Filter question

[Tuppu]

Hey guys. I'm pretty new to fish, and after reading up on how to maintain your tank, i was surprised how little i knew. I never knew anything about beneficial bacteria, nitrate, etc Anyway this is my question. I have a Eclipse 3 (3 gallon tank), and if you have on of these tanks, you know they have these special filters specially designed for them. I was wondering how often you guys change your filters. I personally only have one fish ( a cute neon dwarf gourami ) and am not sure how often i should change it. The filters instructs you to change the filter every 2-4 weeks, however after reading about beneficial bacteria, and how mature filters can be basically beneficial for your tank, I'm not sure how often to change them. I only have one fish, so there wont be too much fish pee pee and poo poo producing ammonia. So if i keep the same filter for too long, it would produce too much bacteria. I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Leslie]

Welcome to the wonderful world of fishkeeping !!

I have an Eclipse 3 with 1 Paradise fish in it so am in about the same situation as you. I change about 20% of the water once a week and at that time I take the filter pad out and rinse it in the tank water that I've removed. The only time I actually change the filter is when it is looking really ratty. I've had the tank running for about 4 months now and have only changed the pad once. Once the biowheel has the beneficial bacteria built up in it you don't have to worry too much about the pad... it's main job is to capture the bigger gunk.

Hope this answers your question. Good luck and once again... welcome !!

 

[luxum]

I hate those cartridges that come with Eclipse systems. Consider replacing the cartridge with 2 small sponges such as are sold as refills for Aquaclear filters. You may have to cut them to fit. Then, when you need to clean them, just rince one out in dechlorinated water or discarded tank water, and then next time you clean, rinse the other sponge. This results in much better filtration quality and you keep the bacteria on the sponges and don't have to buy expensive replacement cartridges. When you discard the cartridges, you are discarding bacteria, although theoretically the biowheel in these systems should more than make up for any loss with the cartridges. The sponges will last for years before needing replacement.

 

[jvis0606]

I have an Eclipse system as well, which quite frankly I love. I would do what Leslie above suggested. Rinse it out in old tank water on the 2nd and 4th week it is in the tank, then take a look after 6-8 weeks and when it looks like it is done, replace with a new one.

Remember though the filter contains carbon... so if you ever need to medicate the tank, you will need to remove the whole filter and maybe replace with just some cheap filter material for a little while. The carbon deactivates medication.

 

[Tuppu]

When you say rinse the cartridges, how throughly do you mean? Am i just getting the gunk out of the mesh or am i really taking my time to get it really clean? Also, if i were to use a sponge, what do i do for carbon?

 

[luxum]

You don't really need carbon unless you are trying to remove medication from the water. If needed, you would buy it loose and add it to the filtration area in a filter bag. For normal operation, just the sponges are fine and will trap more debris than the cartridge.

 

[Tuppu]

can you give me a link where i can get these sponges?

 

[Leslie]

I use the regular Eclipse cartridges... for how often you change them the cost is still pretty low. The biowheel has enough buildup that only changing half the filter media is not really an issue. When I clean the filter media I just swish it around a bit in the discarded tank water and rub my hand up and down on the pad side... not too hard... just to get the surface gunk off it.

 

[Tuppu]

Thanks for all your help guys

 

[luxum]

You can get the sponges at any major pet retailer that sells Aquaclear filters, which is basically most of them. They have them at Big Al's if you are looking for an internet source. Some LFSs sell the sponge/foam in blocks, you can buy it that way and cut it down, but the AC refills are cheapest and you can probably find a size that will fit perfectly or will need minimal trimming. I've had 3 different Eclipse systems, the Eclipse 3 gallon, 6 gallon, and the standalone hood in the largest size for standard aquariums. They all had the same problem, that the cartridges were just not sufficient, and the filtration quality was improved in all of them by replacing the cartridges with reusable sponge media.