BioWheel slowing down!

[Tribefan]

Have had my tank set up with fish for a little over a month now. I recently noticed the biowheel is not spinning as fast as it once was. Is this normal? I took the snorkel and filter out and cleaned both and also the pieces that hold the wheel on, but it did not seem to help. The wheel almost comes close to stopping. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.


Mike

[krap101]

you could try shaking the wheel in the tank for little bit, because there could be some stuff that got onto the biowheel. i think the wheel is suppose to slow down because the bacteria weighs it down a little

[Lonewolfblue]

It's perfectly fine. As long as the biowheel doesn't stop, you are just fine. Mine goes fast at times and real slow at times. If it does stop, then just clean out the tabs where the ends of the biowheel go into. I've only had to do that once, and mines been up and running over a year. Which filter do you have?

[Tribefan]

You guys are fast! Thanks for the immediate responses! I am running the Penguin 200. I was concerned since I am not using an airpump and thought the slower wheel not churning the water might cut down on oxygen in the water. The water flow seems normal, just wheel not spinning as fast which made me nervous! Thank you!


Mike

[Lonewolfblue]

You are just fine. It won't cut down on the O2 either. I'm running the Emperor 280 for over a year, and it only stopped once, and that was last week. I just cleaned out the bearing which is where the tabs on the sides of the biowheel seat into. Working perfectly again.

[Lonewolfblue]

The bearing is just a small u-shaped piece of plastic where the biowheel tabs seat into and allows it to spin freely. It's not like a wheel bearing. Just for added info. I use my small brush to clean it out gently.

[iamchris]

Instruction manuals should just be eliminated to save paper...nobody reads them nowadays...

[piranha]

Mine use to slow down and sometimes stop also. The solution to my problem after performing every other, was wiping clean excessive amounts of bacterial growth under the biowheel attached to the housing.

[lovemybarbs]

I just took my entire Penguin apart and put it back together. Scary stuff. I turned the angle of the sprays coming from above the wheels a little bit and my wheels starting spinning fast again, if that is what you prefer.

[Primetime]

This happened to me recently and I figured out the problem:
The filter cartridge was getting in the way of the BioWheel. Check if thats whats happening to you.

[kaz]

ive notice the wheel slows down once the filters start getting alot of junk, everytime I place new filters is speeds right up to speed.

[toddnbecka]

As long as it's moving, it's fine. Slower rotation just gives the bacteria more contact with the water to do their job.

[chelli]

I have a similar problem.. i have the monster penguin with 2 wheels and 4 filters..it's fine.. but the bio-mini has one filter and one wheel that won't spin but maybe one rotation per day.. well got to wondering about this and called the company (a while ago) and they said as long as water is going thru it and not over/around/under it then it is still serving it's purpose.. i called BS on that one.. but they should know their stuff.. anyway cleaning the "brackets" that hold it into place did nothing..

[Lonewolfblue]

Clean out where the tab's on the wheel go into. Also, make sure there's no build-up on the spillway directly under the wheel, stopping it from turning. It should spin freely. Can even use a toothpick and take out any excess buildup in the wheel itself. Just don't rinse out the wheel so it's clean. You want the gunk on it. Just not built up too thick.

[piranha]

I also noticed on my penguin 170 that once the biowheel slowed or stopped, a restriction was created and output decreased. Check the plastic bearings at the ends of the biowheel and clean the crud that accumulates on the housing under the biowheel.

[Tribefan]

Everything seems to be working fine again. I thought a dirty filter might have been restricting it, except when I removed the filter, the BioWheel did not pick up any speed. But a few days after the initial cleaning, it seems to be back to normal. I guess I just panicked. I did notice some clear slime in the vacinity of the outflow. Thanks again for the help.

Mike