Filter Replacement

[TankNewbie414]

I had a question regarding filter replacement! I have a newly 3 gallon cycled tank with fish in it. The nano tank came with its own filter that has ,
Ceramic rings and a Filter media . The Filter media says to be replaced with EF-S cartridge every 3-4 weeks. I have heard to not replace the cartridges' it because it can causes the tank to crash. Could someone give me some advice on what it the best thing to do? The filter is all brown and yucky slimy looking and its been over 4 weeks.

 

[Ed Pursell]

Give specs. on the filter, what brand, model number, what you got? Normally you would not replace anything in 3 weeks… Give some spec’s on what you have and tank conditions. Cycled tank should not have a filter clogged in a couple weeks. What’s you feeding schedule?? The cartridges just filter particles from the water, what would be clogging the cartridge? Slime is ok, as long as you have flow from the filter…If it’s not flowing, it’s doing what it should do, but that time period
of time is way to short for a “clean” cycled tank. is the water/tank clear? Let’s start here.
.
.

 

[Colin_T]

The ceramic rings will hold some beneficial filter bacteria, but you don't want to replace filter media if you can help it.

Filter pads/ cartridges can usually be squeezed out in a bucket of tank water and the pad is re-used. The bucket of dirty water gets poured on the lawn outside. Replace filter pads when they start to break down/ fall apart. You can replace them with a sponge for a different brand of filter. Just use a pair of scissors to cut the sponge to fit in your filter. You can add sponge now so when the filter pad does need replacing you won't lose as much good bacteria from the filter.

Ceramic beads can be washed in a bucket of tank water too. They last for years.

 

[TankNewbie414]

I apologize I couldn't give you much information. I can give you information off of the website of the tank I got that includes the kit, but it does not give a clear answer on model number and things of that nature. This is my first tank so I don't know where I should be looking. This is what it says:

Top Fin Hang-On Filter
2 Reusable Pre-Filter Sponges
Ceramic rings
Filter media (Replace with EF-S Small Element Filter cartridge every 3-4 weeks
https://www.petsmart.com/fish/tanks...-gallon-69438.html?cgid=300207&fmethod=Browse

There is great flow, its not clogged at all , the cartridge just looks really brown. Parameters are normal and water is clear as crystal. I feed shrimp every other day. I just wanted to know if it is okay to change to a brand new one, wash it or leave it alone. Instructions say to replace every 3 -4 weeks. I just don't want it to damage what I established so far. I am new to this so I and still very ignorant. I just want to be careful.

 

[TankNewbie414]

The ceramic rings will hold some beneficial filter bacteria, but you don't want to replace filter media if you can help it.

Filter pads/ cartridges can usually be squeezed out in a bucket of tank water and the pad is re-used. The bucket of dirty water gets poured on the lawn outside. Replace filter pads when they start to break down/ fall apart. You can replace them with a sponge for a different brand of filter. Just use a pair of scissors to cut the sponge to fit in your filter. You can add sponge now so when the filter pad does need replacing you won't lose as much good bacteria from the filter.

Ceramic beads can be washed in a bucket of tank water too. They last for years.

Oh great thank you Colin! That helps a lot!

 

[Colin_T]

There is great flow, its not clogged at all , the cartridge just looks really brown. Parameters are normal and water is clear as crystal. I feed shrimp every other day. I just wanted to know if it is okay to change to a brand new one, wash it or leave it alone. Instructions say to replace every 3 -4 weeks. I just don't want it to damage what I established so far. I am new to this so I and still very ignorant. I just want to be careful.

The brown colour on the cartridge is completely normal. It's just fish food and waste that's been drawn into the filter pad.

When you clean the filter pad, cut a slit in one end and see if there is any black or white granules in it. If there is, tip them out and throw the granules away.

Black granules are carbon and is used to remove chemicals from water.

White granules are Zeolite/ Ammogon and is used to remove ammonia from the water. If you have this in the filter, the beneficial filter bacteria won't develop until the Zeolite is full and then you get ammonia readings. It's preferable to not have Zeolite in the filter because of this.

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If the filter is only 4 weeks old, leave it for at least 2 more weeks before cleaning it. This gives the filter bacteria more time to attach to the media and not get washed off when you clean it.

 

[Aiken Drum]

I wouldnt worry too much about changing the cartridge on that filter causing your cycle to crash. Your biological filtration comes the ceramic rings, mechanical filtration comes from the pre-filter sponge, and your cartridge provides some mechanical filtration and the carbon inside the cartridge will give you chemical filtration. Its only losing biological filtration that will cause your cycle to crash and the cartridge will provide very little biological filtration.

Some hang on back filters rely 100% on the cartridge to provide biological, mechanical and chemical filtration and this isnt the case with your filter. Those filters that are 100% cartridge based tend to have 2 or more cartridges with the idea that you replace them on a rotating basis so you never remove all the biological filtration in one go.

Looking at the photos on the link you provided you could get some more ceramic rings in there than what came as standard with the tank. I agree that you shouldnt replace the cartridge when it can simply be rinsed and re-used. But thats more from a cost PoV than because replacing will cause any issues.

If you wanted to, there are plenty of cheaper compatible cartidges for your filter on the market that would work just the same. Or you could do away with the cartridges, cut some filter floss and sponge to fit in your HoB and along with the ceramic rings that would enhance your filtration and reduce your maintenance costs tremendously. You would just periodically cut some new filter floss to replace the old, and rinse out the sponge in tank/ dechlorinated water.

This isnt a video on your particular filter, but gives you an idea on how to do away with cartridges. Hope you can understand the Yorkshire accent.

https://youtu.be/Yiv_HNghkn0

 

[Joe_D]

FWIW....
I got a HOB filter.
As long as the filter has reasonable amount of water going through it without any water going over the overflow, there is no reason to change the filter.

BTW, I also have a sponge pre filter on the filter's intake which I clean every few days
This pre filter catches a lot of crap that would otherwise clog the man filter.
This is part of my normal tank maintenance.

Having sad that, every tank is a bit different and you have to do whatever a given tank dictates .

 

[ColdKoi]

Like everyone’s mentioned, if it’s flowing fine it’s usually best to just leave well enough alone.

If it’s a cartridge that can be rinsed out, maybe consider that if it’s really starting to collect some solids on it. Like aiken said, don’t be too worried about crashing your cycle with the setup you have. If the tank is well established it should pose virtually no risk of crashing your cycle by changing that cartridge. What you want to avoid is a complete cleaning of the filter all at one time, changing the ceramic rings and the cartridge all at one time is going to force your tank to rely on the beneficial bacteria in the tank itself while the filter re-establishes and that’s not a good idea!