Cleaning filter?

[white specter crayfish]

ok thanks, I'll do that I guess, thanks

 

[skjl47]

ok thanks, I'll do that I guess, thanks

Hello; In the end it is your call as to how you run your tanks. Read suggestions and make a judgement. I have been at this since around 1959 and only started reading stuff on fish forums around 2010. Some good information on this forum but also some BS. Every one has an opinion and often very different ways of looking at things. Glad I already knew how to run tanks before I started reading these forums as I had a pretty good BS filter from my long term knowledge.
Good luck

 

[Oughtsix]

ok thanks, I normally just rinse the floss in the bucket to remove all the waste and stuff and put it back in, should I stop doing that?

That is exactly how I do it! Rinse it out and put it back in the filter. My thoughts are I want to remove any uneaten food / bio waste BEFORE it breaks down into Ammonia -> Nitrites -> Nitrates by rinsing it out of the mechanical filter media. This is why I prefer sumps, because it is MUCH easier to pull, rinse and replace mechanical filtering media in sumps than it is in a canister. In my opinion this is also a very big advantage of hang on back filters over canister filters.

 

[skjl47]

That is exactly how I do it! Rinse it out and put it back in the filter. My thoughts are I want to remove any uneaten food / bio waste BEFORE it breaks down into Ammonia -> Nitrites -> Nitrates by rinsing it out of the mechanical filter media. This is why I prefer sumps, because it is MUCH easier to pull, rinse and replace mechanical filtering media in sumps than it is in a canister. In my opinion this is also a very big advantage of hang on back filters over canister filters.

Hello; Clear we are on very different tank practices about this . May I suggest a search about how filter systems can become "nitrate factories" over time. I think maybe duanes has posted about this a few times.
At any rate to each of us get to run our tanks any way we wish.