when cleaning a canister filter

[digthemlows]

Do you empty the "dirty" water from it, or should I leave some of it to keep the good bacteria alive? Should I rinse the sponges in sink water or aquarium water? I've always left the water in it, but last time I turned it back on, the amount of junk that came into the tank was too much...........so what do you guy and gals do and how often do you clean yours (replace sponges, replace bio media, etc..)

[reelay0]

Tank water is what I use to clean my canister out. But if you have non-chlorinated water like well-water then that's okay too.

replacement of filter media depends on what kind of filter media you have, i have these plastic bioball things so I'm not going to replace them ever. Also have some ceramic tube things, they'll be replaced once they get too clogged up to clean.

The foam in my filter is replaced like once a week, but that's because I bought a queen mattress filler polyester thing, and i've been cutting pieces of it. If you want to clean yours then use dechlor water as well.

As for actually cleaning my media, I use water from my tank and put some filter media and some tank water into a jar, put the lid on, shake, pour, and repeat. Then i scrape the inside of the canister walls where the media is sitting. I try to do it quickly since drying out will make the bacteria die.

[Harriett]

If you have some hard media [bioballs, ceramic noodles, etc] leave it--;it's loaded with the good bacteria you need. For soft media like filter sponges, floss, etc, I rinse mine in tank water in a 5 gallon bucket until they are clean and then put them back into the canister--I only dump the floss to replace when they look beat up and are no longer filtering much. I dump the dirty water from the canister--your bacteria is mostly sitting in the media, not in the water column anyhow--remember to occasionally clean out the filter hoses as well--you can get a brush on a wire that's 4 feet long and go at it from both ends. If you are not already using them, I would also put what is called a prefilter on your intake tube [the tube pulling water FROM the tank]. I just use an appropriately sized aquaclear sponge I cut and X into to slip over the tube or an air filter sponge is even better, it's got the hole cut out. By using a prefilter that you rinse out every 2 days or so [I just use tap water in the sink for these], you will keep your canister MUCH cleaner.
Best regards
Harriett

[FishLover888]

Yes, I like the idea of pre-filter sponge. I used to clean my cannister filters every month or so because the flow rate dropped so mauch after a month. Ever since I put in the sponge at the intake tube, I only need to clean the cannister fiilters every 6 months or so.

I do clean the pre-filter sponge every week. It works out as every other water change since I do 2 water changes a week.

[White Worm]

If you have some hard media [bioballs, ceramic noodles, etc] leave it--;it's loaded with the good bacteria you need. For soft media like filter sponges, floss, etc, I rinse mine in tank water in a 5 gallon bucket until they are clean and then put them back into the canister--I only dump the floss to replace when they look beat up and are no longer filtering much. I dump the dirty water from the canister--your bacteria is mostly sitting in the media, not in the water column anyhow--remember to occasionally clean out the filter hoses as well--you can get a brush on a wire that's 4 feet long and go at it from both ends. If you are not already using them, I would also put what is called a prefilter on your intake tube [the tube pulling water FROM the tank]. I just use an appropriately sized aquaclear sponge I cut and X into to slip over the tube or an air filter sponge is even better, it's got the hole cut out. By using a prefilter that you rinse out every 2 days or so [I just use tap water in the sink for these], you will keep your canister MUCH cleaner.
Best regards
Harriett
I do similar...
I normally just rinse out the sponges and the floss and replace if it looks ragged. I have 3 trays all with the bio stars in my XP3. I do a quick light rinse under tap for all media just to rinse away any loose particles. With a good solid established Bio, I dont think a little tap water is going to kill it off. I do this also with a large w/c which means you should have more than enough left to handle whats in the water. I empty all old water from the canister and let the tank refill it when I hook it back up while filling the tank with new clean water. There will be some crap that comes from the hoses but I have found that it clears up rather quickly. The pre-filter is an excellent idea and I have to clean mine every few days.