Biowheel question

[JProx]

A few years ago (probably 4-5yrs ago) I purchased a biowheel [Marineland BIO-wheel 30pro] for 55gal saltwater tank, after I plumbed into my system, I realized I didn't have enough water pressure to operate it. The water would come into the biowheel drip bar and the water would drip out of the first 2 or 3 holes then cling to the sides and run down back of the unit, missing the biowheel completely. After a few days I decided to remove it till I got pump that could power it better, well I never ended up getting the pump and basically the biowheel went into storage.

Recently I purchased another 55gal tank and will be using it for a freshwater setup and I am thinking of using this biowheel, I thought I cleaned the biowheel of all presence of salt and salt water chems, before it went into storage, but when I pulled it out of the box this morning there are salt crystals all around the biowheel (not on the wheel itself just all along the housing, the wheel still looks like it was never used) I cleaned it up today and I believe I removed the salt deposits. My question is.. would it safe to use the wheel, or should I just replace it and not take any chances ?

Thanks for any suggestions
Bryan

 

[loganj]

Use it...it'll be fine. I'd make sure I had rinsed it well with fresh water...no cleaning solutions of any kind. At the very worst, a tiny amount of salt would be added to the tank...not even enough to measure. I run my Pro 30 on a HOT Magnum canister and it does a good job. Alternately, I would use a Maxi Jet 900 or 1200 powerhead on it.

 

[Sati]

If after cleaning the housing you're still unsure you could always get a new biowheel too. They're pretty cheap.

 

[TankGirl]

It should be fine. The tiny bit of salt that might get into your system would not be enough to impact anything one way or the other. All that needs to happen is that the pleated material is not damaged, and that the wheel spins on the bearings properly. If you have that, then you are golden!

 

[JProx]

thanks logan, that's what i thought.. but it never hurts to make sure though.

thanks again

 

[loganj]

No problem. And, I forgot to mention...Welcome to AA.com!

 

[JProx]

lol thanks, sure would have been nice to have this information center yrs ago when i was novice saltwater aquariumist.