? about canister filters

[etr63]

Hi All

I have a Jeboa canister filter on my 55 gal. I guess its a fluval clone. I turn it off to clean my prefilter and when I restart it I get a bunch of white floaties dont know what they are. Today I tore it down and the inside was very clean. I rinced the sponge in some tank water and ran tap water through the out put hose. Still had floaties when I restarted it. I so my best to vac them out of the tank. Are these floaties bad for the fish? I bought this filter along time ago and could not find the instructions for it. It has 4 trays and I have the sponge in the top tray and the boi media inthe bottom tray. Is this the way it should be set up. It has been on the tank for a month now.

[Carol_Roberts]

white floaties are bacteria build-up inside hose coming loose and ejected into tank. One reason I don't use canister filters.

[Howie_W]

I'm with Carol.

If you don't already own one you should think about getting a Hydro sponge going in your tank, and eventually doing away with the canister.

Howie

[etr63]

Hi Howie

I do have a hydrosponge 5 in the tank now I was not sure if that would do the trick on its own. I also have another hydrosponge 5 that I could add to the tank but was worried about spikes with a new filter.

Earl

[drew22to375]

I had the same problem when my Eheim canister was new. I finally figured out it was the bio media. My canister used the white Eheim bio media and it would get ground down to a fine powder like sand. And it would all come out when I would turn the filter back on after feeding ect. I ended up taking all of my bio media out and just filling the entire canister with mechanical media since I have several sponge filters in the tank anyway and the canister was mostly for mechanical filtering anyway. I Have not had it do it again since then.

[etr63]

Hey Drew

my Bio media is a net bag of white round pieces with a hole through the middle. Kinda looks like a bone. Is this what you had?

Earl

[Howie_W]

Hi Earl,

Many peole here like to use a combo. of sponge filter, and then a hang on the back type, such as the AquaClear which would still allow you to use mechanical filtering. This method, combined with regular water changes has always worked well for me.

Howie

[Jean]

Hiya Earl!

What I would do is put that other hydro you have in there for awhile and let it get seeded. Then remove the canister filter. You can also add a hob filter if you like. I too like either the Aquaclear or the penquin filters with that regard.

I tend to keep more sponges in the tank. Part of the reason is: if I need a sponge for starting up another tank, I already have one going in another tank. If I get sick fish and I have to micro a sponge or something; I can move a non infected sponge into the 'completed treatment' tank.

The other plus to all of this is cost. Those canisters are expensive and are not nec or desired by some. In the long run this way that ppl are recommending is going to be less hassle and less costly for you.

JMO~
Jean ;D 8)

[drew22to375]

Hey Drew

my Bio media is a net bag of white round pieces with a hole through the middle. Kinda looks like a bone. Is this what you had?

Earl


no, Mine was the small porus media that resembles perlite for gardening use.

[etr63]

Hi All

Well I added the 2nd hydrosponge filter tonight. How long do you think it will take to cycle it?