Marineland Penguin Bio-Wheel

Alright so what's the deal with these filters, I've owned a few over my years and I personally prefer the Aqua Clear filters if we're talking HOB filtration. My question is though why so many mixed reviews? Some claim it helps preserving/colonizing beneficial bacteria, while others say it's just a scam. I wanted to bring this up because I currently got my hands on the smallest model they have being the 100gph. I got the filter as a spare filter for my Quarantine tanks. I want to know what's your opinion on this filter. Why do you like it? Why do you hate it? Any experience really with this filter, personally I've never had a problem besides how much water splashes out into the aquarium and I can't find a way to create a baffle using sponges or filter floss like I can with my Aqua Clear to reduce noise other filling my tank up more

 

I have the Penguin 75 Biowheel on my 10 gallon. It is super quiet only if the water is filled to the top of the tank. If the water is below the black top trim, there is a horribly loud waterfall sound. Other than that, it cleans my 10 gallon quite well.

 

I have the Penguin 75 Biowheel on my 10 gallon. It is super quiet only if the water is filled to the top of the tank. If the water is below the black top trim, there is a horribly loud waterfall sound. Other than that, it cleans my 10 gallon quite well.

Yea that's my problem for now. wait there's a 75 I thought the 100 was the smallest learned something new

 

I have no problem with it as an HOB filter. Mine has been running well for over a year now. But I don't use the biowheel as biological media - I don't trust it. But good for them for educating people on bio media more than most. They tell you not to replace it, and only replace the mechanical media.

 

I have no problem with it as an HOB filter. Mine has been running well for over a year now. But I don't use the biowheel as biological media - I don't trust it. But good for them for educating people on bio media more than most. They tell you not to replace it, and only replace the mechanical media.

Yea +1 for Marineland for attempting to innovate and educate. I do use my bio wheel but not as biological media, I just use it because it looks cool. I don't use cartridges though, I hate the concept of activated carbon inside my mechanical filtration, I simply mimic the Aqua Clear design but instead of it being horizontal I do vertical by having everything in mesh bags and having them placed as stages first sponge then Ceramic media followed by Carbon or more ceramic media.

 

I also use the bio-wheel but also I use the AquaClears. The Ac are better

 

I also use the bio-wheel but also I use the AquaClears. The Ac are better

Yea I prefer the Aqua Clear as well I have had mine run for over a year now and before had some that ran for years. They are superior to almost every HOB filtration out there. I like the flow adjustment on them every HOB filter should be standard to have it built in.

 

You can get cartridge inserts for marineland bio wheel that can be filled with floss, sponge, ceramic, or very small bio balls. It just inserts and sits like the regular cartridge. I place those in the back slot (closest to output) and traditional cartridge in first slot to catch all the big stuff.

I started out with these and buy my cartridges in bulk so it's difficult to change over, but I do have one AC 50 on a ten gallon that I love the ability to customize.

I am curious why so many have an aversion to carbon? I have always used it as a staple item. Have I bought into something unnecessary? What if there are certain harmful mineral/element levels in my tap that we don't test for that carbon removes or minimizes?

 

Studies have shown and there are many articles online that you don't really need carbon, only in certain cases.

 

You can get cartridge inserts for marineland bio wheel that can be filled with floss, sponge, ceramic, or very small bio balls. It just inserts and sits like the regular cartridge. I place those in the back slot (closest to output) and traditional cartridge in first slot to catch all the big stuff.

I started out with these and buy my cartridges in bulk so it's difficult to change over, but I do have one AC 50 on a ten gallon that I love the ability to customize.

I am curious why so many have an aversion to carbon? I have always used it as a staple item. Have I bought into something unnecessary? What if there are certain harmful mineral/element levels in my tap that we don't test for that carbon removes or minimizes?

Yea I've seen those for the penguin filters. In my case I use 50% tap and 50% RO water mainly because my tap has a Ph of 8.6 so I don't use carbon that can filter out any minerals out of my water I haven't in almost 7 months straight. It might not be necessary but I guess you can't go wrong with it either. I don't really use it but I always have some on hand

 

Studies have shown and there are many articles online that you don't really need carbon, only in certain cases.

I only use carbon when my water gets discolored or if there's a bad order coming from the tank

 

Maybe I've just had bad luck but in my experience, the smaller AquaClear aren't as reliable as the larger ones. My aquaclear 50 and 70 have worked great but I've had problems with the 20s.

I personally like the Marineland filters and I have a lot of them but that's because they're more affordable and I have a lot of Tanks....

But while the wheel is supposed to hold your BB, allowing you to change the cartridges without losing your cycle ....I still don't replace the filters until they're falling apart.

