deborah

My aqua clear jr seems to be getting rather sluggish, so I have been on the lookout for a new filter to transition before this one dies. I have no idea how old it is since I picked up my 10 gal aquarium kit by the side of the road during our annual "clean out your basement and pick up other people's stuff for free" day. I have been running it for 18 months.

I have now aquired a used penguin biowheel 100 and I wanted to run both filters for awhile to build up bacteria in the penguin before retiring the aquaclear. However, the current from the Penguin is so strong. My platys (one full-grown sunset male, one full-grown blue female and 4 youth) seem overwhelmed by it. My local store suggested I put some nylon stocking over the intake, which I have done, but this does not modify it much.

Any advice?

Deborah

agabr123

could you just move the filter media from the aqua clear over to the biowheel? i'm pretty sure there is room for extra media

Shawnie

put some sponge over the intake or outake whichever is too powerful...or the nylon works just make sure its not washed in an detergents

deborah

Thank you Alex and Shawnie

Yes there is room for the sponge from the Aqua Clear in the Penguin.

The problem is the strong current the Penguin 100 makes in the 10 gal tank. The AquaClear is so gentle, you hardly notice it at all. With the Penquin there is a visible movement of water right through the aquarium and the little fish can't seem to handle it very well.
I have the nylon on the intake- still too strong a current - and tried to wedge a sponge between the outtake and the canopy but this has not been successful. I don't imagine it is a good idea to turn the filter on and off every few days to try something new.

agabr123

no i wouldnt suggest turning your filter off, but as long as the filter media stays wet it shouldnt be a problem for a short amount of time. maybe if you organize your plants and decorations to be right under the current it might slow things down?

everhart1988

On a twenty gallon tank i have a bio-wheel 350(70 gal) and a whisper 20(20 gal). at first they were a little preturbed but now that they are use to it they love it, and they even use the water flow as a toy litteraly shooting the stream from bottom to top. I'd say let them adjust to it and here very quickly your fish will love it, and you'll get a kick watching there antics in the outlet. For a while I even had a bio-wheel 350 on a ten gallon and it was a little strong but it deffinitely wont hurt anything.

cerianthus

Would not suggest to on/off mode. I remember when i used to use non-submersible heaters, may times forget to pug back in after the water changes.

If AC Jr is still working, try this. Have done it & work well
Take short piece of PVC pipe and one end cap (one with thinnest PVC so it's light). Cut it in half or so. Now you have what look like end piece of gutter. Silicone pvc to return(endcap end is at the middle of return), half way so that half of return water will shoot towad the front and the other half will shoot along the back. Take little time for silicone to dry but should help with cutting down the current if this is what you are tring to achieve.
BTW. you dont have to use PVC. You can use any light, innert material. I gave you my idea but you may come up with better one. If you do, post it here so other can also benefit.

everhart1988

Nice idea I might use that on my fry tank!

atmmachine816

The penguin series put a strong current into the tank for the first month or so, after a month or so the bio-wheel builds up bacteria and other stuff on it and slows down meaning more water is required to move the wheel. So originally you will have a stronger current. You can try stuffing the whole area full of various filter media, it will slow the current down and give you more filtration or do what is suggested above.

deborah

Thanks for all the suggestions!