Filter Cleaning?

[jayclarke]

I do not clean my filters until they stop flowing. I have a fluval 403 on my 125 that has been running for like a year with out cleaning.

Thats crazy that ha. My fish have a lot of waste so no way i could leave it that long.

I only clean the mech stage which includes fine floss as a prefilter for my bio. Bio gets turned but never really cleaned.

So yeah, if you're not using fine mech. you could go months without cleaning. Just depends on how you use the filter. From what I've gathered the fx5 works much better without the polishing pad....

I dont use polishing pads, i did at first but they clogged up within days!
Im gonna try cleaning one every 3 wks so there is a 6wk turn over on both.

 

[Mr Pleco]

My bio filters are cleaned every three months or when water flow is reduced.
The mech filters are cleaned every other month or when flow decreases..

BTW My 2260 can go 6 months between cleanings and the flow is still strong..basically a big tub full of ceramic and glass bio media..
Ehfifix is the only other material used in the filter.

 

[rhodes_96]

Hi, just wondering how often I should clean my filters?

Ive got 2x FX5s on a 150g tank (stock in my signature).
I usually do them every 3wks but every now and then they crash its really annoying!

I clean them with tank water Ive syphoned and do a 50% weekly water change.

Thanks

Are you pre filtering the bio media with some type of finer mechanical filtration other than the outer sponges ?

 

[Laticauda]

I clean out my sponges on the FX5 every week...but not all the sponges at the same time. I do tray 1 one week, then the next week tray 2, next week tray 3, and so forth.

Also, remember swishing and squishing in tank water is not enough to remove the solid waste that is contained in the sponges. You have to BANG and beat them against something hard. Try it some time, you will be surprised at how much stuff is left behind after just "swishing and squishing." If I don't do this on a regular basis, my nitrAte levels never decrease even with multiple large water changes.

 

[aclockworkorange]

I dont mess with my canisters often. I've cleaned my FX5 once in 6 months. If I had really messy fish I would run a sump for mech because I hate taking apart my FX5, which I may end up doing on my 125.

 

[jayclarke]

Are you pre filtering the bio media with some type of finer mechanical filtration other than the outer sponges ?

No just the outer sponges.

I clean out my sponges on the FX5 every week...but not all the sponges at the same time. I do tray 1 one week, then the next week tray 2, next week tray 3, and so forth.

Also, remember swishing and squishing in tank water is not enough to remove the solid waste that is contained in the sponges. You have to BANG and beat them against something hard. Try it some time, you will be surprised at how much stuff is left behind after just "swishing and squishing." If I don't do this on a regular basis, my nitrAte levels never decrease even with multiple large water changes.

I always scub the sponges and use a couple of buckets of water to rinse them through, i use 2 buckets for every 2 sponges. I then transfer the ceramics to a sive and rinse down the plastic with tap water.

 

[Laticauda]

No just the outer sponges.

I always scub the sponges and use a couple of buckets of water to rinse them through, i use 2 buckets for every 2 sponges. I then transfer the ceramics to a sive and rinse down the plastic with tap water.

I wouldn't wash the plastic with tap water, that slime is your bacteria that you desire.

I realize that you make an extra effort to clean the sponges, but multiple buckets are not necessary. Physical force is the only thing that will remove the sludge from inside the sponges. If you are not actively "banging" the sponges against the side of the bucket (or brick wall, or other comparable hard object) you simply are not removing the solid waste that builds up inside the sponges.

Next time you do it, try to hit the sponges, really hard, I'm not exaggerating. You will be shocked (and appalled) by the amount of stuff you were leaving behind before. Here's a tip though, cover your face, it gets everywhere. My husband always knows I've cleaned the FX5 cos he comes home and I have black spots all over my face, arms, shirt, pants...(well, you get the idea.)

You can use one bucket for all of the sponges you are cleaning. I recommend not doing all of the sponges at the same time, as this does disrupt the bacterial bed on the sponges as well, which is why you should stagger it weekly. Just because the water gets dirty, there is LOTS of actual poop, dirt, and god-knows-what inside that isn't small enough to be washed away with swishing it in the water (or scrubbing the outside, I've never scrubbed my sponges, and I'm not quite sure what good it would do other than cause undue wear and tear on the sponges, effectively wearing them out prematurely.)