Filter Cleaning

[fatheadminnow]

Here is a video I made a while back on how to clean your filter.

Cool, fathead I like it You still using that HOB filter?

Yup, still have the same filter.

They are really good HOB filters!

-FHM

 

[Miamisportsfan45]

The video still doesn't load for me, so could I just get a quick summary of what I would have to do? It shouldn't be that difficult, really.

 

[Sean W.]

just do it... its not hard, take your time, go piece by piece. after you take a part off put it down in a row so you will remember how to put it back together. they are made to be user friendly.. if you can take apart a ball point pen and put it back together you can take apart a filter and put it back together. its easy.

 

[fatheadminnow]

The video still doesn't load for me, so could I just get a quick summary of what I would have to do? It shouldn't be that difficult, really.

Just empty some of your tank water out in a bucket. Does not have to be that much.

Then just simply shut your filter off, take out all your filter media and place it in the bucket that has your tank water in it.

Now, just begin to go through each piece of filter media you have there, sort of squeezing it out nice and easily, getting all of the major debris off the media and what not.

Then go ahead and place the filter media back into your filter and turn the filter on.

There you have it, clean filter media.

Oh yeah... don't forget to add new, dechlorinated water back to your tank in replace of what you took out. Lol.

-FHM

just do it... its not hard, take your time, go piece by piece. after you take a part off put it down in a row so you will remember how to put it back together. they are made to be user friendly.. if you can take apart a ball point pen and put it back together you can take apart a filter and put it back together. its easy.

I think he means, how to clean a filter, not take it apart... lol

-FHM

 

[Sean W.]

The video still doesn't load for me, so could I just get a quick summary of what I would have to do? It shouldn't be that difficult, really.

Just empty some of your tank water out in a bucket. Does not have to be that much.

Then just simply shut your filter off, take out all your filter media and place it in the bucket that has your tank water in it.

Now, just begin to go through each piece of filter media you have there, sort of squeezing it out nice and easily, getting all of the major debris off the media and what not.

Then go ahead and place the filter media back into your filter and turn the filter on.

There you have it, clean filter media.

Oh yeah... don't forget to add new, dechlorinated water back to your tank in replace of what you took out. Lol.

-FHM

just do it... its not hard, take your time, go piece by piece. after you take a part off put it down in a row so you will remember how to put it back together. they are made to be user friendly.. if you can take apart a ball point pen and put it back together you can take apart a filter and put it back together. its easy.

I think he means, how to clean a filter, not take it apart... lol

-FHM

Meh... IMHO you cant really clean something in less you take it apart

or at least you clean it better if you take it apart.

 

[fatheadminnow]

The video still doesn't load for me, so could I just get a quick summary of what I would have to do? It shouldn't be that difficult, really.

Just empty some of your tank water out in a bucket. Does not have to be that much.

Then just simply shut your filter off, take out all your filter media and place it in the bucket that has your tank water in it.

Now, just begin to go through each piece of filter media you have there, sort of squeezing it out nice and easily, getting all of the major debris off the media and what not.

Then go ahead and place the filter media back into your filter and turn the filter on.

There you have it, clean filter media.

Oh yeah... don't forget to add new, dechlorinated water back to your tank in replace of what you took out. Lol.

-FHM

just do it... its not hard, take your time, go piece by piece. after you take a part off put it down in a row so you will remember how to put it back together. they are made to be user friendly.. if you can take apart a ball point pen and put it back together you can take apart a filter and put it back together. its easy.

I think he means, how to clean a filter, not take it apart... lol

-FHM

Meh... IMHO you cant really clean something in less you take it apart

or at least you clean it better if you take it apart.

Ah, you do make a good point.

I take my whole filter apart about every 2 months, but clean the media once a month.

-FHM

 

[Sean W.]

i do the same

 

[Miamisportsfan45]

I don't know anything about filters, I think this is where my generic problem is...

That's the type of filter I'm using, yet, I know almost nothing about it.

 

[Sean W.]

so do like i said, find a manufacturer name, and number, google that, and read about it..

you ask questions but dont listen to the answers.

 

[fatheadminnow]

I don't know anything about filters, I think this is where my generic problem is...

That's the type of filter I'm using, yet, I know almost nothing about it.

That black sponge looking thing is your filter media.

That is what you clean.

What size tank is this for again?

If I were you, I would go out and buy an AquaClear power filter. They come in different sizes for different sized tanks. They are one of the best HOB (hang on back) filters that I know of!

And they are extremely easy to use, take apart and clean!

-FHM

 

[Miamisportsfan45]

This is for a 10 gallon tank, and I do listen to the answers. I have googled it but I'd rather find out from professionals that have actually had their fish and know what they're talking about rather then know-it-alls on wikipedia. I've been to more then one site for information, it just either doesn't tell me what I need to know, or tells me things that contradict what other sites tell me.

 

[dthoffsett]

Looks like you have a Whisper 10 or 20i made by Tetra. I've used them before, but to be honest unless you are very understocked you'll want a better filter.

Your filter is what is known as an internal filter, this means it sits inside the tank. It sucks the water in through the bottom (the grate looking part) and pulls the water through the filter media and then out the top.

There are two parts to your filter media, the white "bag" that I believe comes pre-packaged with carbon (small black "pebbles") and the black foam which is where the beneficial bacteria should colonize. The bad thing about the pre-packaged media is that you'll need to change it more often as carbon will only absorb so much before it starts leaching back into your water. One thing you can do is to make a slit with a sharp knife or box cutter along the top or bottom of the "bag" and dump out the carbon (much easier if you do it before getting it wet), that way you can keep both parts of your media and just clean it occasionally to get the "gunk" off (saving you lots of money). If you remove the carbon you won't need to buy new media until the old ones start falling apart.

To clean this filter, I would clean the media no less than every two weeks (every week if you are heavily stocked). As was explained earlier, you can use some water from your tank, or tap water that you have added dechlorinator to (there is no need to let the water sit if you add dechlorinator as it works almost instantly). Remove the white "bag" and black foam and swish it around in the water until you get most of the gunk off. The white "bag" will never be completely white again, but that's ok.

The plastic filter itself can be cleaned around once a month. This filter is very simple to clean, just take your media out (remember, the white bag and black foam) and float it in the tank to keep it wet. Then rinse the actual filter in tap water, you don't need to use old tank water for this part because most of the bacteria live on the media. Your filter is a closed unit which means there are no parts to dismantle. Once you've cleaned the filter, put it back in your tank and reinsert the media. Pretty easy.

As you should have noticed above, I said this filter would be ok for a very lightly stocked tank, so to recommend keeping this filter or getting a different one we'll need to know how many and what kind of fish you have.

Hope I helped you out some and if you need me to clarify anything, feel free to ask.

 

[bitteraspects]

Here is a video I made a while back on how to clean your filter.

The lighting is not the best... hoping to make a better video sometime!




-FHM

ac50?