BIO Wheels

lionhead

A friend gave me 5 Marineland 300 BIO Wheel filters, wheels look OK an still wet from his use. He has used them for some time. My question, wheels look OK, do I need to replace them ? He seems to think, if they are not falling apart, there good......

MetalArm3

You NEVER need to replace your Bio Wheel. It should look brownish/red and discolored. Bio Wheels are good for life as long as no physical damage is done to them. They house all the good bacteria that diffuse ammonia before entering back into your tank. If your bio wheel stop moving clean the purple tabs it rests in. Don't clean the bio wheel as you will kill of the beneficial bacteria. If you clean or replace the bio wheel it could lead to ammonia spikes. Your friend is right, just keep the bio wheel rotating so it stays wet, if it gets exposed to air long enough the beneficial bacteria will also die off.

MetalArm3

onefish2fish

+1

but you might need to replace a broken bio wheel, but if you take good care of your equipment this shouldnt be an issue.
if they happen to get really clogged up and nasty, alittle swish in the bucket of some tank water from a water change would be enough, but letting them go as long as theyre wet as metal said is what your looking for.