Penguin 150 power filters

[frying nemo]

Has anyone else had problems with these?? Just stopping for no reason. I've bought two and they both did the same. Dont get it. Is it just the 150's?? Or has anyone had the same problem with others? I've always liked the marineland brand and use to use their powerheads all the time..very reliable. But I wanted to try a biowheel, and got disapointed. Can anyone shed any light on this?

I'm using a aquaclear 200 and it does a great job and never shuts off and is very efficient and keeps the tank nice. I guess I will go with what works. But i'm still kinda mistified about the penguins.

Frying Nemo

 

[luckyfish611]

Not sure why this has happened to you. But have you tried to contact marineland via email with you problem. I have a penguin mini(2+yrs) no problems. And a 150(1month) no problems.

 

[Cutlass]

Stopped, as in the motor just quit? Or did the biowheel just stop moving? I have an Emperor and a Penguin and nether have quit on me. If the Penguin biowheel just stops moving, then that's normal. It will slow down as the intake tube and filter material gets clogged. Clear it out and replace the filter and it should be fine. Also check to see that nothing has built up in the little slot where the wheel turns.

 

[FishLuvr]

yes what do you mean by stopped, i have the exact same filter on one of my tanks penguin 150, if you mean the bio-wheel stopped, then its most likely a build up of gunk/slime on the two pins that hold it in place which you can easily wipe off. and if you have a excess of build up on the wheel (causing it to become heavy and stop) you can rinse it in USED TANK WATER not tap water. if you meant the filter itself has stopped then it maybe a faulty motor.

Btw if the wheel or motor has stopped try to keep the bio-wheel moist as when it dries your bacteria will dry off, again DONT use tap water but use tank water

 

[Orion]

I've yet to see a faulty motor on a power filter. Majority of the time if it stops sucking water, then its something to do with the impeller. Clean it out well, and see if there is any physical damage to it.

At times it seems that the intake tube can sit too far down on the impeller, keeping it from moving freely. May want to try to lift it up a little bit and see if that would help it.

And if you clean it, don't forget to clean out the hole inside the filter where the impeller sits.

 

[echoofformless]

I have the same problem. Happened the first time about two months ago; i jiggled it a bit and it kicked back in.

But just tonight it happened again, only this time I ended up taking everything apart and playing with it for almost an hour. After thoroughly cleaning everything, it still wouldn't work. Then I tried being very gentle when I replaced the impeller, and it worked. Didn't touch it after that...put it back on my tank, plugged it in...and stuck again. Then I jiggled it a bit and it started working. Then, almost as if by some weird act of cosmic synchronicity, the filter on my girlfriend's Eclipse 5 started doing something quite similar: making noise but not pumping. I ended having to take that sucker apart and play with it for a while before it would kick in.

My conclusion is that Marineland power filters are a little bit iffy. I'm probably going to replace it with the same model (125) so I can keep my biowheel rolling. But I will say that I don't entirely trust their filters now. This one lasted a little more than three years with no problems, but still...seems like they aren't the best.

Too bad they're so great when they're working...and that biowheel makes me smile.