Cleaning!!!

[fred]

Just wondering how often people clean their filter's (take it apart and such)? I know you should do it every 4 weeks, but is it really necessaary?

 

[FishEggs]

it mostly depends on bioload. if you have really messy fish you might need to clean it every week. if you have a very low bioload you might be fine for 6 weeks. it's really different for every tank. if you see your water flow diminished you should rinse it out.

by clean we mean rinse the filter media out in old tank water from a pwc. you should never really clean your filter with soap or a cleaner.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

You should really at least take it apart and inspect it every month. The thing not to do is let it dry out, or to replace parts unless falling apart

 

[taylorodw]

I view cleaning the filter as "flushing" the toilet.

You can do a water change, but all the stuff your filter sucks up (poop, mostly) stays in there, and then all the clean water flows through it. When you clean and rinse the filter, that is the only time the gunk gets removed.

How often do you flush your toilet? I don't rinse my media every week because my HOB is a huge pain to remove the media from... but I really should

 

[BigJim]

I generally clean my filters once every three to four weeks. I scrub the filter housing, intake tubes, motor, and impeller with a brush in addition to cleaning the media. Cleaning the plumbing makes a difference in the filter's flowrate. In two of my tanks, I think plumbing would close up before I started seeing nitrate problems.

 

[Jason7894561230]

I view cleaning the filter as "flushing" the toilet.

You can do a water change, but all the stuff your filter sucks up (poop, mostly) stays in there, and then all the clean water flows through it. When you clean and rinse the filter, that is the only time the gunk gets removed.

How often do you flush your toilet? I don't rinse my media every week because my HOB is a huge pain to remove the media from... but I really should

I flush it every 2 weeks. Is there something wrong with me?
But anyway yeah just give it rinse in old watrer when nessecary

 

[fred]

Thanks everyone!! I'm ashamed to say it's been almost a year since I've cleaned the filter. I don't have any problems with the water and the fish are fine. I think it's time!!!

 

[fred]

I view cleaning the filter as "flushing" the toilet.

You can do a water change, but all the stuff your filter sucks up (poop, mostly) stays in there, and then all the clean water flows through it. When you clean and rinse the filter, that is the only time the gunk gets removed.

How often do you flush your toilet? I don't rinse my media every week because my HOB is a huge pain to remove the media from... but I really should

 

[Marconis]

I rinse(d) my media every 4 weeks in a bucket of tank water. You'd be amazed at all the crap that comes out and how brown that water will get in the bucket. A year is a long time, lol. I'd give it a rinse, and maybe you'll notice a nice increase in filter efficiency.

 

[taylorodw]

You'd be amazed at all the crap that comes out and how brown that water will get in the bucket.

Yes, it really is amazing... and gross if you think about it. That's why I try not to think about it