Are You Supposed To Clean The Filter?

[Wanderer]

I've been told conflicting info regarding this. I thought the only part of the filter that needs really changing/ being concerned about is the top filter wool....and that the sponges should never be washed....only visible solids in the filter compartment to be fished out with a net if and when necessary. Please could you experts clarify exactly what the truth is. My filter is in a large compartment at the back, seperate from the tank at the back. It is a sponge layer with some plastic mesh thing at the very bottom. Followed by this is a layer of ceramic filter media. Above this is another sponge layer. A bag of activated carbon on top. Then lots of wool. The water then gies through a uv filter before being released back into the tank. I will try to post some pics later. Please advise me if i should clean my filter, and how often. I was led to believe that the filter doesnt need cleaning because this only reduces the good stuff in it. I only thought the wool needed replacing when it appears very dirty. I have squeezed the sponges in tank water a couple of times.

 

[Wanderer]

And i know you are supposed to fish out any visible solids from the water compartment the water goes into before it enters the filter but only when it seems noticeable?

 

[phantomlink]

The sponge should be cleaned but only in the aquarium water. So when you do a waterchange and its time to clean the media just give the sponge a squeeze in the bucket the old water is in. If you rinse it in the sink the chlorine kills the good bacteria and its going to do a mini cycle all over again. I'm not sure about the wool in the filter, I just have a sponge/carbon/biomax but it goes in that order, yours is a little different then mine

 

[Wanderer]

The sponge should be cleaned but only in the aquarium water. So when you do a waterchange and its time to clean the media just give the sponge a squeeze in the bucket the old water is in. If you rinse it in the sink the chlorine kills the good bacteria and its going to do a mini cycle all over again. I'm not sure about the wool in the filter, I just have a sponge/carbon/biomax but it goes in that order, yours is a little different then mine

So no need to rinse the ceramic media in tank water also, or wipe down the sides of the filter compartment itself? I have ordered some seachem purigem btw. Thinking of placing this in the main tank under the gravel in a mesh bag, as well as inside the filter.

 

[Aquascaper]

You are correct in your assumptions, as long as you just squeeze the sponges in old tank water, whilst doing a water change ideally, you will remove what needs to be removed with regards to detritus and leave the bacterial colony intact.

Replacement of filter floss/wool is done as and when it gets too dirty to function and is an acceptable loss of your bacterial colony as it's negligible anyway.

Any debris trapped in the ceramics & filter housing should be flushed out when you restart the filter and will be trapped in the sponges until the next clean.

As for frequency of cleaning, it depends really, most people only clean when they notice a reduction in output from the filter, indicating that it's becoming clogged up.

 

[Mr.Tan]

I always change out 1 part of the filter at a time when maintanence is being performed. For example i'll replace the sponge filter with a new one (rinsing it to remove anything from production) but keep the others in, this way I do not remove the biological bacteria that is present in the filter.. I also every so often take the filter apart and scrub it down and clean it out (not replacing the media at all at that time though).

 

[Wanderer]

If the debris gets flushed out when the tank is restarted, wont this put toxic stuff back into the tank? Wont replacing the sponges now and then reduce the amount of bacteria in the filter therefore reduce the effectiveness of the filter?

 

[Essjay]

I always change out 1 part of the filter at a time when maintanence is being performed.

You don't need to replace a sponge until it is literally falling apart or won't go back to shape after washing. They should last for years, until then jusr squeeze tem in the water you take out during a water change.
Similarly, ceramic media needs to be changed only when it starts to crumble. I have an internal filter with Eheim substrat pro, I just dunk the baskets up and down a couple of times in old water to wash any debris off.

Save your money and just wash sponges and ceramics.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Totally agree on just mild rinsing of sponges and ceramics in a bucket of tank water. I have had the same ceramic pellets since my tank was new over two years ago. They are still intact.

In my Fluval 206 the ceramics are in baskets, so, like essjay said, when I clean the filter out (once every month or two), I dunk the entire basket in the bucket and gently swirl it around to flush out any gunk. Sponges - just give them a gentle swirl and squeeze.

