MarineLand Penguin 200, Power Filter, 30 to 50-Gallon, 200 GPH, Size C

GOT THIS MARINELAND PENGIN 200 SOME WEEKS AGO IT CAME FROM THE (USA) I HAVE JUST SET THIS FILTER UP FILLED IT WITH WATER PLUG IT IN AND IT WENT BANG STARTED TO SMOKE ONE DEAD FILTER IT DID NOT RUN FOR MORE THAN 20 SEC THING IS IF I HAD GONE OUT THIS FILTER WOULD HAVE SET MY HOUSE ON FIRE SO I AM A BIT PEED OFF WITH IT

Clicking/vibration noise coming from the filter. Have tried resolving with the help of youtube but nothing works. Can only assume that i have faulty goods. Returning this item back to the US is not cost affective so my fault for purchasing in the first place.

I have been using these power filters for almost 17 years. We have had several tanks. Recently bought two for my new 80 gallon shark tank. We now have the four bio wheels (which by the way are not supposed to spin all the time which means they’re working and you’re doing something right) and four bays to put extra media in if required. These systems are hardy and reliable. If you’re doing weekly water changes, rinse out to eliminate any algae/slime. The system gets louder as the water level evaporates. Always rinse charcoal media before placing in bay. I’d recommend this product and indeed all Marineland products. I don’t buy any other brand with as much confidence.

So I had some trouble when I first installed my filter, and I figured I would share the steps I went through to fix it in case it helps anyone else. I put everything together just like the diagram but when I plugged it in, all it made was this really loud grinding sound and there was no water flow. I opened the lid and I could see some bubbles but nothing obviously wrong. I pulled stuff apart and checked the propeller and couldn’t see anything wrong there either. I had set up everything in order according to the directions and was baffled. I began trouble-shooting. When I called the help hotline (it was outside business hours so I couldn’t get a person), something they suggested is taking the propeller out and with the filter plugged in, hold it up against the outside of the filter. If you can feel the magnetic tug, then at least the motor is working. So I pulled mine out and tried this. Propeller and motor were good. Another review mentioned trouble with the flow lever on the intake tube, so I fiddled with this. No change. But it did give me an idea since I had seen bubbles, I figured it could be a different problem with the intake tube. Long story short, the three sections of the tube weren’t connected as tightly as they could have been. Tightened, water started flowing through the filter. There was still a bit of noise, but I noticed that my tank was filled below the top connection point on the tube. I added more water to the tank until it was above the line, and presto, no grinding noise! So if you do have problems with flow or noise you might check your intake tube and make sure it is tightly together (REALLY tight) and maybe fill the tank above the top connection. The filter itself seems to be working great. The water flowing back into the tank can be a bit loud, but it isn’t nearly as bad as some filters I’ve used previously. I really like how sturdy it is built and that I can insert two filters back to back for more filtration if I like. Also, the cover is super easy to take on and off. The bio wheel sounds neat in theory but it isn’t even spinning in mine. Not sure how to fix that or if it really matters. Maybe I’ll fiddle with it later. The fish tank is in the bottom of my Chinese water dragon vivarium, so as you can imagine it can get a bit messy, but the water has stayed clear and clean, so I’m please enough. Update: So it has been running for about a month with no problems. I got the biowheel to run for a bit, opening the flow more on the intake tube and pushing the wheel back all the way in its housing. The water has stayed pristine even with my lizard so I’m really happy with it!

Box came to the door with no additional padding, just a box like right from the store! Upside down on my doorstep. Turned it over...tinkle-tinkle, uh-oh. Opened the box, everything seemed O.K. Took off the elastic band took everything out. Everything was O.K. Put it together, poured in water , plugged it in, terrific, No sound, good flow, no water tinkle Everything perfect. I have one in my other tank for 20 + years and still works great. To clean, take out the impeller. There may be threads of algae twisted and hard to see. Take off algae with tweezers and even small pointed sharp scissors. Clean out the tubes, impeller housing etc. Also the inside where the impeller sits. I do this with a tooth brush and aquarium snake brushes. Leave the roller alone! Just clean off and rinse the filter(s), they last for months. Effectiveness of charcoal is give or take, lots of hype, little substance. Yes, filters look ugly dirty, again just rinse off and scrape with tooth brush. Change when it clogs up again in a day or three or when blue medium is too thin and charcoal falls out. Been doing this for over 20 years with no fish casualties, everyone is happy you will be to with this filter if it is taken care of properly. Clean when water overflows and roller stops rolling.

Easily plugs, wheel constantly stops running. I am constantly cleaning the intake pipe to get the wheel to spin. It is also Very noisy. The outflow is crazy strong. I had to make an magyver fix to slow it down or it shoots my fish across the tank! My old style penguin bio wheel doesn’t have this problem.

I had one of these for 4 years and worked great 24/7 use on my tank. Unfortunately it died. When I went back to the store to get it again I got told by an employee that they no longer made these because of the "unreliability" in the last 18 months I've gone through 4 competitor units that have all blown up in a matter of months! Well that employee lied, and the second I saw this I had to buy it! It's a great system and night and day better than other pump/filters on the market.