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Thread: canister filter spitting out stuff??

  1. #1
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    Default canister filter spitting out stuff??

    when ever I clean my canister filter I change the filter floss and I dip the basketts containing the ceramic rings in a huge carbage can with aquarium water and I give the black bio sponge a really good squeez in it I emoty the water in the canister filter and put the baskets back in and top it off with aqurium water but when I turn on my filter it never fails oh and this is after I vacume and wipe the tank down when i turn the filter back on I get like little pices of debris come out of the spray bar and it ticks me off so I gotta vacume again and top off, but its ony when I turn of the filter service it and put it back on does this happen because I never have to turn it off for a water change I can do prob a 75% wc with it on, so two questions has any one ever had this happen to them? and what is it? oh and a third what to do to fix it?

    I thought about disconeting the spray bar and holding a filter pad in from the return just for a few seconds to catch it then putting the spray bar back on but this would not solve the problem as whats happening. oh and I even clean the spray bar inside and out in the garbage can of old aquarium water

    So do you think its like stuck onto the sides of the hoses them sleves? and when I turn the filter off and back on it lossesn some of it and it comes out the spray bar? i can't really say what it looks like kind of clear or white colored and flat like flakes almost like dandruf or something like that

    may be I should replce the hose or clean them some how to see if this helps but I figured I probally have a good colony of bacteria within those hose rite? would it hurt or cause nitrite spikes if I replaced or cleaned them?

    I have tons of bio rings and that bio sponge in the filter and the filter is a cascade made for 100 gallon tanks and mine is a 55 gallon so I got plenty of filtration power and bio material plus I use an HOB for extra mechanical filtration and I have a strong pupm for a 60 gallon tank with two ports one is attached to a 12 inch air stone directly under my two heaters for airation and curculation around the heaters but I was thinking about using the 2nd port on that air pump for a sponge filter as well and maybe getting rid of the HOB I really do not like them. what do you think about the set up? oh it a BB with a floating plant fake for cover and a fake plant on a base for more cover on the bottom thats it. so what about the filter spitting out this stuff and the set up??
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  2. #2
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    Default Re: canister filter spitting out stuff??

    It comming from you discharge line or spray bar If your not cleaning them try this.Before you start it up put your discharge line and put it in a bucket, fire up the pump and blow it all into the bucket. And your ready to go

    Jerry

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    Registered Member nc0gnet0's Avatar
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    Default Re: canister filter spitting out stuff??

    It
    comming from you discharge line or spray bar If your not cleaning them try this.Before you start it up put your discharge line and put it in a bucket, fire up the pump and blow it all into the bucket. And your ready to go

    Jerry
    +1 problem solved nothing else will be 100 percent effiecent. Clean the fiter before the water change, take the discharge hose out of the tank and use it for part of your water change routine. Most of your debris is coming from your hoses.

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    Default Re: canister filter spitting out stuff??

    When first turning on the cannister after cleaning, position a container under the discharge line (or disconnect the discharge line and route that to a bucket). Turn it on and let the gunk spew out until you have clean water. Then re-attach.

    I do this whenever I remember. When I don't remember to do this, then a string of profanities and blasphemies reach the high heavens - especially AFTER polishing the water with a DE filter. LOL

    Tim

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    Default Re: canister filter spitting out stuff??

    Quote Originally Posted by tcyiu View Post
    When first turning on the cannister after cleaning, position a container under the discharge line (or disconnect the discharge line and route that to a bucket). Turn it on and let the gunk spew out until you have clean water. Then re-attach.

    I do this whenever I remember. When I don't remember to do this, then a string of profanities and blasphemies reach the high heavens - especially AFTER polishing the water with a DE filter. LOL

    Tim
    Ok so this is normal then? I get it I always clean my filter then I do a WC and then all this crap comes out so I have to vacume it all up and do another WC but as long as I leave it run then theres no problem it only when I turn the filter off then back on des this happen to me every time and I am always like what the heck is this comming from where is this comming from it has to be the line because I clean the spray bar all the time I will have to run it into the 40 gallon garbage can I use for dirty water bacuse the hose it atached to a hard plastic pipe that has a u in it that runs into the tank I do not know if its in the U it slef or the hose or both more than likey I wonder why this does not come out all the time and only after the filter has been serviced? It is also a good thing to know I do not have to buy new hoses which is what I was considering that or holding a filter pad over the dish charge return line and catching all the crap that way thankx all!!!! big time help there I mean that I was having a nard time with this one.
    So Many Discus, Not Enough Tanks!

