Cleaning filter

[oupulino]

I have question my tank is 120g I have 12 Discus 3" changing 30% water 2 X a week, filtration Emperor 400 + Eheim Pro 2 no Carbon only use to remove the medicine.
How often I have to clean the filter ?
I use to have regular cichlids and I was cleaning the Eheim once a 6 months
Any advice?

[DonMD]

I usually clean my filters every 2 or 3 months, hoses every 4-6 months.

[Harriett]

Do you have a prefilter on the intake pipe? With one, I only clean about every 4 months. Without, I would say every 2 months MAX and I personally would err on the side of 6 weeks or so--esp for babies, which are more vulnerable. PUT an prefilter on there!!!! LOL
Best regards,
Harriett

[oupulino]

what about uneaten small particles food it will not bother water quality if I clean filter every 3 months adding carbon will do anything or not

[jeff@zina.com]

Okay, first off, what is filter cleaning? And what bio-load do you have on the filter? I use sponge filters with a weekly water change and squeeze out the sponges in the old water. I do not "clean" the sponge with any other method unless I have a tank crash or otherwise the sponge gets contaminated and I need to bleach it.

I have a moderately heavy bio-load on the filtration, and over-filter everything.

Jeff

[oupulino]

120 g Discus tank clean bottom I have 12 of them at feeding time Im turning off for 10 min after they eat Im turning back on.

[Foxfire]

what about uneaten small particles food it will not bother water quality if I clean filter every 3 months adding carbon will do anything or not

Carbon does little and can do harm if not changed when full - and no one has the equipment or knowledge to know when it is full; hence, just chance or change very, very often and waste $$$ (that stuff is expensive - no wonder the companies push it on us and put it in all their filters.)

My question to those that swear by charcoal (it is chemically carbon but you buy charcoal) I say, what common chemical in the typical tank does it remove?

Great for removing chlorine products, meds and similar organic in the tank but clean water or tank water, it really does nothing. I'm open to ideas on the subject but would like to know what it does.