External Filter Help

[Croftuz]

Guys,

Having kept tropical fish for a few months using a second hand Aqua One Aquis CF1000 filter i have a problem, well a niggle that will develop!

Ive recently attempted to clean my filter, using my tank water and got tonnes of fantastic material cleaned from the media. Being careful not to remove too much.

When i re-installed i came up against some newbie problems that i need advice with. Debris, i was careful not to 'clean' all the media bare believing that this stuff is creating my poison-free paradise only to find that any loose stuff i left had ejected into my tank and took two days to settle... Did i miss an important stage? I get this when ever i agitate the canister body even slightly.

Also the impeller is noisy, should i replace it? Ive checked the bio-balls and used sponge to keep them tight.

Thanks for any advice offered, and hello everyone

 

[fatheadminnow]

IF you do what I demonstrate in this video, you should be fine. http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=287704

It is normal to have extra debris, even after you clean the media. Not to worry much there.

-FHM

 

[JustKia]

Can't help with noisy impeller - but mine gets noisy if there is air trapped in there.
As for the debris getting spouted into the tank... I did that once and then after that I decided to pop a fine net (cut from an old fish net - not the coarse type the fine ones) over the outlet with an elastic band.
It catches all the loose debris, only takes a couple mins for it to get spat out. Remove the net (carefully LOL) rinse it clean and let it dry for next time.

 

[alchemist]

Hold a fishing net over the end of the output as you prime the filter and turn it back on - any gunk in your pipes is then caught in the net. It is a good idea to clean out the pipes with a bottle brush every now and again.

The impeller is probably not what is causing the noise. Take it out and give it a good clean anyway - and also clean inside the housing. If it is noisy when you first turn back on - it is probably trapped air - just rock the filter back and forth a few times - leave it a while - rock it back and forth some more.

-- edit -- or see posts above --- lol - ninja'd

 

[Croftuz]

Guys,

Thanks for the tips and the vid, no matter how many previous posts i read, theres still nothing like reading responses to your own problem!

great idea with the net over the outlet, i will try this when i open her up again.

One last question. The bacteria is living within the media, so as long as im using my tank water, can i empty the canister- rinse media and reassemble with new tank water (get rid of the green/grey matter?)

Im frightened to destroy the colony risking a mini-cycle

 

[fatheadminnow]

When I clean my housing, I just take all my media out and place it in a bucket of tank water. Then I take the housing and wash it off in the sink. I make sure it is all dry and clean before I put it all back together. You can also add some dechlor to the water after you do this.

-FHM

 

[waterdrop]

My cleanings are similar to FHM above. The media is safely submerged in the catchbucket of tank water that just got gravel-cleaned out of the tank and I just use tap water, if I need any, to clean the filter box, impeller (I use Q-tips or little brushes on the impeller well and impeller parts. Plus be very gentle around all impeller parts!) If there are any silicone/rubber parts they get wiped down with vasoline to help preserve them from deteriorating in the oxygen and water.

The thoroughness of squeezing of sponges and dunking/swishing of loose media can be light when the tank is still in its first 4 months and get gradually stronger up through 12 months, but there's never a need to overdo it. A healthy tank is always going to involve some debris in both the filter and that tank, its ok! Until one gets a feel for how it might need modification, weekly water changes and monthly filter cleans is a good time habit to start on.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

I usually take my bucket of tank water and rinse the sponges and other media one at a time in the bucket. By the time I am done, the bucket is so filthy that I can't see the bottom. I let the sponges and such sit beside the filter canister on the counter top around the sink while I work. Since everything stays moist the whole time that I am working, it works like a biowheel type filter and keeps the bacteria alive and thriving while I am working. The canister itself and the pumping head with its impeller get a thorough cleaning in the sink to make sure it will pump properly when I put it back together. The empty dry canister then has all of the individual elements put back in place and I put the canister in its normal location. As soon as the hoses are connected, the filter primes itself and then the gets plugged in. The total time involved is only 10 or 15 minutes so nothing dries out unless I actually try to get it dry using a towel or something.

 

[alchemist]

If there are any silicone/rubber parts they get wiped down with vasoline to help preserve them from deteriorating in the oxygen and water.

You should avoid using petroleum based vaseline on silicone / rubber - it will degrade it. Something like ky jelly would be better.

 

[waterdrop]

If there are any silicone/rubber parts they get wiped down with vasoline to help preserve them from deteriorating in the oxygen and water.

You should avoid using petroleum based vaseline on silicone / rubber - it will degrade it. Something like ky jelly would be better.

I'd noticed that the jelly that Eheim includes with their new filters seemed to be lighter and clearer than vasoline but I'd heard mixed reports in the hardware section over whether there'd be a problem with vasoline.

So these different waterproof jellies are based on different things?

~~waterdrop~~
Edit: Ok, I found the wikipedia entry on "silicone grease" made of silicone oil and thickened with fumed silica and I see now that these things are based on chains of Si-O-Si-O etc. instead of carbon chains as petroleum ones would have to be. I assume the carbon chain based petroleum jellies must form some acids during breakdown or something and somehow degrade the flexible silicone materials we're trying to protect. Any polymer chemist types out there that can explain any of this to us??