Marineland Penguin 350

[Kambreia]

Ok, so I know in his video on the tips and tricks on aquarium filters he goes over some of the issues with this filter and does not like it in general but I still have questions and you all may be able to help me with this. The video name that I watched is Aquarium Filter Tips and Tricks! Start Saving Money Now! if anyone wants to watch it to see what I am referring to. Thank you all in advance, Proceed to questions.

So first things first, the sponge he puts on the intake, it would still leave a hole in the bottom of it to suck up the fish so I was wondering what I could use to block this hole or if there was a specific way to plug it safely and easily? I'm sure I could rig it on my own but I don't wanna make matters worse. 

Also, On the sponges he places in the back of the filter instead of the cartridges that come with it or are designed for it, how often should I clean them? Should I do one at a time like once a week do a sponge or just clean them all at once every month?

Promise last question, ok for the bio wheels, are they necessary? Should I worry about it if they wear out and get replacements or just remove them and let things go?  

[lefty o]

you should also watch the co-op video on how to hot rod your filter. there are a lot of ways you can utilize a hang on back filter. as for bio wheels, nice add on, but when they quit spinning, it really is no big deal.

[Patrick_G]

The sponge pre-filter for the end of the intake does not have a hole in the bottom so your fish are safe.

I clean the sponges in my filter box about every two to three water changes, so about two to three weeks. Just rinse them out in a bucket of old tank water. 
 

I think the bio wheel is a bit gimmicky, but try it and see how it works for you. 

[DShelton]

I am a long time user (30+ years) of Marineland filtration products, specifically the BioWheels (I have 2 or 3 of the 330s from 20+ years ago), and their canisters. I have always found the HOBs to be up to the task for filtration, plus they are symmetrical.

The way that I have always used mine, is sans filter cartridges, with coarse sponges for each side (I cut up sponges from an Eheim canister), and an intake sponge in the intake (I used a sponge off an old tetra sponge filter https://imgur.com/gwea9L0). I generally leave the BioWheels in them, as they do work, and would generally  leave one of the filter baskets in the HOB to use for purigen/Phosban or some different biological media like SubstratPro or Matrix.

In this method of operation the intake sponge is what keeps the guts of the filter clean and extends the amount of maintenance you have to do inside the HOB. I cleaned my intake sponges every month or so (so 4 - 5 water changes) and would only have to clean the inside sponges once the flow out of the filter was reduced after cleaning the intake sponge was not enough. At that point clean (i.e. rinse in dechlorinated water) the sponge(s) out of one side of the filter, and then next cleaning, clean the other side.

I would likely not buy a new BioWheel, but that is no indictment of their capabilities (I am just not buying a new HOB anyime soon). They are neither the best nor the worst of the HOBs on the market, but IF you already own it, they are serviceable.