How often do you clean your canister filters?.

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A

Armand

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 24, 2009
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Mexico City.
www.piranha-fury.com
Howdy!.


Its been 9 weeks since I installed my canister filter and I haven't cleaned it so far.

I am planning to clean it up the day of tomorrow.

Does it sound a reasonable period of time to you?.....


How often do you clean your canisters?.


Cheers.


Edit.

Water in my tank still keeps good but i dont want to let more time to pass because canister turns into a nitrate fabric.
 
It depends on your stock and decoration but 9 weeks is very short... I clean mine every 2 months.
 
Once a month to every other month. Depending on what tank as some have higher waste. I don't like to wait til the flow is slowed. To me that's to late. Cleaning soon will never hurt. It helps reduce nitrates and solid wastes that polute the water more.

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5 to 6 months usually. I had a big Eheim that I will let go for a year. I have never really understood why people will refer to a canister filter as a "nitrate factory". Nitrate comes from ammonia. If you are not overstocked or overfeeding, then ammonia should not be a problem, and therefore your nitrates should not rise because you don't clean your canister filter on a regular basis. Mine have never been so dirty that the flow slows down. And even if they did, I don't think it would cause an issue with nitrate.
 
I finally got around to cleaning my fx5 after 2 years and i guess it all depends on stocking and feeding because i could've went another 2 years without lol
 
fishbum said:
5 to 6 months usually. I had a big Eheim that I will let go for a year. I have never really understood why people will refer to a canister filter as a "nitrate factory". Nitrate comes from ammonia. If you are not overstocked or overfeeding, then ammonia should not be a problem, and therefore your nitrates should not rise because you don't clean your canister filter on a regular basis. Mine have never been so dirty that the flow slows down. And even if they did, I don't think it would cause an issue with nitrate.
Click to expand...

Actually Ammonia doesnt cause Nitrate. The conversion for the Nitrogen cycle does not do this. Ammonia is converted to Nitrite and then converted to Nitrate. While Ammonia is the starting point and yes it eventually gets there its not the direct conversion.

MOST hobbiest are overstocked. It is a controlled enviroment. There is only so much water. If there is fish waste it can and will effect your Nitrate levels and dissolved organics. These two things can be effected by how dirty a filtraion system gets. As the water picks up more of it and puts it into the filter. Not cleaning the filter will keep these levels higher then a clean fliter will. By clean im speaking of Mechanical filter media. Mechanical media does get polluted with these issues. Keeping them clean will reduce the impact. This is where ANY mechanical filtraion can induce Nitrates and dissolved organics into a system more so then if its cleaned regularly. If you slow the flow on a filter It will make a difference in the quality of the water in the system.
 
I have heard that response time and again. Fish waste and food will only give off some much ammonia. The ammonia is exactly where the nitrate comes from. Once the waste is exhausted of all ammonia, then the nitrate is not a problem, and a water change will get rid of whatever nitrate you have. A dirty filter does not cause a nitrate factory as many people want to believe. And to say that most hobbyist are overstocked is kind of a broad statement.
 
fishbum said:
I have heard that response time and again. Fish waste and food will only give off some much ammonia. The ammonia is exactly where the nitrate comes from. Once the waste is exhausted of all ammonia, then the nitrate is not a problem, and a water change will get rid of whatever nitrate you have. A dirty filter does not cause a nitrate factory as many people want to believe. And to say that most hobbyist are overstocked is kind of a broad statement.
Click to expand...

Sorry but I disagree. The nitrogen cycle is fact. Fish still make some waste even lightly feeding. Disolved organics are also a fact. Dirty mechanical filtration inhances that.

And yes that may be a broad statement. But my 38 years in the hobby has shown me just that for the majority of people. There is also more then one way to be overstocked. Remember many of the creatures we keep are used to way more water in the nature then any of us could provide. Just sheer numbers of fish per tank size doesn't always mean the only way some one is ovestocked. Look at several of the threads even here. Many are overstocked. Including myself.

This is of course relative to how often filters should be serviced.

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Yes the nitrogen cycle is "fact". Waste will produce ammonia, which is broken down into nitrite, and then the nitrate. Disagree all you want. Waste, whether it is in the tank, or in the filter will eventually be exhausted of all ammonia. And when that happens, a water change gets rid of the nitrate. A dirty filter does not make the ammonia break down any faster or slower. Nothing you have said suggests anything different.
 
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