Best way to clean canister filter

[Mdoka]

It may not be bad at all, totally depends on the level and type of disinfectant coming out of ones tap. I know how often I need to clean my filters, and what the best method is, but other than making assumptions it's near impossible to gauge what or how others are performing their maintenance.

I also agree with RD. What works for one, may not work exactly for you. It’s trial and error for your bio load to get your maintenance schedule right. Add more fish, it changes again. Forgot to add, I also use a bucket of prime water to final rinse my sponges before they go back in the canister.

 

[duanes]

When mechanical media (that main function is "not" really to provide a biofilm substrate for beneficial bacteria) is covered in gunk, that gunk can smother the minor amount of beneficials that it does contain making them weak, and useless.
When the mechanical media is rinsed, it actually allows for the production of more robust colonies to form.
So whether or not a little chlorine washes some of the weak ones away, is of little consequence, because that area is soon repopulated by a more useful population.
And if the tank is fully cycled, there will be beneficial bacteria on all surfaces (walls, sand or gravel substrate, rocks, wood, etc etc) anyway, in proportion to the tanks bio-load.
I must admit I squeeze out my mechanical media (sponges, Poret foam, floss)in buckets of tank water, not because I worry about chlorine, but because I want all that gunk to help fertilize my garden plants.


To help use nutrients like nitrate, I use floating plants, like salvinia in the sumps, encourage algae growth.

and also use terrestrial plants like New Zealand spinach, and basil for nitrate export, along with small daily or every other day water changes. The nitrate level has been undetectable ever since the tank has been set up.

 

[islandguy11]

I tried pre filters before... it clogged up in a couple of days with almost no flow.... lol

Without the pre filters, at least 1-2 months before flow get affected...

You might try experimenting with different sized sponge materials. If very fine pores, (like a majority of the sponges I see at LFS here), yes they'll clog up pretty fast, so I use simple DIY pre-filters made with medium or large size foam I got at Chatuchak: no flow problems yet canisters still stay clean (due mostly because I vaccuum out waste daily in my bare bottom tanks).

The short story of all that is, if you keep a bare tank, it's important that it's kept really clean as it has no safety factor besides the owner's habits.

Very true this -- not to mention an improperly maintained bare bottom tank looks pretty nasty by most anyone's standards. Some think bare bottoms are for lazy peepe, quite the opposite they take as much or more work.

 

[Coryloach]

The problem in cleaning static media too often is the gap between the cleaning and the creation of more robust bacs. During that gap the water quality suffers if there's no other filter/oxygenated substrate/plants to take up the sudden ammonia rise. A chronic water quality issue like that is dangerous enough to affect the fish. The way I think about it is, that elevated ammonia/nitrites are a lot bigger problem than elevated nitrates....

I would not take that risk.
I've managed to wipe out my bacs enough times by cleaning a solo filter (in tank water) and for that reason I avoid having just one filter in a tank unless I have to.

If one wants a really clean media with robust bacteria, then K1 is the best choice. It is constantly moving and oxygenated as the media also does have access to surface oxygen, making the bacs more resilient by default. Hence it takes a really long time to "cycle".....

There's also a consideration about time. A filter and a decorated tank that has run at least 6-8 months would have a lot more robust micro-fauna and bio-film that can recover a lot faster from accidents and can handle a lot more bio-load. After that period the tank becomes more mature and more stable at handling the situation as the diversity and efficiency of the micro-organisms increase and create a sort of symbiosis relationship at handing the tank. In scientific terms a tank is never cycled. It cycles all the time but there's time when it starts running more stable.

We have the perception that a tank is cycled after 2 months when ammonia and nitrite are no longer detectable on the randomly done home test and we think nitrate is the only thing to worry about...It is not... The truth is many months would pass before a tank is safer for the most sensitive fish. And if one sets up the tank the wrong way or maintains it the wrong way, it may never become stable. It is not a given.

 

[Coryloach]

I tried pre filters before... it clogged up in a couple of days with almost no flow.... lol

Did you use a fine sponge? You need to use medium to coarse density sponge. Anything really fine will clog, even floss inside your filter. The idea is to prevent majority of detritus to go in but not block the water flow in any way. I have pictures of my sponges if you are not sure what you need...

The alternative is your tank needs a really good siphon a bit more often or there's uneaten food that goes straight into the intakes before the fish get to it, or the intakes are too close to the substrate, etc... It could be also that the water flow is setup incorrectly keeping detritus suspended in the water column. Can you see floating particles? Do you have outlets that flow against each other rather than in the same direction?

 

[duanes]

[QUOTE="Coryloach, post: 8107555, member: 126589"
We have the perception that a tank is cycled after 2 months when ammonia and nitrite are no longer detectable on the randomly done home test and we think nitrate is the only thing to worry about...It is not... The truth is many months would pass before a tank is safer for the most sensitive fish. And if one sets up the tank the wrong way or maintains it the wrong way, it may never become stable. It is not a given.
[/QUOTE]
I am in total agreement with the post, and especially this part, where new recently set up tanks, are fragile systems, and take months to reach a state in which errors in judgment won't be catastrophic..
I also believe having a pre filter sponge clog up every couple days is not a big deal, I squeeze mine out daily, what does it take, 2 minutes for the general health of the tank? and if water changes seem to be overwork, that 2 minutes might cut frequency of filter cleaning in half.

 

[Fat Homer]

I do the same, but I run two canisters and alternate cleaning one canister a month. This way I have no worries about any mini cycles. I will say running the two, they don’t collect way to much junk, but still easier/faster to clean the sponges thoroughly under the tap.

I should also have mentioned i run two canisters as well and clean at separate times too...

 

[RD.]

There's also a consideration about time. A filter and a decorated tank that has run at least 6-8 months would have a lot more robust micro-fauna and bio-film that can recover a lot faster from accidents and can handle a lot more bio-load. After that period the tank becomes more mature and more stable at handling the situation as the diversity and efficiency of the micro-organisms increase and create a sort of symbiosis relationship at handing the tank. In scientific terms a tank is never cycled. It cycles all the time but there's time when it starts running more stable.

Bingo, and this is precisely why I don't like to make assumptions when it comes to giving advice about filter maintenance, or even water changes. What works well in my tanks, could cause a disaster in the next persons set up.

 

[Zanzag]

I alternate weekly between cleaning my prefilter or my canister. A hydor v pro sponge is nice and rigid. Takes about 3 weeks for mine to clog to a noticable amount in a tank that has hornwort. Tank also has an air sponge that gets rinsed occasionally. All in a bucket of tank water because that gunk makes tomatoes grow like crazy.

 

[Nilsafeller]

Best way to clean canister is throw it away and start a sump or use hobs