Ditch the biowheel?

[illushinz]

I have a fairly new S/W setup, 37 gallon. 40 lbs LS, 15 lbs LR, 15 lbs(ish) base. All the numbers seem to be really good atm. I do have and am currently running an emperor 400 w/ biowheels for the filter. I've heard some people state that the biowheel will actually remove some of the benefical bacteriums <sp?> that need to be in the tank.

Would I be better off to remove the wheels? Also, should I continue to run activated charcoal in the small holding area at the back of the filter?

TIA

[lunatik_69]

I never had a bio-wheel thingy, but have heard that they are No3 factories. Carbon is always good to have esp. if you use tap water for top off.

[clownfish]

I had an emperor with one biowheel...I did remove it. One more thing you have to take into consideration is how much water that filter is processing per hour...you always have to make sure it can handle your total bio load, etc....I eventually replaced the emperor with a canister filter.

[illushinz]

Very good point! I do want to upgrade at some point. This tank started its life as a FW setup. I'd like to expand into some real lights and a canister filter and maybe even protein filter later, just budget issues now, I know I don't have to explain those!

Thanks!

[cuttingras]

I have had and use the Emperor 400 since my tanks inception in 2001(? or 2). I really have never had a problem with it, except I go thru cartridges like crazy. I make my own now, with filter fiber and carbon, into the extra ones that come with it. Don't wash your bio wheels though...I'm sure you've read that. You just clean everything else and make sure your little holes in the sprayer bar are kept unclogged. I know that when they clog it's time to clean the whole filter(minus the wheels)

[illushinz]

And what about aeration? Do I need to have any airtubes and rocks (I guess they are called woods sometimes) to keep a high level of O2 in the water? I dont really have much algae of any kind growing (which I also understand converts CO2 to O2, much like land plants do?)

[clownfish]

Originally Posted by illushinz

And what about aeration? Do I need to have any airtubes and rocks (I guess they are called woods sometimes) to keep a high level of O2 in the water?

I've always been curious about that....does anybody here use an air pump with airstones in their salt water aquarium? I used them in my fresh water, but I've never been sure if it'd be ok to use in salt water....anybody???

[ReefPlayground]

Emperors work great, and bio-wheels do what they are designed to do.

I never did understand how in fw system, bio-wheels are perfectly ok and are not nitrate traps, and in sw, they somehow magically become nitrate factories....strange to me.

The levels of nitrates depend on a systems stocking levels, water change regiments, and feeding schedules. More food/more fish = more nitrates. And if anyone looks at a bio-wheel, theres really no room on it to "trap" anything on/in it. So as far as being some kind of a "trap", thats absurd.

[target001]

i have a airstone in my sump
because after reading a thread it said about water heating up and having less oxygen content and air stone in the sump was the recomendation if yer water gets to warm sometimes.

ive had no trouble with or with out a air stone running its just in there as a precaution

im sure some 1 can clarify better as to what i mean im not good with the technical terms

[ReefPlayground]

Warmer water is not able to hold as much dissolved oxygen as cooler water. So if you have temperature problems on the higher side, adding extra aeration, either a powerhead or in the form of an air stone can help out if the aquarium.