Hi Bethany,
Id like to follow this thread as I just brought a canister filter today.. Thank you
Hey guys,
Those of you who use cannister filters, how often do you take them apart and clean them out?
Assuming it cycles your tank water about 6 times an hour in a not overly stocked tank...
Also, is there a favorite type of biomedia?
Bethany
Long time fish nerd... just getting started with Discus and I am starting to realize how little I know!
Hi Bethany,
Id like to follow this thread as I just brought a canister filter today.. Thank you
I have 2 - 2217 eheims on 72gallon tank, 2 - 2236 eccos on a 36 gallon,, i clean out the filters once a month, changing the filter pad, but rinsing the media.. i also check my parameters every couple of weeks to make sure nothing bad is going on in the tank. i do 60% w/c with aged water every other day in the big tank, once a week in the smaller. canister filters are nitrate magnets, just don't wait until the out-flow slows. you will get different opinions here, just pay attention to see what schedule works for you. as for media, i use eheim substart, some use fluval, some use matrix.. all work well if you rinse them often to keep the media pores open. one thing most people use are pre-filters, that go on the end of the intake tube. it stops most of the large crap from getting onto the filter pads, making them last longer,,, the prefilters can be cleaned each time you do a w/c.
Last edited by jim LI; 03-16-2018 at 08:21 AM.
Hi Beth, I'm a little different than most folks, I don't mess with my pumps too often and use mostly sponges as media. I usually look at my pumps every six months and clean only half of my sponges at a time by lightly rinsing in used fish tank water i just pull from one of my tanks. I never want to wipe out my bacteria by servicing my entire pump. I test my water several times a week, once a pump is well established I have better luck with minimal service. I've used Fluval, Rena and Eheim pumps and have never lost cycle or busted out toxins in my water.