How do YOU clean/maintain your canister filter?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I pull the filter pad out of my sump every couple of days and rinse it out in the sink. The entire operation takes only a couple minutes. I know my Eheim 2276 Pro 3 will completely break down the fish waste into Nitrates but my sump will do the same AND I can easily remove the waste BEFORE it is turned into Nitrates. I am moving into terrestrial plant (veggie) filters as a lower maintenance way to filter a tank. With the dozen or so Pothos plants I have just hanging over the edge of my tank now my Nitrates stay under 10ppm with limited water changes.
 
Overhang Filters: I rinse them with garden hose, filter, carbon pad, but not the biological pad (I leave that alone or spray a little if absolutely slimy)

Sponge Filters: Never wash sponges, just let the natural bacteria accumulated

Powerheads: Def. rinse them out as they get gunky and motor runs hot.

I have containers of refill carbon and/or zeolite that I drop in the tanks too
 
My canisters get opened and cleaned out about every 4-6 weeks, but they are not my main source of bio and the final stage of all my canisters is fine filter pads. they are primarliy for mechanical filtration. Theres a small amount of bio in each
 
i have only cleaned my fluval 405 once since i got it (4 months maybe?) i noticed the flow dropped and i just rinsed the sponges, not the bio matrix or anything else. the flow is much stronger now.
 
I have the Nu-Clear and Ocean Clear type canisters. I have extra cleaned cartridges on standby. When it's time, every 4 to 6 weeks, I open the lid and take out the old cartridge and put in the new one. I do this with out cleaning the canister to keep as much BB intact as possible. The old cartridge is rinsed off then soaked in bleach water for a day or so then rinsed off again. Then they are ready for the next round of cleaning. I can do this about 20 times before I get rid of the old cartridge and buy a new one.
 
2 FX5's and a sump on my 175. I clean the FX5's once every 6-8 months. And even then when i open them there are not that dirty. I have a ton of flow in my tank which I think helps breakdown all the debris. Filter pads in the sump get cleaned every 3-4 weeks based on buildup.
 
I have an fx-5, 3 AC 110's, and 2 ehiem 2232 running on my 180g bare bottom stocked with a big ray, cichla, and various cichlids.
I clean my filters every 3-4 months, not all at the same time though.
Ill do the fx-5 first by rinsing the mech pads in the sink, rinsing the bio with water from the tank submerged in a big bucket and rinsing out the canister with a hose.
The following week ill do the 3 Ac110's same way as above and the week after that ill do the ehiems same as above.

Am I doing to much? My ray produces a lot of waste... I do bi-weekly 50% wc's.
 
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