Marineland bio wheel not turning

I have 2 marineland penguin 100b(rated 20gal) on my 29 gal. The bio wheel on one won't turn and the media on it is drying out. I've tried replacing the carbon cartridge, thinking it may be to clogged to allow waterto flow through. I've lifting that upto allow water to go under it, or pushing it downmore. Nothing works. The filter has the carbon cartridge, 2 pot scrubbers and thhe bio wheel. I clean it once a month or so, taking it all apart, rinsing(keeping filter media in old tank water and rinsing filter parts under tap). What could or should I do? Thanks!

 

I've used probably 10+ penguin 100's, and they can be hit or miss. I've had some that as the wheel slows, it just needs cleaned and then they are fine. But I've had others, that literally just slow down over time (some times not that long) and then completely stop.

In my experience, it's only the 100's that tend to do this. I've had 150's, 200's, and 300's that have never quit working, but I've had probably 5-6 100's that have just quit altogether, some after very little use.

 

So just try cleaning again? The water goes right beneathe the wheel and is barely getting the wheel wet... the filters came used with the tank or I wouldn't of gotten them.. next time I'm trying aquaclear!..lol

 

I have the marineland penguin 350 and one biowheel is slowly turning. Everytime I do a water change I get something like a little brush and clean the part that holds the biowheels in place. It seems to help.

 

So clean the little bio wheel holder things? Would a toothbrush used once work if rinsed hot water really well before using?

 

I wouldn't trust a used toothbrush.

I bought a cheap 5 pack of soft bristled toothbrushes to use in my aquariums...shouldn't cost you more than a buck or so.

 

I don't think a used tooth brush would be a problem personally. As long as it is thoroughly rinsed in HOT water, if you use it again for your teeth... I don't wanna know. lol

 

yeah, the cost of cheap tooth brush at dollar stores, not worth risking a used one.

 

And check to see if the spray bar gets clogged from plant bigs, mineral desposits, etc, which happens on the one on my 40 gal. The new biowheel on my 20 gal didn't turn at all--it was slightly bent from the manufacturer, and if I adjusted it, it would turn a few times while making a terrible noise. Then after a couple of weeks of ignoring it, one night, it began to turn randomly a few times an hour, making a lot of noise, but my daughter is a heavy sleeper (her room is closest), so I didn't do anything about it. Then 2 months in, it started to work all the time, and the noise stopped. I haven't taken it out to examine it and figure out why because I'm not taking any chances

 

Ok ill get a new toothbrush, clean out filter,check spray bar and hope for best!

 

I would also check the impeller for obstructions or build up. I bought a penguin 200 used and had to clean the impeller with vinegar due to hard water build up which also caused it to be noisy and also affected the amount of water it brought up to spin the bio wheel. Also, you should have two filter slots, try changing the filter to the other an see if the flow increases,

 

I had a Bio-Wheel with my first tank.... hated that thing. Replaced the entire filter once and the second filter kept stopping just like the first one. No matter what I did the wheel just occasionally stopped turning. I eventually had to just throw it away. Luckily I had a backup filter to replace it with.

IMHO I would not recommend a Penguin Bio-Wheel to anyone. I would imagine they would be amazing little filters if they weren't so cheaply made.

 

I've had issues with my bio-wheel when the flow in the filter drops too much. The biowheel would stop turning often.

I'd suggest you take the whole filter housing apart and scrub everything down.

 

I have 2 marineland filters, the Penguin 150 and the Emperor 280. I love them both and think they do a good job. If your wheel is stopped odds are there is something in the "bearings" that is binding the wheel. The bearings are the small little pieces that the wheel sits in. They hold the wheel in place so to speak. Sometimes they get gunked up with hard water deposits and such. It could be your flow, which means it could be caused by the impeller or maybe the intake tube/strainer is dirty. Can you turn the wheel with your hand? When you do that, does it seem "hard" to turn? Also, you have to make sure the wheel is seated properly. If you put it in a little diagonal or where the bearings don't line up correctly it will also not turn. Hope that helps, good luck.

