Filter cleaning!
- Thread starter abigman67
- Start date
Do not use hot water to clean any of your filterd or media. It will kill off any bacteria left in there. I use tap water & clean mechanical (sponges) weekly & biological (Biomax)monthly. Canisters are cleaned about every 4-6 months but are used in conjunction with HOB filtration.
I use hot tap water to clean the mechanical. I ensure the bio media is cleaned with tank water. I sometimes even change out the mechanical.
You should clean your mechanical frequently and thoroughly. It removes solid waste before it has a chance to break down to liquid. After a while of doing it this way, you will keep BB growth at a minimum on the mechanical portions of the filter and you bio media will house all of the BB.
You should clean your mechanical frequently and thoroughly. It removes solid waste before it has a chance to break down to liquid. After a while of doing it this way, you will keep BB growth at a minimum on the mechanical portions of the filter and you bio media will house all of the BB.
Why hot water? Isn't it a sponge? It will still have some biological function, if you don't kill off all the bacteria with hot water.
IMO, it can't hurt to have it in as many places as possible. Then when you do eventually clean your bio-media, you still have some on your sponge.
I clean a portion of my bio media at a time, 1/4.
Not all mechanical media is a sponge, I like to substitute felt pads, half sponge, filter floss and other types of mechanical media. It depends on what I am trying to accomplish with the filter. I can totally pull out my mechanical and swap it with something else without having to worry about whether or not I just removed a critical amount of BB from the filter.
Not all mechanical media is a sponge, I like to substitute felt pads, half sponge, filter floss and other types of mechanical media. It depends on what I am trying to accomplish with the filter. I can totally pull out my mechanical and swap it with something else without having to worry about whether or not I just removed a critical amount of BB from the filter.
That's what I use filter floss for.
that's my "disposable" filtration. I use it to polish the water & when it gets dirty, it's in the trash & replaced with new. I use Aquaclear filters on all my tanks. Larger tanks have more than 1 of these. I rinse the sponge during every weekly water change & then the 1" floss goes on top of that, with Bio-Max on top. On tanks >50g, an Eheim canister is added for more biological filtration. That is cleaned only every 4 months.
that's my "disposable" filtration. I use it to polish the water & when it gets dirty, it's in the trash & replaced with new. I use Aquaclear filters on all my tanks. Larger tanks have more than 1 of these. I rinse the sponge during every weekly water change & then the 1" floss goes on top of that, with Bio-Max on top. On tanks >50g, an Eheim canister is added for more biological filtration. That is cleaned only every 4 months.