What's involved in filter maintenance??

[Jessy2363]

Hi,
I have a big canister filter and have never bothered even opening it up. I've had my tank for around 4 months now. Do I need to clean it? And how often? How do I go about cleaning it?

Do I just take the sponges out and rinse them in tank water? And if so how often should I do that? What happens if I don't do it?

Thanks
Jess

 

[Fatboyfish]

Once a month would be ideal. People that brag about how long they wait to clean their canister are only saying they are proud to be lazy. If it's a canister with ceramic rings you could get away with actually cleaning sponges with tap water. Rinse the ceramic rings in a bucket of tank water. Really just depends on the setup inside.

Any long period of time that debris sits in those sponges it hasn't actually left the water. Kinda defeats the purpose huh?

GL

 

[bud29]

If it's a canister with ceramic rings you could get away with actually cleaning sponges with tap water.

Even though there may be ceramic rings, a good deal of beneficial bacteria still exist on the sponges so I wouldn't recommend this. I agree with you though that routine filter media cleanings are good for overall tank health.

 

[tiger terror]

Even though there may be ceramic rings, a good deal of beneficial bacteria still exist on the sponges so I wouldn't recommend this. I agree with you though that routine filter media cleanings are good for overall tank health.

Also with bud29 on this one,just use the tank water while doing a water change for cleaning purposes..keep all media wet&do not allow to dry out..

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

 

[treemanone2003]

People that brag about how long they wait to clean their canister are only saying they are proud to be lazy.

That's quite a poor statement you're insinuating. I don't touch my canisters but every six months not because I'm lazy but have much better husbandry skills than many others. When you've got a great system going, refer to Murphy's law of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".


Sent from my iPhone that doesn't like me. Or you.

 

[bud29]

That's quite a poor statement you're insinuating. I don't touch my canisters but every six months not because I'm lazy but have much better husbandry skills than many others. When you've got a great system going, refer to Murphy's law of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Whether you have a good system going or not, filter media gets dirty. It's a fact of life in aquaria. Cleaning said media can help improve filter flow and remove junk from the tank's system. It's not trying to fix a problem that isn't there, it's good system maintenance.

 

[Fatboyfish]

That's quite a poor statement you're insinuating. I don't touch my canisters but every six months not because I'm lazy but have much better husbandry skills than many others. When you've got a great system going, refer to Murphy's law of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".


Sent from my iPhone that doesn't like me. Or you.

We don't know Jessy2363's husbandry do we? That being said if you choose to let waste sit and rot in your canister thats your choice. There is no reason not to set a reasonable guideline for Jessy2363 to start from.

 

[treemanone2003]

Whether you have a good system going or not, filter media gets dirty. It's a fact of life in aquaria. Cleaning said media can help improve filter flow and remove junk from the tank's system. It's not trying to fix a problem that isn't there, it's good system maintenance.

I'm not disputing cleaning media. I directly quoted fatboys statement of calling people lazy that brag about not touching a canister for long periods of time. It was a very inaccurate and extremely opinionated and probably not the quickest way to encourage others you know what you're talking about. And I can reference your quote of his to wash the sponges in tap water to which you disagreed with.

We don't know Jessy2363's husbandry do we? That being said if you choose to let waste sit and rot in your canister thats your choice. There is no reason not to set a reasonable guideline for Jessy2363 to start from.

No we don't. But that's not the point that I referenced. It's how you interpreted it. See how that works now ???? If you would like to come by my place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, when I do 50% WC's, and Sundays when I do 90-100% WC's, I'll show that there's no reason to touch a filter as long as let them sit. And my Discus are extremely happy and far from stressed.


Sent from my iPhone that doesn't like me. Or you.

 

[thrak76]

I've got 2 Eheim 2217s in service now. For maintenance I'll change the filter floss, rinse the polishing pad and sponge, and dunk the media in some water to get off the accumulated sludge. I've put all the media into filter bags rather than leaving it loose in the canister. I'll also give the canister housing a quick rinse. Lastly, I'll inspect the o-ring seal and re-grease it.

 

[jetajockey]

I would agree that you should consider rinsing out the sponges at least once a month or so. Letting it go for too long can make it turn into a nitrate factory, and the extra organics can cause a host of other issues in the long term.

 

[Fatboyfish]

And I can reference your quote of his to wash the sponges in tap water to which you disagreed with.

Not even quite sure what that means?

Ok check this out.

Jessy2363: How you choose to utilize the inner workings of your filter are up to you. Sponges can be used as mechanical filtration or both mechanical and biological. Washing a sponge with tap water is not going to crash your tank hence the "ceramic rings" portion of my comment. Not even sure why I'm explaining this at this point but for your sake I will. If this mystery canister filter is a 100% sponge then yes do not clean it with tap. If it's mix and match never wash bio balls or ceramic rings with tap water. Only wash sponges with tap water if you choose to.

YES! like the other person said. Rub a little vaseline on the rubber o rings during maintenance.

 

[thrak76]

YES! like the other person said. Rub a little vaseline on the rubber o rings during maintenance.

