No Toxins for my Turtle
Written: May 11 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Best hobbiest filter on the market.
Cons: Lots of little parts to clean.
The Bottom Line: If you have a normal-sized household tank, this is the filter for you.
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| Helga17's Full Review: Marineland Penguin Bio Wheel Mini Filter |
I currently have two Penguin Bio-Wheel filters running in my house. I have the Penguin BIO-Wheel 170 running in my 45 gallon freshwater Turtle Tank, and the BIO-Wheel 125 running in my 20 gallon brackish puffer tank. Essentially, these two filters are the same machine, but are different sizes, so I will begin with some of the basic differences between them, and then talk about the things that all BIO wheel filters have in common. Before I go into the details about the current filters I own, however, I’d like to give you some background on some of the other things I’ve tried and thought of trying, and how I decided on this particular kind of filter.
MY FILTER USE BACKGROUND
I’ve had my New England Painted turtle for six years now. When I first got him, I had two baby ones which I adopted during a drought season in Connecticut when many of the baby turtles were dying from drought complications. I kept them in a much smaller tank at first, and had a REALLY OLD filter where I had to add the cotton and carbon from loose packages. That hooked up to a separate pump. This was very messy to put together, and the separate pump was very noisy after about a month. I tried replacing this with a sponge filter, (I’m not even sure they make sponge filters anymore) which was very good with getting the chunky stuff, but didn’t seem to do anything for the toxins and my tank was left cloudy and muddy looking. By this time the turtles had grown a lot. They ended up both being males, and as they reached maturity, they decided to have periodic fights. I tried moving them to my current 45 gallon set up, to see if more room would stop the fighting, but eventually I had to give one up so that they wouldn’t kill each other. That’s when I moved on to a Wal-mart rip-off of the penguin, in combination with the sponge filter. This filter was so much better than anything I had tried before. The sponge filter used one of those separate, noisy pumps, and the new filter was doing such a good job that I thought I could stop using the sponge filter. I learned pretty quickly that I needed more than just the Wal-mart rip off.
Meanwhile, I had a good friend who works with the HUGE tanks (including a shark tank) at the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut. (He gets to scuba dive in them for maintenance work.) He has a lot of his own tanks and shared with me that as good as the Wal-Mart rip off was, the genuine product was better. I decided to spend the extra money and take the plunge. The Penguin version is HIGHLY superior to the ripoff. The suction is better, and the wheel part grows little colonies that help naturally digest some of the toxic stuff. (The rip off didn’t have this part.) I’ll go into some of the other details a little later. When I decided to delve into the world of more salty tanks about a year ago, I asked my friend if the BIO-Wheel would still work. He said yes, so I got another one. I have heard rumor that a canister style filter might be better for my turtle tank (turtles are extra messy) and have thought about changing, but I have decided to wait until this filter dies to seriously consider a change.
THE VITALS AND HOW THE TWO PENGUINS DIFFER FROM EACH OTHER
The BIO-Wheel 125 is recommended for up to 30 gallon tanks. It is guaranteed to filter 125 gallons per hour. The BIO-Wheel 170 is recommended for up to 50 gallon tanks and is guaranteed to filter 170 gallons per hour. It is cheaper to replace the cartridges is the smaller filter. The 170 has an extra slot for an extra filter cartridge. We purchased a plastic basket thing that we fill with extra carbon. This keeps our water clear for MUCH longer. The smaller version doesn’t have the extra slot. Other than that the structure is identical, except one is in miniature. The first time I put one together was a little complicated, but the directions are clear, so MAKE SURE YOU READ THEM. This is the style of filter that is used in the movie FINDING NEMO, so the inside looks a lot like it did in the movie.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
This filter sucks water from about mid level in the tank, runs it through first a layer of cottony stuff, to get the chucks out, and then a carbon layer, to neutralize toxins. It then runs through the BIO-Wheel on its way out of the filter, where colonies have formed that like to eat ammonia and nitrate, stuff that comes from fishy-poo and will hurt them if they live in it. (You wouldn’t want to live in your excrement either.) It comes out of the filter above water level, which provides some turbulence that helps stir up poo on the bottom so that it gets filtered.
