Where to buy new Bio Wheel

patadams66

so i was given a penguin 350

the bio wheels were gone, also the little purple holders for the bio wheel to turn in are gone. so i have some questions.

the cheapest i have found the bio wheels for was 10$ (need 2) and the purple things were like 3 $ need 2 plus shipping and handling so like 30$+ i can buy a brand new filter for 50? lol

is there any place any of you have found to be cheaper? the LFS and petsmart either never have them (especially the purple bearing things) or for the bio wheel i found some but they are 17$ each...laaame.

im thinking i can just use it as a filter and not a bio filter i suppose.

any and all feed back welcome! thanks!

AbbeysDad

Actually Amazon lists the Penguin 350 for $25.99, so unless you can find the bio-wheel parts locally, a new filter is cheaper!


I think I'd be tempted to just use it as a cartridge filter.

patadams66

thats how im using it at the moment. but as i continue to stock my tank i figured it couldnt hurt to try and find the bio wheels for it.

TwinDad

Only place I have seen them is at Petsmart.

The marineland bio that I had had space for two filter cartridges. I ended up putting Bio Media into a media bag and put it in the back space after the filter cartridge. Might be cheaper and more beneficial.

patadams66

im not following you on what a bio bag is i understand the concept but its never really been explained.

AbbeysDad

It's just a nylon mesh bag - you can use a nylon stocking as well. Inside the bag you can use some type of bio-media such as bio-max, matrix or even nylon kitchen scrubbers! .... Beginners Guide to Filter Media - MonsterFishKeepers.com

For what it's worth, if you can fit a foam sponge behind the cartridge, you'll be all set.

patadams66

when u say before you mean put the sponge so it goes through that before it goes through the actual filter pad right?

TwinDad

I think he meant after. I guess after would catch the smaller stuff the cartridge doesn't get.

He covered the media bags. They are just little nylon sacks. I found them at Petsmart for under $1. I also got the biomax there too. Right now I have two sponges and the bio max in my aguaclear 50. I have a modified fluval sponge and biomax in a bag in my aqueon 20.

They both seem to work great and the replacements are much cheaper then the cartridges.

AbbeysDad

No, the sponge goes after the cartridge and no, it's not to catch what the cartridge misses, but rather to provide a place for beneficial bacteria colony to grow. This is what the bio-wheel is/does, it just spins. Spinning is not really required to have a good beneficial bacteria colony. Check the articles in here about beneficial bacteria in the nitrogen cycle.

TwinDad

Right. I knew that, just didn't get into my head that is what the purpose would be for. I was thinking filter, not bacteria.

It would be cheaper then the bio-max.