LeslieG
Member
I set up my 29G aquarium on November 14th (almost a month ago) with a Penguin Biowheel 200. From the start, the biowheel has been very noisy, extremely splashy. The tank is in my bedroom and the noise is keeping me awake. (On days when I can coax it to a pleasant bubbling brook sound, it's awesome and helps me sleep. But a loud, pounding splash like last night is not good, nor is a cyclical slow-fast-slow-fast splash.)
It's definitely loud splashing from the wheel, because when I remove the wheel it is absolutely silent. The baffle I made to reduce the flow helped with the problem of splashing water out of the aquarium. The water level is up high, so its splash from the wheel, not waterfall.
I can decrease the splashing slightly (sometimes) by removing a bit of water, but I like the water level above the black aquarium rim (I don't want to see a line of light above the water), and lately, even that won't quiet the wheel. It also started turning unevenly one night - that was really bad. (I don't get along with tick-tock clocks, either.)
The wheel is seated properly. No snails or grit in the slots for the wheel. I've only had the little beast for a month. The night it started rotating unevenly (fast-slow-fast-slow), i took the wheel out and rinsed it in room temperature water, and did the same for the filters, and it started rotating correctly again.
I feel like I gave it a good try. If it's this sensitive to water level, this erratic with noise/splashing, and starts spinning unevenly so easily, then I really should have gotten that Aquaclear.
I'm torn between returning it and getting an Aquaclear 50, or tossing the wheel and adding sponge & ceramics to increase the filtration. The 200 because it has an extra media slot, which I'm using already with a modified media cartridge (stuffed extra ammo-carb in there). I like the quietness of the Penguin when the wheel is off. Returns are a hassle, and the Aquaclear is more expensive ... would there be much difference between a modified penguin 200 and an aquaclear 50? The flow rate is supposed to be exactly the same.
Leslie
It's definitely loud splashing from the wheel, because when I remove the wheel it is absolutely silent. The baffle I made to reduce the flow helped with the problem of splashing water out of the aquarium. The water level is up high, so its splash from the wheel, not waterfall.
I can decrease the splashing slightly (sometimes) by removing a bit of water, but I like the water level above the black aquarium rim (I don't want to see a line of light above the water), and lately, even that won't quiet the wheel. It also started turning unevenly one night - that was really bad. (I don't get along with tick-tock clocks, either.)
The wheel is seated properly. No snails or grit in the slots for the wheel. I've only had the little beast for a month. The night it started rotating unevenly (fast-slow-fast-slow), i took the wheel out and rinsed it in room temperature water, and did the same for the filters, and it started rotating correctly again.
I feel like I gave it a good try. If it's this sensitive to water level, this erratic with noise/splashing, and starts spinning unevenly so easily, then I really should have gotten that Aquaclear.
I'm torn between returning it and getting an Aquaclear 50, or tossing the wheel and adding sponge & ceramics to increase the filtration. The 200 because it has an extra media slot, which I'm using already with a modified media cartridge (stuffed extra ammo-carb in there). I like the quietness of the Penguin when the wheel is off. Returns are a hassle, and the Aquaclear is more expensive ... would there be much difference between a modified penguin 200 and an aquaclear 50? The flow rate is supposed to be exactly the same.
Leslie