How many times per year do you clean filter

[redtailshark1]

How many times per year do you clean filter

 

[dpk2313]

hob once a month canister once a year

 

[BradT85]

I clean my canisters on a rotation. If i have 2 on a tank i clean the pads in one of them every month or so and rotate on a monthly basis. When i used HOBs, i would clean the sponge out every water change.

 

[papawoody]

it depends on what kind of filter ... hob , 10-15 x ...
canister , 2 x

 

[Crazyfish88]

I clean my canisters on a rotation cuz I have alot of canisters on each tank. I usually just clean the sponges and pre filter but I leave the biomax. On my HOB's I only clean the sponges as well and replace the carbon when needed.

 

[tcarswell]

Fluvals with filter floss gets once every two months. AC110's on all tanks get a sponge rinsed heavily in hot water every week... Helps keep nitrates down.

I keep my "bio media" submerged in tank water during service at all times and give it a nice shake before returning it to the running filter.

 

[cichlid fiend]

Unless I see problems with the crispyness of the water or infections that require the whole tank to be treated, I do it 4 times a year!!!

 

[EvilKid]

canister filters once about every 3 or 4 months or if i notice the flow drop

 

[CTU2fan]

Voted 4x (fx5). Even then it's generally rinsing the foam blocks as my baskets have biomedia only. With my sump, basically never. I have a prefilter pad that I change out when it gets gunky, usually once a month or so.

 

[LD50]

I clean my FX5 out every week, only takes 10 min to pop the top squeeze out the sponges in old tank water and replace the poly fill. Keeps the water crispy and the Nitrates always read "what nitrates?"