  6. #6
    Registered Member kaffeene's Avatar
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    Default Re: canister filter spitting out stuff??

    I have a canister filter and it does the same thing. Its coming from the hose itself - something is growing there and once I started treating the fish for some other issues, including adding salt to the water to help destress them, the white stuff started. The white flakey stuff is a nuisance and well, looks nasty. If/when I find a solution for controlling it, I'll let you know.

    Research online points to some sort of water mold, but I don't know for certain if that is the problem or not.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: canister filter spitting out stuff??

    I also use canisters (Eheim 2075, 2224 and 2236) and yes, this happens to me also after cleanings- this is normal. Firstly, whenever you clean the canister, it has loosened up all the crud and quite a bit of the bacterial culture in there, and even with the most thorough and careful cleaning there will always be some residual debris left over that is flushed out of the system once you turn the water flow back on. Secondly, useful bacteria and all kinds of other microorganisms will use the interior of your hoses as a handy substrate to attach to, just the same as the interior of the canister, tank gravel/plants/wood/decorations/equipment fittings etc, and will proliferate in the strong current of nutrient-laden water that flows by every second. This does actually contribute to your biofiltration capacity, but also means that eventually a great deal of slimy bio-crud will build up inside the hoses and if left unchecked, may eventually clog your hose assemblies, especially at joints etc. To avoid large amounts of stuff spitting out through the output hose at every w/c, just clean the hoses regularly, just as you would the canister itself, and if you don't currently use pre-filters on the intakes, get some from Kensfish.com or Jehmco.com- they will drastically reduce the amount of crud in your filter and make your life a lot easier. Keeping a discus tank clean, even a BB, is hard enough as it is!

    HTH,

    Colin

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    Default Re: canister filter spitting out stuff??

    My microscope tells me that it's the same community of life that's in the filter, just growing in the hoses, too... sometimes it seems like when it gets thick that the layer against the hose gets weak and then the whole lot is shed spontaneously, or after fussing with the filter.

    My tanks are BB, not ornamental, so I just let it go until the next daily siphoning/ water change. sometimes my discus eat the stuff, apparently with no ill effects...

  9. #9
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    Default Re: canister filter spitting out stuff??

    Quote Originally Posted by scottishbloke View Post
    I also use canisters (Eheim 2075, 2224 and 2236) and yes, this happens to me also after cleanings- this is normal. Firstly, whenever you clean the canister, it has loosened up all the crud and quite a bit of the bacterial culture in there, and even with the most thorough and careful cleaning there will always be some residual debris left over that is flushed out of the system once you turn the water flow back on. Secondly, useful bacteria and all kinds of other microorganisms will use the interior of your hoses as a handy substrate to attach to, just the same as the interior of the canister, tank gravel/plants/wood/decorations/equipment fittings etc, and will proliferate in the strong current of nutrient-laden water that flows by every second. This does actually contribute to your biofiltration capacity, but also means that eventually a great deal of slimy bio-crud will build up inside the hoses and if left unchecked, may eventually clog your hose assemblies, especially at joints etc. To avoid large amounts of stuff spitting out through the output hose at every w/c, just clean the hoses regularly, just as you would the canister itself, and if you don't currently use pre-filters on the intakes, get some from Kensfish.com or Jehmco.com- they will drastically reduce the amount of crud in your filter and make your life a lot easier. Keeping a discus tank clean, even a BB, is hard enough as it is!

    HTH,

    Colin
    I did just buy a prefilter sponge from that fish place over the week end as well as a sponge filter, I will start to clean the hoses out I am just not sure about the best way to do that other than rning water thru them? I see that that fish place has a thing much like a pipe cleaner for sale that suppose to clean the tubes out I could buy that I was wondering though if theres any other way to do the job?

    I do like the idea of putting the discharge or return line into a bucket and turning on the system after I get out a gallon or two worth of water then I would be good like I said its onlya little bit and when I first turn the system back on for a few seconds does it do this. I ony turn my canister filter off to clean it during regular water change I could take 80% of the water out of the tank and the filter will still run fine so I only ever turn it off whaen I service the filetr and thats when it happens everytime. thanks for the sugestions every one!!
    So Many Discus, Not Enough Tanks!

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