 

Yeah the things is many people question the wheel! I personally don't put it on. There are many debates of whether people should or shouldn't. Experienced aquarist also keeps it and don't keep it. So...?!?!

 

Maybe I've just had bad luck but in my experience, the smaller AquaClear aren't as reliable as the larger ones. My aquaclear 50 and 70 have worked great but I've had problems with the 20s.

I personally like the Marineland filters and I have a lot of them but that's because they're more affordable and I have a lot of Tanks....

But while the wheel is supposed to hold your BB, allowing you to change the cartridges without losing your cycle ....I still don't replace the filters until they're falling apart.

Yea it could be possible that the smaller models of the aqua clear filters lack the quality. The 2 Aqua Clear 70's that I own are good but they have problems. The problems that I have are one of them has way too much bio ceramic media over a pound so some water gets released right back into the aquarium without being filtered. The other one, the plastic thing that levels the filter wasn't properly cut so I had to trim it myself and even then is still falls out every time I do maintenance but they are better in terms of filtration and options than any other HOB style filtration they just have small flaws.

I just love how big they are inside because the media sits horizontal rather than vertical, because when it's vertical it's primarily meant for cartridges and doesn't give any options to improve on the filtration.

That's why I want to get some opinions because to add Aqua Clears on every tank/ quarantine tank I own I'd need over 7 of them and they aren't cheap like marineland in price and the penguin offers a decent space for customization in the filter.

I would use sponge filters in my quarantine tanks but they take forever to cycle(4weeks in and not cycled) where as I can grab some ceramic media off one tank and under a week I've cycled another tank and I replenish my ceramic media that I've got off one tank and within 2 months that new media I've added has already cycled.

 

Yeah the things is many people question the wheel! I personally don't put it on. There are many debates of whether people should or shouldn't. Experienced aquarist also keeps it and don't keep it. So...?!?!

it can't hurt to leave the wheel on there. I understand being skeptical of whether or not the wheel can hold onto enough BB to maintain your cycle when changing catridges....but I don't see a reason to not use it at all. It can't hurt....right?

I leave the wheel on all my bio-wheel filters...but I don't rely on it 100%

 

That's why I want to get some opinions because to add Aqua Clears on every tank/ quarantine tank I own I'd need over 7 of them and they aren't cheap like marineland in price and the penguin offers a decent space for customization in the filter.

I simply can't afford to put the aquaclears on all my tanks. If you need 7, that's a lot. But if you can afford it....I don't see a reason not to....especially if you prefer them...as do most people....

 

I simply can't afford to put the aquaclears on all my tanks. If you need 7, that's a lot. But if you can afford it....I don't see a reason not to....especially if you prefer them...as do most people....

Well I could afford them but it would be a waste as I have 4 main tanks up right now and 4 quarantine tanks but only 2 quarantine tanks are always up and running so it would be a waste to get a more expensive filter that will only house a fish for a month at most.

 

Yeah the things is many people question the wheel! I personally don't put it on. There are many debates of whether people should or shouldn't. Experienced aquarist also keeps it and don't keep it. So...?!?!

That's where I'm stuck at I know the Bio wheel isn't effective but I mean it can't be bad to at least try and give it a use, the worst thing you can probably do is rely on it has your main source of beneficial bacteria. I keep mine on for looks but considering on removing it because the output splashes water on my light fixture and on its lid giving it undesirable water stains

 

As someone new to the hobby, I received the Penguin 100B filter with the kit I bought.

I knew very little about filters at that point.

Right out of the box the bio-wheel gave me issues because it would not rotate.
There was excess plastic on the axle that was preventing rotation. Pocket Knife resolved that.

I've been running this filter for 6 weeks; it works well as a filter, and can be customized with extra media.

Seeing so much chatter about the effectiveness or lack of regarding the bio-wheel, I added filter floss, an Aquaclear 30 biomax insert, and more floss into the area between the filter media and the bio-wheel (second bit of floss was replaced with a bag of Seachem Matrix after extra floss moved to another tank).

Just like the forums, the staff at the LFS we deal with have similar viewpoints; one fellow swears by AquaClear filters, another says the bio-wheel is better.

Does the bio-wheel work? I'm skeptical due to the limited surface area of the wheel.
I suspect that the extra floss and biomax I added is what helped my tank cycle and stay cycled.

 

I don't trust the wheel to exclusively provide enough bb, however my larger penguins have double slots so I just replace one of the cartridges at a time and only when it completely wears out.
I do like the setup of aquaclear better since it is more customizable and there is no issue to remove carbon if meds are needed. I have started buying them for new tanks or replacements as I started out with penguin and have quite a few with a lot if money invested.

 

I have to politely disagree. I think Penguins are better, if they are one of the bigger models. They cleared up my cloudy water very fast, and have a lot more space to customize than Aquaclears do if you use polyester filling.

