Tropical fish tank, how often do you change your filters?
Discussion
The filter medium needs to be rinsed in the old tank water ideally every week when doing water changes to clean it and keep the bacteria that do the actual filtering alive, as for replacing it i only ever do that when it is falling apart or every 3-4 months whichever comes first, and remember not to do what i did when i started off and replace all of the old filter medium at once. lost a few fish due to that one.
NotSoSuper said:
The filter medium needs to be rinsed in the old tank water ideally every week when doing water changes to clean it and keep the bacteria that do the actual filtering alive, as for replacing it i only ever do that when it is falling apart or every 3-4 months whichever comes first, and remember not to do what i did when i started off and replace all of the old filter medium at once. lost a few fish due to that one.
What I've been doing is rinsing it under the tap but with the water that I'm putting into the tank so any bacteria washed out of the sponge will be going back in again. I was talking to a colleague about my aquarium and he was aghast that I didn't put a brand new sponge in every couple of weeks. Just wanted to check I wasn't alone in not doing this.
It depends on your stocking level to a certain extent with replacing them, and manufacturers obviously are cautious with replacements.
as for cleaning under the tap that isn't advisable as the chlorine kills the bacteria in the filter and can burn the fish's scales.
If i have read that wrong and you have put the dechlorinator in the water and clean them in that prior to adding it to the tank, that probably does the same job as using old tank water with the only problem being the dirt you have cleaned from the filter goes straight back in the tank, so seems a bit of a waste to clean it.
HTH I am by no means an expert though just a keen amateur fish keeper.
as for cleaning under the tap that isn't advisable as the chlorine kills the bacteria in the filter and can burn the fish's scales.
If i have read that wrong and you have put the dechlorinator in the water and clean them in that prior to adding it to the tank, that probably does the same job as using old tank water with the only problem being the dirt you have cleaned from the filter goes straight back in the tank, so seems a bit of a waste to clean it.
HTH I am by no means an expert though just a keen amateur fish keeper.
NotSoSuper said:
It depends on your stocking level to a certain extent with replacing them, and manufacturers obviously are cautious with replacements.
as for cleaning under the tap that isn't advisable as the chlorine kills the bacteria in the filter and can burn the fish's scales.
If i have read that wrong and you have put the dechlorinator in the water and clean them in that prior to adding it to the tank, that probably does the same job as using old tank water with the only problem being the dirt you have cleaned from the filter goes straight back in the tank, so seems a bit of a waste to clean it.
HTH I am by no means an expert though just a keen amateur fish keeper.
Yeah, I still put the dechlorinator in. The syhon I use to put the water into the tank filters the waste out, so no big issue with that. as for cleaning under the tap that isn't advisable as the chlorine kills the bacteria in the filter and can burn the fish's scales.
If i have read that wrong and you have put the dechlorinator in the water and clean them in that prior to adding it to the tank, that probably does the same job as using old tank water with the only problem being the dirt you have cleaned from the filter goes straight back in the tank, so seems a bit of a waste to clean it.
HTH I am by no means an expert though just a keen amateur fish keeper.
Personally I would just rinse the sponge section in a bowl of tank water every month or so. You will see when it starts getting dirty as the water flow will slow down.
Washing it in tank water will preserve some of the bacteria, but I would'nt worry too much as the majority of it will be living in the ceramics. What fish do you have in there?
Washing it in tank water will preserve some of the bacteria, but I would'nt worry too much as the majority of it will be living in the ceramics. What fish do you have in there?
Sounds like you have been doing everything right then. HTH the Tropical Fish Forums ( http://www.tropicalfishforums.co.uk/ )is a good source of knowledge if you ever get any problems in future.
AceOfHearts said:
Personally I would just rinse the sponge section in a bowl of tank water every month or so. You will see when it starts getting dirty as the water flow will slow down.
Washing it in tank water will preserve some of the bacteria, but I would'nt worry too much as the majority of it will be living in the ceramics. What fish do you have in there?
Just one Betta and six Neon Tetras, it's just a starter tank, I'd love to move on to something grander when the kids are a bit bigger and less boisterous.Washing it in tank water will preserve some of the bacteria, but I would'nt worry too much as the majority of it will be living in the ceramics. What fish do you have in there?
Turn7 said:
Definitely rinse in tank water and not under the tap.
Assume you have a good water change regime and are using a dechlorinator?
The water for the tank comes out of the tap anyway, I don't see the issue with this at all, I'm using a dechlorinator as already mentioned. Surely rinsing the filter in the dirty water isn't going to particularly clean it?Assume you have a good water change regime and are using a dechlorinator?
20-ish% a week.
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