Need Info About Bio-filters

[flamingomaniac]

I have a penquin power filter and need to know if this ever has to be cleaned or replaced. Thanxs!

 

[drobbyb]

You should not replace it ever unless it physicailly breaks or tears.

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with Robby about media replacement.

A good starting habit for filter -cleaning- is once a month. During the middle of a normal weekly gravel-clean-water-change, you remove the filter box to the tub or sink. You should have saved a bucket of tank water in which to clean the filter media. You always use tank water, never tap water to clean filter media, otherwise you risk killing your beneficial bacteria that make up the precious biofilter.

Sponges should be gently squeezed out in the tank water. If you have an old filter, matured for more than a year, a strong wring-out will actually probably not harm the bacteria as they are tough and can cling on tightly. Any loose media, such as ceramic rings, ceramic gravel, bioballs etc. can be "dunked" and swished in the tank water (that's in the bucket.) Usually the loose media is in a tray if its from a cannister filter or a mesh bag if its from an HOB or some sort of cartridge from an internal filter.

In a mature tank the nitrate(NO3) readings can help you adjust the month habit if you feel you need to. If nitrate(NO3) is holding at 5 to 10 ppm above whatever nitrate you have in your tap water, then all is fine and you can stick with the cleaning interval you are using. If nitrates are going higher than that then you might consider a somewhat more frequent clean. If you ever have a slowing of the flow rate, that too is reason to clean the filter. If your nitrate rate is staying very low and your media seems not that dirty then you might go longer than the one month cleaning rate, but there are advantages actually to not going longer. There are various levels of mulm and organics and algae spores for which it will be advantageous to get them on out of there!

~~waterdrop~~