 

Tell me how you customize and keep the media in place? I would love to be able to do that in mine.

 

I get out the filter cartridges that come with the filter, and do whatever media I want and put lava on top to hold it down. I usually use carbon and polyester

 

I get out the filter cartridges that come with the filter, and do whatever media I want and put lava on top to hold it down. I usually use carbon and polyester

So I never thought to stack media in mine. I figured that there would still have to be space in front and behind the media like there is with the cartridges. So it seems to flow through the media pretty good I assume?

I learn something new all the time! Thanks!

 

Customizing the media allowed my clouded tank to become crystal clear in 3 days. You don't need to have space in the front or back. I stack as much filter media as I can to maximize my filter's cleaning capacity.

 

Customizing those filters are good since you don't have to rely on those cartridges which gives you more work every time you have to replace them osince you have to cut it

 

Customizing those filters are good since you don't have to rely on those cartridges which gives you more work every time you have to replace them osince you have to cut it

I don't have to cut it unless I need to remove all carbon for meds. Then I cut them open to remove carbon and keep the rest for bacteria.
They all have double slots so I just replace one cartridge at a time and only when they start looking like they will fall apart soon.

I do like my ACs better in that I don't have to worry about all that so I think I will play around with one of my penguins to see how replacing the cartridges and customizing media works out.
I love that we are able to learn new tricks from each other on this forum.

 

Yeah, I use to have bio-wheels but went to ACs and loved it! With the bigger Bio-wheels you don't have to worry about removing the cartridge since you have 4 slots so you just altrenate but the smaller ones where you only have 1 its a bit harder!

 

Yeah, I use to have bio-wheels but went to ACs and loved it! With the bigger Bio-wheels you don't have to worry about removing the cartridge since you have 4 slots so you just altrenate but the smaller ones where you only have 1 its a bit harder!

My 150s on 10 gallons have two slots. I guess the one smaller only has one? That does make it hard.
I have some smaller other brand filters on 5.5 and qt 10s that only have one and they are a pain, but I inserted extra media that never gets changed.

 

Yeah, also personally I don't like those cartridges since the only thing useful is the pad which is what will remove debris and also house the BB although even then its best to separate the BB from mechanical filtration! The carbon after weeks doesn't work which is why no the box they tell you to replace the cartridge every 2 weeks.

 

You are right about that. I like the stacked setup with various media much better.
I like to have fresh carbon occasionally in case there is something in my tap water that we don't test for. Other than that, I just use it to remove meds, which is rare and usually just in quarantine tanks.
I have found that the use or lack thereof of carbon can spark some lively debates on this forum though, lol.

 

The 100B I have only has a single slot, but you can still load it up.

The filter in mine is almost 2 months old.
I removed the carbon recently and the floss that remains is pretty tattered, so I added some dual layer poly pad behind it.

I was amazed that it didn't affect the flow once it primed.

The area between the filter cartridge has floss on the bottom, a bio-max 30 insert, then Seachem matrix stacked in there.

 

Looks like a great setup! I am definitely going to play around with doing the same.

 

I've had my penguin filter for 8 or 9 years I've used it on many many tanks I like them more than aquaclear because they are made of plastic that won't break if you bend it or drop it just more durable IMO but I mainly use sumps for my tanks so I only have a couple with canisters and HOB

 

So I am trying to figure out what's wrong with my filter. The biowheel isn't turning as fast as it should and I just cleaned the intake tube. I have had this one for almost a year and don't want to go buy another filter.

 

Just my opinion but I think those Bio-wheels are just a gimmick. Maybe you need to clean out the inside of the filter and around the pivots of the wheel.

 

I don't even keep the wheel on several of mine. It's meant to hold enough beneficial bacteria to allow you to change the filters without losing your cycle. But I don't think it holds nearly enough so I don't replace my cartridges I clean them in tank water. If I have to replace one, I put the new one with the old 1 for a few weeks. I also shove bio balls in a bag behind the cartridge to hold more beneficial bacteria. ( In my larger biowheel filters)

The wheel is useless in my opinion so I wouldn't be concerned about its spinning or not.

 

Mine never ran as well as I wanted. But that wheel holds so little BB for you. It's about what you have in the housing that counts.

 

Okay, though the speed of the waterflow is causing my tank to get cloudy so I normally judge how fast the water goes by the wheel itself. Is there a way to clean it but make it run better and keep the BB?

 

Okay, though the speed of the waterflow is causing my tank to get cloudy so I normally judge how fast the water goes by the wheel itself. Is there a way to clean it but make it run better and keep the BB?

What size is your filter and on what size tank is it?

You could try cleaning the propeller thing to see if that helps. But cleaning the tubes should make a difference flow wise.