filter maintanence

[aquascapist]

hey
how often do you guys change your filter pad? Also, what other filter maintanence is there? should i clean the scrubbie things in the filter?

 

[eduguy]

Change filter pads when they are falling apart. Clean them with old tank water when there dirty. DON'T USE TAP WATER TO CLEAN BECAUSE IT WILL KILL ALL THE BENEFICIAL BACTERIA. Clean Impellers every month.

 

[Dreadz]

Change filter pads when they are falling apart. Clean them with old tank water when there dirty. DON'T USE TAP WATER TO CLEAN BECAUSE IT WILL KILL ALL THE BENEFICIAL BACTERIA. Clean Impellers every month.

the only thing i would add to that is don't change all the pads all at once, add one new pad and keep your old ones in to give the new pad a chance to colonise with the bacteria. If you simply change your old for new all at once your tank will cycle all over again.

 

[eduguy]

Also when you change cartidges seed the new cartidge with something from the old one so you can transfer some bacteria.

 

[librarygirl]

What kind of filter is it and what media does it hold? I personally hate the filters that have that one filter cartridge as it doesn't leave room for much else. Don't change it until it's literally falling part and then you'd want to put a new cartridge in and run it with the old cartridge for 2-4 weeks before removing the old one. I usually try to clean the filter housing itself every month or so. In between you could swish out the cartridge in old tank water during a water change every 2-3 weeks or so just to remove any gunk on it.

 

[aquascapist]

it's a tetra whisper 40i. only one pad to change. it's a carbon medium I believe. i'm going to put a new one in and leave the old one in there for a couple weeks.

 

[Gotgutz]

Just wanted to make sure I was on the right track...

I've been battling some green water and have tried to keep filters on my tank clean so they can do their job. I currently wash them out in dechlorinated water since I figured rinsing them with old tank water wouldn't do much. Is that ok as opposed to using tank water?

 

[eduguy]

Don't wash the filter cartridge in tap water. The chlorine and stuff like that kills the bacteria.

 

[Gotgutz]

But dechlorinated water is ok to use?

 

[Dreadz]

Just wanted to make sure I was on the right track...

I've been battling some green water and have tried to keep filters on my tank clean so they can do their job. I currently wash them out in dechlorinated water since I figured rinsing them with old tank water wouldn't do much. Is that ok as opposed to using tank water?

green water is likely to be due to microscopic algae suspended in the water which is predominantly caused by excess nutrients/waste in the water and/or prolonged direct exposure to sunlight. your filter is unlikely to be able to remove it.
have you tested your water? what are your nitrates measuring at? is your tank exposed to direct sunlight through the day? is your tank overfed or overstocked
Water changes will temporarily reduce the problem but you need to identify the root cause.

 

[Gotgutz]

green water is likely to be due to microscopic algae suspended in the water which is predominantly caused by excess nutrients/waste in the water and/or prolonged direct exposure to sunlight. your filter is unlikely to be able to remove it.
have you tested your water? what are your nitrates measuring at? is your tank exposed to direct sunlight through the day? is your tank overfed or overstocked
Water changes will temporarily reduce the problem but you need to identify the root cause.

So i just tested my water to have the most current results and got a nitrate reading of 10 ppm. I have a 37 gallon tank with 4 neon tetras, 4 xray tetras, 2 white mollies, 4 mickey mouse platys, 1 guppy, 2 green cory cats, and 1 mystery snail. I only feed once a day excluding Sundays and other than a few pieces that fall down fast it all gets eaten with in a few minutes. There is no direct sunlight but some lights around it tend to be on in the evenings when the tank lights are off. I keep the tank light on for 4 hours on, half an hour off, and then 4 more hours for a total of 8 hours on.

Thanks for the help Dreadz, this is my first tank has been a persistent issue that i am dying to have fixed.