Overcleaning HOB filters?

[swifty]

Is there such a thing?

Currently I have 2 aquaclear 50 filters, and it has come to my attention that I may be over-cleaning my filters.

Once a week, I squeeze the sponges in removed tank water and swirl the bio bags around in the water for anything loose. I also toss out the polyester batting that I cut to size, and replace with a new piece.

Once a month, I'll take a toothbrush to the impeller/intake tubes/filter box and remove any algae or gunk that has formed.

I was told to be careful that I may cause a mini-cycle because I can be over-cleaning my filters and removing too much BB somehow; is this possible? Should I reduce the frequency of media rinsings?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

If what you are doing now is working why change it? As long as its not causing mini cycle then its fine.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

It's more frequent than what I do... I do weekly partial water changes but don't rinse out /squeeze sponges until a month's time.. I'll do impeller cleaning like in 3 month intervals. To each their own though, if you're OCD or just feel better about cleaning as much that often, I don't see any problems so long as you periodically test your params to verify you're not over doing it and shocking your system's BB eco-system.

 

[reefdiver]

I do the same every other week

 

[Cloudhp8]

i do the same thing twice a month.....though i do not change anything until the filters are falling apart and never had a problem....as long as you are not changing all of your media at the same time, every time you should be fine.....the gunk you clean off the impellers and what not is mostly just waste buildup and more than likely serves no real purpose besides making the filter flow better and the impeller work properly.

 

[Aquamandan]

I rinse my filter and impeller about once a month but usually don't scrub anything unless it is jut all gunked up but I do think there is such a thing as over cleaning, don't wanna get rid of all those BB that you have built up.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Is there such a thing?

Currently I have 2 aquaclear 50 filters, and it has come to my attention that I may be over-cleaning my filters.

Once a week, I squeeze the sponges in removed tank water and swirl the bio bags around in the water for anything loose. I also toss out the polyester batting that I cut to size, and replace with a new piece.

Once a month, I'll take a toothbrush to the impeller/intake tubes/filter box and remove any algae or gunk that has formed.

I was told to be careful that I may cause a mini-cycle because I can be over-cleaning my filters and removing too much BB somehow; is this possible? Should I reduce the frequency of media rinsings?

Sounds like a good routine to me. The only thing I might change is throwing away the batting-I'd rinse them also, and only toss when they are a mess (but not both in the same week.

IMO it's good to have clean impellers, pipes and what have you.

As Mumma said, if its working for you, why mess with it?

 

[BBradbury]

Hello swifty...

If you remove and replace half the tank water every week to 2 weeks, the filtration equipment and media don't get dirty enough to service more than twice a month. The filters are simply moving water that's already pure.

The media can be rinsed in the old tank water and put back into the filter. Only change it when it's to the point of falling apart. If you use a dense poly fiber, it can be used for several weeks if not months before it needs to be replaced. Acurel and HBH have a very good filter product that really lasts.

You can replace a good portion of the media without losing too much bacteria. The good bacteria lives on all surfaces inside the tank and reproduces to it former level in a few hours.

B

 

[swifty]

Alright, thanks for the replies.

I tend to over-analyze things all the time. I guess this is just another case of that.