Filter Change Over

[TCfishies]

Hi,

My "Elite 150" internal filter turned out not to be very elite at all. It started making a terrible noise after only 7 months!

Anyway, I got a new Rena internal filter today and it is VERY quiet. Yay.

I've unplugged the old filter, but left it in the tank as I understand that lots of my good bacteria are living in its sponge!

My question is, how long should I leave the old sponges in the tank before enough of the bacteria move to the new filter sponge?

I can't just put the old sponge in the new filter as they are totally different shapes and it just wouldn't fit. and of course I don't want to have to re-cycle....

Any ideas?

thanks for your help!

TC

 

[Tizer]

Take a pair of scissors to both the new sponge and old sponge and MAKE all the old sponge fit the new filter.

If your old sponge is just sat in the filter without it turned on the bacteria will die. bacteria need oxygen, which they can only get from the water as it passes throught the sponge.

If you leave the old filter running along side the new filter for about 2 months, you should be able to remove the old filter, but the best method is the one i mentioned first.

 

[the_lock_man]

Take a pair of scissors to both the new sponge and old sponge and MAKE all the old sponge fit the new filter.

If your old sponge is just sat in the filter without it turned on the bacteria will die. bacteria need oxygen, which they can only get from the water as it passes throught the sponge.

If you leave the old filter running along side the new filter for about 2 months, you should be able to remove the old filter, but the best method is the one i mentioned first.

Agreed 100% - make those old sponges fit, whatever it takes.

 

[Tizer]

PS, Your elite 150 probably just needed a clean out, which should be part of your tank maintenance.

 

[TCfishies]

PS, Your elite 150 probably just needed a clean out, which should be part of your tank maintenance.

I DID clean it ( and I do clean it) but I may not have cleaned it often enough. anyway a good clean last weekend did NOT fix the noise!

Thanks for the advice re the sponge. I guess I'll turn the noisy #29### back on and deal with that tomorrow!

cheers

TC

 

[Tizer]

Cleaned the impeller/shaft and surround? have you made sure there is no trapped air in it by turning it in different directions under the water? Thats normally the cause.

 

[TCfishies]

Two things just occured to me/

1. would the oxygen being circulated by the new filter not be enough? I mean there is still current moving around... why do the old sponges have to be inside a filter??

2. Some people with palned tanks don't use a filter at all. So where do their good bacteria live? and they must get enough oxygen without a filter somehow?

Any ideas?

cheers

TC

Cleaned the impeller/shaft and surround? have you made sure there is no trapped air in it by turning it in different directions under the water? Thats normally the cause.

I did clean the impeller etc etc. But I did not try turning it around under water!

I'll give that a go!

thanks!

TC

 

[Juggler75]

1. Maybe, but why risk it when you can make sure they survive by living inside your new filter?
2. As far as I understand it, heavyly planted tanks use any ammonia, nitrite and nitrates as fertiliser so can make do with much lower levels of bacteria living on or in the substrate.

But for most of us its a two minute job to shape the old sponges to fit new filters (could even be beneficial to do it as if you have smaller chunks of sponge inside your new filter then when a piece reaches the end of its life you only need to replace that chunk of sponge, thus keeping a greater proportion of the bacteria).

Hope this info is right and it helps

 

[Tizer]

Two things just occured to me/

1. would the oxygen being circulated by the new filter not be enough? I mean there is still current moving around... why do the old sponges have to be inside a filter??

2. Some people with palned tanks don't use a filter at all. So where do their good bacteria live? and they must get enough oxygen without a filter somehow?

Any ideas?

cheers

TC

1. simply put, no.....and because thats how a filter works. if no strong flow of water,oxygen is present, bacteria will suffer.

2. plants can use the ammonia the fish produce, therefore some planted tanks can get away with it, however, you need a real jungle of plants for it to work.

 

[TCfishies]

thanks for all your suggestions!


I actually do have a bit of a jungle (lots and lots of plants!) so I'm going to take the gamble.

I've taken the old sponges and positioned them directly in the flow of the new filter. They are getting a pretty strong blast, so it may work....

I understand the principle of cutting up and using old sponges, but the shapes and sizes really are so radically different I'd have to cut it into cubes, or at least 6-7 long strips which would be annoying to clean later......

And also I already turned the old filter off several times over the last week. I meant to only turn it off for like an hour (the noise was totally driving me nuts) but of course I forgot to turn it back on and it was off over night, twice.

So I may have already had bacteria die off......


It's an experiment!

I just tested my ammonia levels and it was a little higher than normal (0.25) so I may have already killed some bacteria. I did a 40% water change and will monitor the ammonia everyday for a while now.

we shall see.

I'll keep you posted!

TC

 

[CezzaXV]

You don't need the sponge to be in the filter permanently, just long enough for the bacteria to seed onto the new media. When it's done that, you can switch it over for something that's easier to clean.

 

[Seed_Lord]

I got one of these. they are total crap. Did nothing to remove ammonia even with regular w/c's, and for the size of it the flow rate is diabolical. then a tiny filter i brought from hong kong had the ammonia gone in a day, which turns about 5x the amount of water the elite does.

 

[Mikaila31]

yep to all of the above. You have already started a mini cycle if ammonia showed. Your plants won't be near enough if ammonia is already building up. Its likely your old filter either had air in it or was contacting the glass at some place other then the suction cups.

 

[Tizer]

stick up a picture of your tank, we can tell ya if its planted enough

 

[dappled]

Thanks guys, this thread really helped, I was tying myself in knots trying to figure out how I could change my filter over! .... Guess things are always more simple than it seems.