Filter

[toebash17]

ok my tank has been going for about a month and a half. i have a 55 gallon tank. all my levels are ok. do i ever clean out my filter or do i leave it a lone. do i change them? if i do clean them how do i do it. thanks. and when i did take my filter out to look at it . it did look a little dirty or it should be at way? thanks for the help andy

 

[big mick]

How often you clean your sponges depents really on the bio load of the tank but yes you should clean them when they get too dirty.

Make sure when you do clean them do it during a water change and gently squeeze them in a bucket of the aquarium water you have just taken out then put the sponges back in the filter and get on with your water change.

When the sponges are done you can tell because when you squeeze it, it takes a few seconds to return to its original form its time to get a new one but NEVER replace all the sponge at one time as you probably know all the good bacteria is in your filter sponge. Depend what sort of filter you have, you might be able to replace one sponge at a time (1 a month) like I would do on my Juwel tanks or if its only really got one sponge (like the fluvals I think...) then you will need to cut both the old and the new sponge in half and run the filter for at least a month with half of each in then after the month you could change the other half.

 

[Rooster]

Filter media SHOULD look dirty ! this shows its doing its job.
The media (sponge or whatever) should only "need" cleaning when it starts to become clogged - the waterflow will reduce.

Also depends on the size of your filter too ! If you are happy doing it at every water change then ONLY rinse the media in old tank water - NEVER tap water, or the additives in tap water will kill all your filter bacteria, which we need.

As for when, thats a tough one, depends on your "load" (size of tank, how many fish - and what type etc)
But I would suggest doing it before the flow starts to drop... crystal ball not included, but you should get a "nose" for when its needed in the future.

 

[toebash17]

ok that makes sence. but i have two sponges in my filter. so i could change one a month. but leave the old one in there so i dont loose all the bacteria. or will just sqeezing it out and raising it out in the old water be ok for a while. im still new at this stuff. and the filter sponges has only been going for like a month and a half. so i think there might be life still left in them..

 

[big mick]

You wont need the change the filter sponges every month, probably only need to do it once a year, I generally do but what I meant was when you do change them, only change one at a time, leave it a month before changing the other one.

I only clean my sponges once every couple of months.

 

[toebash17]

thanks for all of the help

 

[tttnjfttt]

Actually, every so often you wil have to go in and physically clean the filter. Over time gunk can build up inside the filter, specifically on the impeller. I asked this question about a month ago, and the response was so good, i don't want to try to duplicate it, so instead here is a link.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...8&#entry1014128

 

[Rooster]

ok that makes sence. but i have two sponges in my filter. so i could change one a month. but leave the old one in there so i dont loose all the bacteria. or will just sqeezing it out and raising it out in the old water be ok for a while. im still new at this stuff. and the filter sponges has only been going for like a month and a half. so i think there might be life still left in them..

You dont need to replace the sponge until you can no longer clean it ! (I have yet to see this... )
During a water change, draw some water into a bucket, take the sponges and squeeze them under the water until the majority of "gunk" comes out... there will still be loads of bacteria left in them !