy before you take it home..

 

[angeltank]

update

ok so i finally got around to working on the bio wheel and i did alittle of everything that you guys said to try plus one.
so to i sanded off a lil of the end and that didn't work
then i tried to tip it and it just kept falling back down
so i was able to slide the cylinder down the shaft and prop it up a lil on one side and now it works perfect!!!

thanks for all the help!!!!