Cleaning a HOB filter

[Sandy Clay]

I have an AquaClear HOB filter. How do you all go about cleaning it? When ever I unplug it to move it to the sink to clean....all this brown gunk comes out and gets in the tank. I have tried removing just the filter and leaving it running ....same thing. What am I missing? I usually take it apart and clean it really good, about once a month. I rinse the sponge filter out in aquarium water in a bucket every other week. Thanks for any info :)

[JERRYKEVIN]

Take the intake tube off before turning it off. Are you using a pre filter?? You should not have brown stuff at all. Your not cleaning them enough and I'm going to assume you are not using a pre filter

[Sandy Clay]

Yes I use a pre filter.

[JERRYKEVIN]

Mmmm I'm stumped. I run two 110's on my 75 and never had this issue. What is the brown gunk? Rotting food? With a pre filter you should not be having this issue.

[Sandy Clay]

I think it is that brown algae maybe, that gets on the sides of the filter. You know when you clean out the HOB and there is that brownish slime inside on the walls. It seems to be similar to that.

[JERRYKEVIN]

I don't get that. Is there algae in your tank? What inserts are you using? I run foam, Purigen, Ceramic noodles.

[Sandy Clay]

The only algae I notice is a little brown on my plants. I use a foam filter, ceramic rings and Purigen. I run a UV sterilizer also.

[JERRYKEVIN]

I'm stumped Sandy. Maybe someone else can chime in.

[ericatdallas]

Do you have plants? I know (w/o a pre-filter) the plant leaves will get in and rot.

I get brown stuff in it once in a while too and I just rinse it out with tank water when I do a water change.

[decoy50]

Its a build up of algae, uneaten food & fish slime - basically your typical aquarium gunk. I get it in mine too. Remove the intake tube first, like previously mentioned. Hold a net over the bottom of the intake when you're taking it out so that the gunk falls into the net.

[Sandy Clay]

Ok...thanks for the info. I was just getting disgusted with all that stuff getting back in the aquarium. I never noticed it happening when I had a smaller aquarium with a smaller Aquaclear. Thanks again!

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Sandy, if you are cleaning the filter that often and are getting all this gunk, you could be overfeeding. I have AquaClear on all my tanks (besides other filtration) and never ran across that before. I have a prefilter sponge also on the intake tube and I rinse that once a week.

Do you also clean the impeller and its housing as well? Not that it has the gunk in it, it just helps keep the performance of the filter running strong.

Are you running any other media in the filter besides the sponge? I have Bio-Max in mine as well above the sponge.

[strawberryblonde]

I run an AC110 and an AC70 and have noticed that my 110 tends to get slimy brown gunk buildup inside it.

I suspect that it's mostly discus slime and that my lights on the tank hit the filter directly and cause some brown algae since the slime is a perfect growing medium. I don't ever have a problem with the gunk going into the tank during an HOB cleanup though. I just leave the intake tube and prefilter where they are, turn off the filter and let the tank drain till it's below the intake tube. At that point I gently remove the intake tube and then remove the HOB, take it to the sink and clean the inside of it.

If some people aren't having this issue I'd also bet that there's a correlation between pH and/or size of the discus that causes it. My younger discus seem to shed a LOT more slime than my adults.

[MKD]

Not sure how you put those media and sponge in order. I only use ceramic ring bottom inside and then sponge which it will clean and clear everything before water go back to tank. Since, i feed BH brown thing build up in the intake pipe and bottom of the filter housing quick but nothing come out when i do WC.

[Sandy Clay]

Yeah, Jeff I take it all apart and clean it all. Strawberry, I will try that next time and see if it works for me. Thanks again!

[Gene]

I just take out the ceramic media and set it in the tank. Then I take the entire filter assembly off and carry it to the sink. Easy and none of the gunk spills into the tank after I start taking it apart.