Biowheels or Cell-Pores?

[georgef]

Boy, I must be the champ of the stoopid questions, eh? :-[

I wasn't planning on having to make this choice but I do. :(

I have two Penguin 170's with Biowheels on my 55. I just picked up two Cell-Pore cartridges thinking that I'd really give the bio-filter a boost running both a Biowheel AND and Cell-Pore cartridge in each filter, right? :)

Wrong! >:( The Cell-Pore is too thick and the rubber casing rubs against the Biowheel.

Since I can only use one or the other, which do you think would provide the bigger boost to the bio-filter?

[DarkDiscus]

George,

Could you cut the cell pore thingy down to size and use both? I've never used either, so I can't offer advice on which to choose, but I figure there has to be a way to cut the cell pore back so you can double your fun!

John

[Jeff]

Exactly as John said the cell-pore can be cut to size and you can run both.

[georgef]

It's not the cell-pore cartidge that's causing the problem, it's the rubber casing around the cell-pore that rubs against the Biowheel. These are pre-made to fit the Penguin 170 and 330 cartridge guides. They fit fine... as long as you don't have the Biowheel installed.

I'll see if I can trim the rubber casing down on the side that faces the Biowheel...

Thanks. :)

[rafall]

I have seen that EHEIM sells lava rocks as bio filter media for approx $9/box and I went to a home Depot and you can get a 30lbs bag for a apprx $5. The rocks looks exactly the same, I dont believe that they are treated somehow. So i put a several into my canister filter and so far goes well,. They have a tons of pores.

[Carol_Roberts]

If it is like mine the rubber should be easy to trim.
Carol :heart1:

George...
I too have the biowheel, but not the cell-pore (cool idea btw)... But after looking up the cell-pore on Fosters, i agree with Carol. Sould trim and then fit very nicely.

Let Me know... I may have to order some as well, as they are all on sale now... :thumbsup:

Julz

[georgef]

OK... Simple solution to the problem. :)

The rubber casing around the cell-pore is designed with some rubber flaps that are there to hold whatever pre-filter material you decide to use. If you just turn the cartridge around so that the side that normally holds the pre-filter material is facing the front of the filter box, there's plenty of room for the biowheel to spin. You can still stuff the edges of the pre-filter under the rubber casing on the side that is now facing the back of the filter box (what is actually the front of the cartridge) if it's cut to the right size. I use the uncut blue-bonded polyester filter pad and cut pieces to fit. I use a sponge pre-filter on the filter intakes anyway, so I could probably get away without using the filter pad.

Another tip regarding the cell-pore... They can break pretty easily. If you accidentally break a chunk off like I did (I'm an idiot! :P ) you can easily fix it with some silicone rubber. The cell-pore is actually ceramic glass and regular aquarium sealant works great for repairs.