Need New Filter Cartridge

[love_fish]

Hello, I need to chang my filter cartridge. What can I do to not let it have to cycle again?

I'm thinking of letting the fully esatblished filter cartridge sit in the tank, while the other one is running in the filter for about a week, maybe more if necessary. Or vice versa.

Is that ok, any other suggestions?

 

[Tolak]

That's what I would do. What brand of filter are we talking about?

Tolak

 

[love_fish]

That's what I would do. What brand of filter are we talking about?

Tolak

It's like one of those walmart, "Whisper" filters I think. I got my whole setup for free, and that's what it is, but it works good, so I dont mind it. So which way should i do it? Leave new cartridge in filter, or in the water?

 

[Tolak]

Leave the old cartrige in the water, put the new cartrige in the filter. Leave the old cartrige in the water for a week or 2.

I wouldn't change the cartrige unless it is totally falling apart. I have Aqua Clear sponges in filters that are years old. One is at least 4 1/2 years old, still works fine. They just need a rinse once in a while.

Tolak

 

[love_fish]

How do I rinse it then? The water is overflowing from my intake into the water. That means my filter cartridge is bad, or needs to be rinsed. I looked at it, and theres plant stuff all over it.

How should I rinse it then w/o losing bacteria? Or should I just get a new cartridge?

 

[jolaf]

Do you ahve a biological filter with a sponge or just the filter with the bags? If you have the sponge in there you don't need to do anything but change the filters If you have only filters then i would leve it in for a few days hanging on the edge til the new one gets some of the good bateria attaching.

That's what I would do. What brand of filter are we talking about?

Tolak

It's like one of those walmart, "Whisper" filters I think. I got my whole setup for free, and that's what it is, but it works good, so I dont mind it. So which way should i do it? Leave new cartridge in filter, or in the water?

 

[fish_keeper2]

tank some tank water and rinse it off. this will loose some bacteria but wont kill it all. i wouldnt worry too much about a cycle. if you change the media altogether just lighten up on the feedings for a week or so....all my tanks run on the same type of filter.

 

[love_fish]

Do you ahve a biological filter with a sponge or just the filter with the bags? If you have the sponge in there you don't need to do anything but change the filters If you have only filters then i would leve it in for a few days hanging on the edge til the new one gets some of the good bateria attaching.

That's what I would do. What brand of filter are we talking about?

Tolak

It's like one of those walmart, "Whisper" filters I think. I got my whole setup for free, and that's what it is, but it works good, so I dont mind it. So which way should i do it? Leave new cartridge in filter, or in the water?

I've got one with a sponge in it. I think I'll just leave that in the tank for like a week and a half, while the new one is in the filter gaining bacteria. Since there's already bacteria present in the tank, it shouldnt take long for the new one to gain a good amount right?

 

[Vegan Peaches]

Whisper filters have both an aerobic foam thing and a bag for carbon, right? I have 2 and they both do, but they are new models, so yours might not. Anyways, if you only change one part at a time, you should be fine since bacteria exists on both parts, just in higher number on the foam.

 

[love_fish]

Whisper filters have both an aerobic foam thing and a bag for carbon, right? I have 2 and they both do, but they are new models, so yours might not. Anyways, if you only change one part at a time, you should be fine since bacteria exists on both parts, just in higher number on the foam.

Mine, has one cartridge, and it has carbon built right in. I also have a bio bag that keeps beneficial bacteria alive too. I want to be safe with this though, so I'll just leave the old one in the tank. OK, so here is my plan.

Put old filter cartridge in tank, and put new one in filter.
Let old one sit for ____ days/weeks
Take old one out

How long should I leave it in there for?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi love_fish

If I remember my old Whisper filters, they have a cartridge that has a fibrous bag with carbon inside it, right?

If you open the top, you should be able to remove the bag and dump the carbon out. It has a plastic frame holding the bag in shape. If you do this under water taken from the tank and rub the bag gently with your hands to remove the gooky stuff from it, it will clean up nicely. You can forget about the carbon since it's probably old and not really needed anyway.

While you are still working underwater, put the bag back on the frame and put the top clamp back on. It's then ready to put back in the filter and will probably still give you lots of service. Since the bacteria live on the strands of the bag, you are not losing them when you wash away the dirt.

The only time you actually have to replace them is when they start to tear up. Then, you can open a new one and dump the carbon out. You can stuff the old bag (after it's been cleaned like I just explained above) into the frame and replace the top. Get it right in the filter and you will have lost very little bacteria.

 

[love_fish]

Hi love_fish

If I remember my old Whisper filters, they have a cartridge that has a fibrous bag with carbon inside it, right?

If you open the top, you should be able to remove the bag and dump the carbon out. It has a plastic frame holding the bag in shape. If you do this under water taken from the tank and rub the bag gently with your hands to remove the gooky stuff from it, it will clean up nicely. You can forget about the carbon since it's probably old and not really needed anyway.

While you are still working underwater, put the bag back on the frame and put the top clamp back on. It's then ready to put back in the filter and will probably still give you lots of service. Since the bacteria live on the strands of the bag, you are not losing them when you wash away the dirt.

The only time you actually have to replace them is when they start to tear up. Then, you can open a new one and dump the carbon out. You can stuff the old bag (after it's been cleaned like I just explained above) into the frame and replace the top. Get it right in the filter and you will have lost very little bacteria.

Now you're saying the carbon is in a bag? I dont see any bags in there. I think I might just buy a new one. They're like $2 at Wal-Mart, and when I buy it, I can inspect it for what you're saying Inchworm so I know for next time.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi

If you look at this link you will see a picture of the filter cartridge:

http/www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/pr...shtml?E+scstore

See what I mean about how it works? It might just be hard to see in your filter with all the dirt on it.

 

[love_fish]

My filter cartridge looks nothing like that one. It looks different. I only have one cartridge now, so I dont want to screw it up and be without one. So when I buy one tomorrow, I'll inspect it.

Thanks.

 

[Vegan Peaches]

You might not have a Whisper filter. This is what my smaller Whisper Filter looks like:

And this is the media:

This is what Inchworm is talking about:

This is the aerobic foam I was talknig about earlier:

Does the filter you have look anything like this? This is important if you want to buy new cartridges. Do you have a digicam on you, perchance?