I bought a biowheel 200 for my 10gal tank and i noticed that it was starting to get some junk on the back of the filter and so i get the bright idea to just wash it out so i held it with the dirty side of the filter down and rinsed it out.... I got it almost spotless but now my water is starting to cloud.... Is this why my tank is getting cloudy or should i be looking some where else for the answer? I bought the filter just about 4 days ago.... Rinsed out the filter element last night..... Also i have noticed anytime i move a plant to clean it with the grav vac i find a stock pile of food... Is it the cory catfish doing this or just where it happens to settle? And if its the catfish stashing the food is that a sign of me feeding too much?


Thanks,
Jon :ph43r:

If your tap water has chlorine or chloramine, then rinsing the biowheel in that water would kill some (but not all) of the good bacteria on the biowheel. For those with city water, rinse biowheels in tank water in a bucket if they get too much debris. Biowheels should almost never need cleaning. I gently rub mine down probably twice a year to get extra build up off. If your biowheel is getting dirty, then dirty water is reaching it, by passing the filter (or the mechanical part of the filter is not doing its job). Things will certainly grow on it but not for a while.

But, you say you've only had the filter for four days. In that case, there is very little bacteria yet on there. New tanks often get cloudy when bacteria grow in the water. Giving them places to grow like the biowheels and things will, over time, get the bacteria to grow there instead of in the water column.

Fish don't stash food. It sounds like you've fed too much, or it's getting stuck among the plants. The movements of fish and filters cause debris to accumulate around the bases of stationary objects. Be sure to gravel vacuum around the plants every week or two to remove extra food. Extra food will also make the water more cloudy. I hope things improve!

Yep I didnt rinse the biowheel i rinsed the filter before it(blue with a black back that has charcoal in it) Ill just let my artificial piece of nature take its course for a lil....

Thanks,
Jon :ph43r:

I rinse the replaceable filters myself (on weeks I'm not changing) in my tap water. I have well water so I don't have to worry about chlorine. In your case, you might bring miniscule amounts of chlorine into the tank but, otherwise, it shouldn't be a problem or cause clouding.

I dont know but i did buy a new filter and rinsed it with bottled water and it cleared the tank up in a few hours and havent had any issues since.... Dont understand why but it seems to be working just fine.... Who knows..... Was talking with a friend of mine and he said sometimes u never really know.... but life is good now and will be looking forward to getting my larger tank so my agres. gourami can have part of the tank right now he lives in a box in the tank... Probably not the best but its what i have to do till the tank comes.....

Jon :ph43r: