Aint As Smart As I Thought

[CONE_YAK]

If this forum has taught me anything...it has taught me that I am definately a rookie at this hobby. My question is how long should I go before I change my filters. I currently have a Fluval 405 canister on a 55 gallon, the filter is rated for up to 100 gallons and the tank has been set up for going on two months. When I do water test everything is peaches and cream but I am wondering when to change out before I crash everything and kill my new lil homies.

[bethyMT]

You won't be changing them...you will be rinsing them out in used tank water.

And you can do it now. Two months is enough time for your BB colony to be established. I would do one filter now (if you have two that is, and i hope you do), and then the other in a week or two.

Remember, just squeeze out in old tank water. Preserves some of the bacteria, so things don't go wonky.

[Imma24]

Honestly, after 2 months I wouldnt' be looking to clean anything unless you see the performance of the filter has slowed down.

I have a fluval 305 - I rinse the ceramic rings & squeeze out the sponges really well in used tank water about every 3 months - my tank is not heavily stocked. The sponges sometimes need more than 1 bucket of water to clean each one but I haven't replace anything in almost 2 years.

I also put pillow stuffing (from Walmart craft area) in 2 of my compartments - acts like a polisher - I replace that every 3 months.

[Orion5]

All what bethyMT said, and I would add that the more gently you rinse one of the sponges in the old aquarium water, the more bacteria you will preserve. I would be especially careful (gentle) in the first months with the rinsing of the sponges to preserve as much as possible. The tank is, scientifically, cycled; but it is still "young". The last thing you want to do is screw up your beautifully cycled tank. :)

[CONE_YAK]

When you all say rinse in "used tank water" do you mean take some water out of my tank and use the water to rinse off the filters? Can someone explain why it has to be used tank water? I am really curious about this issue, please dont take my questioning as hardheadedness.

[Imma24]

Not at all - actually, all you really need is dechlorinated water, but most of us will siphon out a bucket from our tank during a regular water change, take whatever is in your filter (sponge, rings, etc.) and swish it around in there to clean any gunk off (just biological material that can accumulate over a few months: it can be old plant material that got sucked into the filter, snails, etc) - then dump the water. The media won't become sparkling clean, but sometimes there can be stuff in there that interferes with water flow so you would want to get rid of it - this prevents too much beneficial bacteria from being lost.

[Orion5]

No worries. :)

Traditional practice is that every 3 months or so (but people differ on this) if your aquarium sponges are really dirty, during one of your water changes you preserve some of the old water in a bucket and you very gently shake out one of your aquarium sponges in it (or about half of your filter media, whatever you're using) to get some of the dirt off of it. Then you place it back in the filter.

Three months later during another water change, you can do the same to the other 50% of your sponges.

The reason you MUST use old aquarium water is that if you were to, say, rinse your sponges under the tap you would kill ALL the bacteria-- and this would give you "new tank syndrome" all over, with ammonia spikes and possibly fish deaths. If you rinse the media in old aquarium water you are keeping the bacteria in the environment where they grew and much of them will be preserved, continuing their job in the nitrogen cycle of your aquarium.

I suggest you read some of the articles here about cycling and the nitrogen cycle. It will give you a better idea of why it's important to keep bacteria in your filter alive & happy. :)

Hope this helps!

[Goes to 11!]

Can someone explain why it has to be used tank water? I am really curious about this issue,

You are protecting your BB.

Tap water contains Chlorine/chloramines, This = DEATH to BB so you must use either old tank water [which was previously dechlored when added] or fresh water that has also been dechlored.

Rinse your media with water with chlorine/chloramines and you are back to cycling again because your BB will be RIP.

[CONE_YAK]

Got it. Thanks yall. It would have definately been a bad look to replace all of my filters and pretty much kill everything because I wrecked the cycle. I will absolutely be reviewing cycling articles.

[Orion5]

andreahp & 850R:

Is dechlorinated water acceptable to rinse filter media? I would have thought that the sudden changes in the water chemistry and temperature would still kill most of the BB.