 

[Wanderer]

So the good bacteria is not all the gunk in it, but the excess debris that indeed needs to be rinsed. Ok cheers.

So the good bacteria is not all the gunk in it, but the excess debris that indeed needs to be rinsed. Ok cheers.

 

[elmo666]

On your question about flushing "toxic" gunk into the tank you needn't worry. It is more unsightly than harmfull, as your aquarium water is passing through/in contact with it all the time in your filter. Every set-up differs, and we all have our preferred routines. I favour fortnightly 30% water change with a good gravel clean and clean my external each 3rd water change. That said, I have a trickle filter built into the rear of the tank, runs over a wier with several pre-filters, these are lightly washed out with evry water change. Maintainance is something you will do to suit the needs of your particular tank, stocking levels etc, and as long as you keep your fish looking healthy your not doing much wrong

On your question about flushing "toxic" gunk into the tank you needn't worry. It is more unsightly than harmfull, as your aquarium water is passing through/in contact with it all the time in your filter. Every set-up differs, and we all have our preferred routines. I favour fortnightly 30% water change with a good gravel clean and clean my external each 3rd water change. That said, I have a trickle filter built into the rear of the tank, runs over a wier with several pre-filters, these are lightly washed out with evry water change. Maintainance is something you will do to suit the needs of your particular tank, stocking levels etc, and as long as you keep your fish looking healthy your not doing much wrong

 

[Mr.Tan]

I always change out 1 part of the filter at a time when maintanence is being performed.

You don't need to replace a sponge until it is literally falling apart or won't go back to shape after washing. They should last for years, until then jusr squeeze tem in the water you take out during a water change.
Similarly, ceramic media needs to be changed only when it starts to crumble. I have an internal filter with Eheim substrat pro, I just dunk the baskets up and down a couple of times in old water to wash any debris off.

Save your money and just wash sponges and ceramics.

thats good to know! thanks for the info... Its not like it costs a lot of money to replace, I can obtain the sponge for $3 from my LFS and they are easy to find, however those $3 do add up and could be more fun things for the tank, or for myself lol. I dont keep any ceramic media, just the sponge on bottom, carbon in the middle and amonia media on top. I never replace the ammonia media (which i probably should) and the carbon gets done monthly.

 

[Essjay]

Is the ammonia media supposed to remove ammonia? You don't need it because that's what the bacteria do. You'd be better off removing that and replacing it with another sponge. Just cut it up if necessary to make it fit. Then wash the sponges alternately till they fall apart.

 

[Gvilleguy]

And unless the carbon is a sponge, you don't really need that, either, if you ask me. Most filters work really well with just ceramic and sponges. Then insert carbon if you ever need to filter out medicine.

 

[Wanderer]

On your question about flushing "toxic" gunk into the tank you needn't worry. It is more unsightly than harmfull, as your aquarium water is passing through/in contact with it all the time in your filter. Every set-up differs, and we all have our preferred routines. I favour fortnightly 30% water change with a good gravel clean and clean my external each 3rd water change. That said, I have a trickle filter built into the rear of the tank, runs over a wier with several pre-filters, these are lightly washed out with evry water change. Maintainance is something you will do to suit the needs of your particular tank, stocking levels etc, and as long as you keep your fish looking healthy your not doing much wrong

On your question about flushing "toxic" gunk into the tank you needn't worry. It is more unsightly than harmfull, as your aquarium water is passing through/in contact with it all the time in your filter. Every set-up differs, and we all have our preferred routines. I favour fortnightly 30% water change with a good gravel clean and clean my external each 3rd water change. That said, I have a trickle filter built into the rear of the tank, runs over a wier with several pre-filters, these are lightly washed out with evry water change. Maintainance is something you will do to suit the needs of your particular tank, stocking levels etc, and as long as you keep your fish looking healthy your not doing much wrong

I just wondered why the nitrites showed on my strip test reading even after 2 huge water changes, and I assumed that it had something to do with the gunk from the filter.