It's debatable whether vaseline will degrade o-rings over time. IDK, something about the petroleum. I actually use plumber's silicone grease.

 

[Fatboyfish]

It's debatable whether vaseline will degrade o-rings over time. IDK, something about the petroleum. I actually use plumber's silicone grease.

Good call, Im not a huge canister user as I'm primarily reef.

 

[aqua_holic]

How often you need to clean your filter is a function of many variables. While some people may be content to choose an arbitrary time frame, such as every month, other people rely on more than a convenient timeframe.

How often you feed, what you feed, your stock level, types of fish, live plants, type of media, arrangement of media, size of filter, number of filters, placement of the intake strainers, placement of the spraybar, type of substrate, and color of the tank all play a part in determining how quickly a filter will clog.

The are some keys to look for with when to clean the filter. Particulates in the water indicate debris is exiting the filter. So check water clarity. Flow rate gets reduced so that's another visual cue. I usually dip my fingers in to feel it. Water tests will also shed some light on this - if you are having trouble keeping nitrates down its time to clean the filter. And then there's good old fashioned experience. Over time you'll learn how often you have to clean. Or you can just choose an arbitrary schedule.

Once a month would be ideal. People that brag about how long they wait to clean their canister are only saying they are proud to be lazy. If it's a canister with ceramic rings you could get away with actually cleaning sponges with tap water. Rinse the ceramic rings in a bucket of tank water. Really just depends on the setup inside.

Any long period of time that debris sits in those sponges it hasn't actually left the water. Kinda defeats the purpose huh?

GL

I clean all the media in both canisters on each tank in tap water, all at once. Cleaning the media in tap water by no means sterilizes it. If it did we wouldn't need soap

I clean my canisters twice a year.

 

[Jessy2363]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I should probably give it a rinse in a bucket of tank water. I cycled my tank and had a few algae blooms in the process and then and hair algae started growing like crazy, which I got rid of with CO2 (which I accidentally added to much of and almost killed my fish) then a heap of sludge came about afterwards which got sucked up by the filter and massive water changes to save my fishes lives. Anyway the tank looks lovely and clean now but I'm sure the filter media could do with a rinse after all that.

 

[Jessy2363]

I don't think it has the ceramic ring. If I can recall when setting it up. I may use vaseline for the O rings as I don't have any other oil around the house nor would I trust using it as I would be worried it might have some harmful chemicals in it. Anyway I best look inside it as all this seems a bit imaginary at present, O rings etc....

 

[Caliban07]

That's quite a poor statement you're insinuating. I don't touch my canisters but every six months not because I'm lazy but have much better husbandry skills than many others.


Sent from my iPhone that doesn't like me. Or you.

That depends on how you define good husbandry really. Is it better husbandry to change large volumes of water and leave the filter for 6 months? Or is it better to change less water and clean the filter every month? Is it better husbandry to clean the filter and vac the gravel every day and change the water once a month?

While I agree that the post insinuating people are lazy by leaving their filters could be interpreted as insulting, I actually find this response insulting.

You seem to be advocating in this post and the post following on from this response that your tank maintenance and husbandry is superior because you change your water three times a week.

Many others in this hobby may actually interpret this practice as poor husbandry. I'm glad your system ain't broke but there is more than way to keep a system healthy.

Op I clean my canisters once a month. I squeeze the sponges and the water runs near clear but I still rinse them in tank water. I change 30% of the water once a week and vac the gravel every other. My system ain't broke, so I don't fix it.

In this hobby you will begin to find that in many cases there are no one size fits all answers.

Tank maintenance really depends on many things. Tank size, stock and stock levels, what your source water is like, type of filter, feeding pattern and foods, added supplements and so on.

My advice would be to start with once a month and see what kind of muck is in the sponges. The longer you are in the hobby the more of a feel you will get for your own tank.

One thing worth remembering is filters don't remove waste. That collect it.



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[bud29]

I clean all the media in both canisters on each tank in tap water, all at once. Cleaning the media in tap water by no means sterilizes it. If it did we wouldn't need soap

Chlorine is put in our tap water to kill off bacteria, algae, etc. that we don't want to drink. Bacteria is necessary in an aquarium, however, which is why we dechlorinate. For this reason, rinsing your filter media that is chock full of beneficial bacteria is not a practice I would advocate at all. Could you get away with it? Possibly, but how much harder would it be to drop a bit of prime in that bucket of tap water and make things much safer for your biofilter, and in turn, your fish?

 

[aqua_holic]

In order for the chlorine to be effective it needs a great deal more exposure time than the time required to wash media. Furthermore, chlorine in the water is designed to prevent bacteria growth in the first place, not kill off an established colony. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And again, that's why we use soap and not just tap water to clean with. Could you imagine if restaurants didn't use soap to clean, because of the chlorine in the tap water? Ugh I would never eat there....

 

[bud29]

Chlorine in tap water serves more as a disinfectant than a preventative. That aside, I understand that brief contact with untreated water won't totally destroy your biofilter - hence the last part of my previous post. If you want to run the table and rinse your media with chlorinated water, power to ya - but if there's a safer option that requires minimal extra work, I'm taking it (and advising it) every time.