External Filter Cleaning

[DJ ArKaDaRkA]

whats the best way to go about turning it off and opening it not so much for cleaning but for mature media

do i turn off the inlet first then let it pump itself dry?

ive never had to open it before

cheers

 

[pammy172]

When I clean my filter(Tetratec - not Eheim) I just turn of the power then both taps leaving the canister full. I take of the top - having a towel to catch the bit of water that does come out, I then lift out the baskets into a big bowl having another bowl of tank water to squish the media into. Then I just put it all back together again. I'll drain off the cannister if necessary but only when fully ready to reassemble and prime and switch back on. No risk then of any of the media drying.

 

[DJ ArKaDaRkA]

When I clean my filter(Tetratec - not Eheim) I just turn of the power then both taps leaving the canister full. I take of the top - having a towel to catch the bit of water that does come out, I then lift out the baskets into a big bowl having another bowl of tank water to squish the media into. Then I just put it all back together again. I'll drain off the cannister if necessary but only when fully ready to reassemble and prime and switch back on. No risk then of any of the media drying.

cheers

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, my operation is almost identical to pammy's. My filter (eheim) sits in a large squarish rubbermaid plastic container that sits in the tank cabinet and could catch water if there ever was a slow leak of some sort. I pull the plug, shut off the taps and unclip the input/output block. I then carry the filter box to the bathtub, where I already have a bucket of tank water because I nearly always clean or work on the filter in the middle of a water change and I siphon the tank water into a bucket that sits in the tub and overflows.

The big bucket of tank water gives options. I can pour off some of the clearer water first to save for refilling the filter box if I want to and there's plenty for cleaning the media. I try to make it a habit to re-lube all the O-Rings whenever I'm in the box for the monthly or semi-monthly clean.

~~waterdrop~~