Filter Cleaning

[lil_phelpsy]

hi this will probably sound like a stupid question but as im not sure i may aswell ask the best to find out.

i have recently upgraded to an external filter canister and wonderd how often they require cleaning out as i have only had internal filters before.

a few details i have a 450 litre custom made tank
with a 2000 l/h rated external filter roughly 1 and a half metres below the top water level of tank.
also a 400 l/h internal filter mainly to agitate surface for oxygenation
im not sure of water peramiters as i only have test strips atm but plan on getting a test kit, but all seem fine and fish are very happy

i do between 15 and 25% water changes weekly which i used to clean my internal out with weekly but not sure if the external would need to be done so often.

its home to a jaguar cichlid roughly 7 inchs nose to fin
a red oscar roughly 4 inchs
a red tiger oscar 3 inchs
a large common plec given to me by a emegrated cuzin 15 inchs (reason for building the tank)
a small common plec about 5-6 inchs
2 clown loach around 2 inchs
and a rainbow shark around 3 inchs

thanks in advance louis

 

[fluttermoth]

You do have quite a lot of messy fish, so I'd do it when you do your water change (I'd up that a bit as well, personally), at least to start with; you may find it needs doing less often, but getting the worst of the mulm out of it will be no bad thing.

 

[lil_phelpsy]

when you say up it do you mean the quantity of water changed ?

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes; you have a lot of messy fish in there. My own oscar (there's just him and three catfish) gets 50 or 60% every week/ten days.

What are your nitrates like? That's a pretty good indicator of whether you need to up them or not.

 

[lil_phelpsy]

i had them checked at my lfs aquajardin and all perameters were ok i should of got them to write it down really ive noticed there messy buggers i currently do a gravel vac nightly when possible otherwise every other night for plec poo aswell as the weekly water change but i will increase it better to be safe then sorry.

would you say my tank is overstocked i do plan on upgrading to something bigger me and my patner are looking for a new house so il make one to suit thats if she hasnt left me by then because im neglecting her for my fish.

sorry for the essay lol thanks for the advice

 

[minnnt]

I do my externals once a month and my internals probably every 2-3 weeks. No particular reason, just what i do. lol.

 

[lil_phelpsy]

wicked thanks and do you do all trays at once as i red somewhere to do differnt layers to prevent risking levels or something

 

[fluttermoth]

As long as you just rinse in old tank water to remove loose waste, and never over-clean, scrub or allow chlorinated water to come into contact with the media, you don't have to worry about losing bacteria and causing mini-cycles (which would raise your levels of ammonia and nitrite).

 

[minnnt]

As i have two externals running on one tank i tend to really clean one one month and just rinse the other, then vice versa the following month. I would rinse all baskets in old tank water everytime i was going to do it. No idea if this is correct, but it works well for me and i never seem to have any problems (upto yet anyway!) and it also keeps your filter working at a decent flow rate!

 

[lil_phelpsy]

wicked really appreciate the advice glad i asked now and even more glad ive joined tff
thanks again