Power filter VS bio-wheel filter

My question is does one work better then the other? I ask because I've always used power filters but the kit I'm looking at getting has a bio wheel. It's a 20 gallon tank. Is there any advantages/disadvantages with one or the other?

 

I'll defer to others who have had experience with both to say which is better but I've been running bio-wheels on my two tanks for eight years non-stop and have been happy with their performance. Granted I've had the time to settle into a routine with eight years but I've found the three I run easy and quick to maintain. I travel a lot for business and personal reasons so I like a filter that is dependable and mine have been. Knock on wood but I've never had one fail and that's important to me.

 

I have both, and personally feel that if the equipment is not shoddy then they would both work equally well.

I've had very very bad luck with Marineland Bio Wheels. I almost loath doing water changes on that tank because the silly thing takes almost 5 minutes to get going. Having said that, when this one bites the dust I'll replace it with a Fluval C series power filter (which is what is on my other two tanks).

 

Can't remember where I found it but I just read an article on this and they proved biowheels are no more effective than standard filters. They also proved a regular old sponge has much better bio filtration than a biowheel.

 

Can't remember where I found it but I just read an article on this and they proved biowheels are no more effective than standard filters. They also proved a regular old sponge has much better bio filtration than a biowheel.

I would be very interested in reading that article as I was recently thinking about putting sponge filtration in my QT.

Would the article show up in the history section of your browser??

 

I would be very interested in reading that article as I was recently thinking about putting sponge filtration in my QT.

Would the article show up in the history section of your browser??

I'll find it.

 

Awesome! Thanks SOOO much!!

 

Thank you all for the incite! I really appreciate it!

 

I use all penguin biowheels and they are very dependable. I agree, it seems the biowheels are not that important. But even if the biowheel aspect isn't working, the larger biowheels have plenty of room for extra filter media, and have a great outward flow. So, that being said, biowheels are just plain decent filters. If my filters (have prefilters) get to the point where the wheels aren't working, I just use them like any other power filter and they do fine.

 

Ah, alright, now the bio wheel I am looking at is a Marineland brand. Are there any more dependable/quiet brands then others?

 

I don't know of any other company that makes bio-wheel filters other than Marineland. Those are marketed under the Marineland Emperor and Penguin names.

 

Ahh, ok, I'm still pretty new to this so excuse my ignorance. Haha

 

I'd like to recommend these prefilters they come with 5 different adapters to fit any filter and they add a lot of bio filtration to any hob. They are cheap and come with a replacement sponge, I'm very impressed so far. They are called filter-max-pre-filters

 

I'd like to recommend these prefilters they come with 5 different adapters to fit any filter and they add a lot of bio filtration to any hob. They are cheap and come with a replacement sponge, I'm very impressed so far. They are called filter-max-pre-filters

Just looked at the site. So basically, the HOB intake becomes a sponge filter as well?

 

Just looked at the site. So basically, the HOB intake becomes a sponge filter as well?

The thing I worry about is the strength of the HOB pump to pull water through the sponge filter and into the filter. I've never tried that as I've not come across a sponge and adapter that fits on the Emperor's rectangular intake. I suppose I could engineer one or try to modify a sponge but haven't.

 

Fluval Edge Prefilters (about $2.79) work well on Power Filters. I use them on both my biowheels and regular power filters in my shrimp tank. As of right now, I have 8 filters with prefilters on them. Clean them 1-2 times per month and they work great!

 

Just looked at the site. So basically, the HOB intake becomes a sponge filter as well?

Yep, and there are five adapters to mix and match plus 2 sponges more bang for the buck.