GENERAL PROS AND CONS ABOUT OPERATION
PRO- The cartridges are VERY simple to use. Just open, rinse and stick it in.
PRO AND CON- Everything comes apart very easily for cleaning. However, the maintenance can be a little messy. I have found that I need to clean all of the innards of the filter at least once a month. Of course, I have a turtle with lots of plant matter in one tank to clog the propeller, and lots of salt residue in the other tank to clog it. I often wish that there weren’t so many little parts to clean.
CON- The directions say that the filter will “self-start.” If you want your motor to last longer, fill the filter with water before you plug it in, and then KEEP POURING a little bit of water into the housing while it’s starting. (That’s the part they don’t tell you.) It will still take a minute to start up, but it doesn’t have to work nearly as hard.
CON- My turtle likes to get into mischief and pull the basket off the end of the suction. This allows large plant pieces (which he ripped off of the plants) to get sucked in and clog the filter. It’s nice to be able to get the basket off for cleaning, but I’ve had to rig it semi-permanently to keep the plants out.
PRO- I’ve had my 170 for over three years and it still is working just as well as the day I bought it. That’s a really long time compared to other filters I’ve owned. (The Wal-Mart rip-off burned out after only one year.)
CON- I still have to do a one-third (or there-abouts) of the tank water change every other week for both tanks to keep them healthy. But that’s the case with ANY filter system that I know of. (Changing that much water allows you to stir up the stuff caught in the gravel and get rid of it, as well as keeping toxin levels low. Changing ALL of the water at once is NEVER a good idea, especially with more fragile fish.)
PRO OR CON- The way the water is returned to the tank, gives a constant sound of running water (like a mini-waterfall) to your room. The first couple days I had to pee a lot, but then I got used to it, and now I really enjoy the relaxing sound of water in my Philadelphia home. I have noticed, however, that my guests who are not used to it, do have to pee more often.
PRO- The BIO-Wheel part of this filter never needs changing and helps keep ammonia and nitrate lower.
PRO- Flow rate is adjustable.
PRO- You don’t have to stick your hand way into the bottom of the tank to get the filter out for cleaning, because it hangs on the side. (This is a HUGE plus in the puffer tank. Puffers have teeth and eat crayfish... shells and all... so they don’t feel good if they bite.)
CON- The water level needs to be very high to run this filter. My turtle is semi-aquatic, and needs a place to get out of the water. I had to build a special hood for my turtle tank that allows head room for the turtle to sit on his island, and not be able to jump out of the tank. It does give him lots of swimming space though.
CON- The cartridges are a little more pricey than some of the other brands. BUT they are worth it.
PRO- The motor is essentially silent. I like not hearing a motor.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I really like my Penguin filters. They require less maintenance than any of my previous filters, and do a wonderful job, as long as I keep up on maintenance. I think if I had a bigger than 50 gallon tank, I might look into more sophisticated filtration (the kind that requires more upfront investment and drilling holes in glass). For the average hobby tank, I think that filtration can’t get much better than this.
BONUS MATERIAL/ HINTS TO SUPPLEMENT YOUR FILTER
Plants- Plants help filter naturally and keep algae levels low
Freshwater clams- They eat gunk, and help keep your water clean. (Puffers like to eat them, but they’re great for other tanks.)
Water changes- Do a water change regularly. Your filter CANNOT do it all no matter how good it is. Get one of those siphons that hooks up to your sink, and this only takes 10-20 minutes to do both of my tanks.
Extra-Carbon- If you have a large enough filter to have the extra slot for an extra carbon filter, I HIGHLY recommend using it. My water stays clearer and the PH stays better balanced for much longer.
Own algae-eaters and bottom feeders- they help clean up what other fish leave behind.
Don’t overstock your tank. Fish need elbow room.
Test your PH periodically, so that you know you’re doing a good job.
Always research fishy needs before buying new fish. Realize that the more expensive fish cost more on upkeep too.
Start small, and practice before getting big and complicated
Have fun with your tank.
PENGUIN WEB-SITE
http://www.marineland.com/products/consumer/con_penguinfilters.asp
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Helga17
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Member: Laura Salvaggio
Location: Utica, NY
Reviews written: 73
Trusted by: 69 members
About Me:
I love Jesus, Bernie and theatre.
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