Filters!

[rachcake]

So my filter is looking a bit grubby and dirty now, so i was wondering how do you know when to change it? and what to change it to? Mine at the moment is one that came with the tank, its white and kind of wirewoolish material which i've seen available to buy at the LFS, shall i stick with that or maybe go with sponges? As i've heard/seen on here alot about sponge filters.

Help!

Rach x

edit: my tank is a little 35L (though upgrading to a 60L in the near future)

 

[fluttermoth]

What exactly is in the filter? List everything and we'll be able to tell you which bits to change

 

[bb1991]

i thought it looking a bit grubby and dirty is a good thing because it could be the helpful bacteria, especially on cloth-ish/wool filter panels. I have a 35L tank aswell with a hanging external filter and my fish would basically die from ammonia if it wasn't for the dirty looking filter panels. But if you're sure it isn't the bacteria, and it isn't a million years old, i suggest taking the filters out gently clean the filters using water from the aquarium in a seperate container. Just basically shake it(in the water) to see what it is that makes it look dirty.

Also, if you don't have a biological filter like me and just a mechanical filter, try to incorporate something biological with what you have. For example what i do is put ceramic rings in the little spaces inside the filter. This will help in the long run (Depending on what your 'near future' would be ofcourse)

 

[rachcake]

i thought it looking a bit grubby and dirty is a good thing because it could be the helpful bacteria, especially on cloth-ish/wool filter panels. I have a 35L tank aswell with a hanging external filter and my fish would basically die from ammonia if it wasn't for the dirty looking filter panels. But if you're sure it isn't the bacteria, and it isn't a million years old, i suggest taking the filters out gently clean the filters using water from the aquarium in a seperate container. Just basically shake it(in the water) to see what it is that makes it look dirty.

Also, if you don't have a biological filter like me and just a mechanical filter, try to incorporate something biological with what you have. For example what i do is put ceramic rings in the little spaces inside the filter. This will help in the long run (Depending on what your 'near future' would be ofcourse)

ohhhh so you could go forever with the same filter? basically do they NEED changing at all?

 

[bb1991]

Well if you have both a mechanical filter and a biological filter, The biological filter shouldn't be tampered with at all. You can search DIY sump tanks in youtube and see homemade awesome biological filters that they keep behind or under the tank. For a larger tank, the mechanical filter should be cleaned but never the biological one. But since i have only a small 35L, and only an external hanging mechanical, i just gotta make do with what i have. I clean my filter panels(using the method above) every 6 months. But generally the wool panel is behind a sponge. The wool shouldn't be cleaned often cause bacteria loves the softness(lol) but the sponge should be cleaned if you see massive amounts of debris and fish poop being sucked into the filter.