 

I actually like the bio-wheel and hate the rest of the filter, thing always seems like it is struggling to do anything at all. Worst filter I've ever owned including the cheap ones that come in aquarium kits. Sometimes the bio-wheel gets unbalanced, one side of it collects more muck than the rest so it is heavy on that side and doesn't want to turn over. That would be the side to clean, as you don't want to clean it any more than you have to. I had an Eclipse hood that worked wonderfully and that bio-wheel never stopped, but it was paired with a much better pump.

Oh and the unbalanced bit. If the filter has been stopped one side will get waterlogged and the same thing will happen, let if float around in the water and get evenly wet and it will spin easier too.

 

Having used a bio-wheel on my original tank as a kid... Nowadays I'd probably remove the wheel entirely and figure out a way to squeeze in ceramic bio rings or other media intended for housing loads of bacteria. Man I found that wheel frustrating - I think I straightup threw it out at one point because I was mad at it.

The wheel may have lots of surface area in it's own right, but if only a small part of it is submerged at any given point in time, I have to question it's efficacy.

If non-replacement seems best for you, I think as a kid I used a very small amount of petroleum jelly on the bearings, if only to prevent mineral scale from sticking to the things so fast. Just make sure it's pure petroleum jelly (same thing as vaseline), lacking any other additives you'd get in hand lotion. The product on its own is as inert as it gets and won't cause reactions with people or critters (especialy since it's not water soluble!). It's too thick to get mixed around in your tank much too, so as lon gas you wipe off excess, it's worth a try.

 

Update! I checked the bio wheel holder and it didn't look like anything was in it... the wheel magically began turning tonight, however is still super slow and now is really loud... I'm luckily a heavy sleeper so should be fine for tonight, but tomoorw ill be taking it apart, floating wheel in water etc then scrubbing it down! It trns easily.. may be water logged. The flow is pretty strong, water level in filters really high... who knows. I'm sure its a somewhat old filter anyway....

 

I hate to be the downer...but within the last 2 months, I've had 4 fairly new bio-wheel 100's die on my...I'd recommend not using them. I personally like the biowheel 150's and 200's. I've never had one of these die on me yet, whereas I've probably went through 10 of the 100's since I started keeping fish. I don't know what the difference is between the 100's and the larger ones...but as cheap as the 150's and 200's are, you might as well upgrade to them. I just purchased two 150's for $14 each, and will probably get more soon! You can't beat that price!

 

Make sure and clean the trunnions ( the grooves the ends of the bio wheel shaft sit in). I use a Qtip.

 

My 12g has the biowheel. The tank is noisy!!!!!!!!!!!!! However, it is just over a month old and no problems with the biowheel yet. How old were these filters when the problems started?

 

I got these used from my friend so have no clue how old they are...I've had them since Christmas. My next filter is going to probably be aquaclear 30. I've heard good things of them, however they are 30$

 

Brody may be on to something, as many are saying they have problems with the Penguin 100. I have the Penguin 150 and the Emperor 280 and I have never had any problems with the wheel or anything else for that matter. I do know that the Penguin 100 is basically the same as the Aquatech 5-15 they sell at Walmart, it just doesn't have the bio-wheel. So maybe it's just made cheapily. I use my Penguin 150 on a 10 gallon and I love the over-filtration it provides. I do know that Marineland has good customer service and if you contact them I have heard they will often send you free replacement parts like imperllers and bearings etc.

 

The wheel may have lots of surface area in it's own right, but if only a small part of it is submerged at any given point in time, I have to question it's efficacy.

Not sure if you've seen this article or not. If not, you may find it interesting.

 

Update! I checked the bio wheel holder and it didn't look like anything was in it... the wheel magically began turning tonight, however is still super slow and now is really loud... I'm luckily a heavy sleeper so should be fine for tonight, but tomoorw ill be taking it apart, floating wheel in water etc then scrubbing it down! It trns easily.. may be water logged. The flow is pretty strong, water level in filters really high... who knows. I'm sure its a somewhat old filter anyway....

doesn't really matter how slow the wheel turns, as long as it turns. and stays wet. this may have already been covered but beyond keeping the trunnions clean make sure any media behind the wheel does come up with the water, I have had this happen and it can sit against the wheel stopping it from working.

 

Flip over the wheel and see if it spins. Mine was sticking and after cleaning and messing with the filter turned out it just needed to be flipped.

 

Not sure if you've seen this article or not. If not, you may find it interesting.

Hey, I'll check out that link! I have not previously encountered this article.