Canister Media Question

[barbuto]

Hey,

How often do you need to change the bio media in a canister? I ahve had mine setup for about a year now and I cleaned it the other day and I might of started a mini-cycle.

I was thinking of putting some pot scrubbers in their in addition to the balls that the EHEIM came with, is that a good idea? or should i replace all of the balls?

I am also thinking of putting a HOB filter that i have laying around on the tank and stuffing it with some pot scrubbers as well. To my understanding it will polish the water and supply Biological filtration, is that true?

Any suggestions?

[fishy714]

I clean my every 1 to 2 months. But I dont replace all the media just half of it. This way you save your colony of bacteria. Your bio balls is biological already. Can help you with the pot scrubbers dont know what those are sorry.

[barbuto]

Do you jsut replace half of the media and leave the other half? or do you run water of teh other half that you are going to keep in the tank? I ahve never cleaned/replaced any of the bio media in the canister

[BettaFishMommy]

you should never have to replace the biomedia, just give it a rinse in old tank water if its looking gunky. same with filter sponges, just rinse them. i've been using the same biomedia and sponges since i first set up my tanks and i plan to use the sponges until they disiintegrate.

Posted on mobile.aquariacentral.com

[barbuto]

sounds good thanks.

[excuzzzeme]

Whether a trickle filter (wet/dry), canister, or HOB, you only rinse 1/2 of your bio mdeia at any one time at the most. The only reason to rinse it is to keep high nitrates in check if water changes don't. It should be rinsed no more often than once a month unless otherwise needed.

If you have substrate of some fashion, it will also act as bio media. Don't vacuum and rinse bio media at the same time.

[barbuto]

So How would i go about rinsing out the biomedia balls that came with my Eheim canister?

[BettaFishMommy]

remove a bucketful of water from the tank and put the biomedia into a colander (pasta strainer) if it is not already contained in a basket with holes that it sits in in the canister. swish it lightly back and forth in the bucket of tank water a couple times but don't do it too vigorously, as you do not want to disturb too much of the beneficial bacteria. replace into filter. tada! lol.

[barbuto]

that sounds simple enough. Thanks!

Should i do the same thing with a bio-wheele?

[BettaFishMommy]

biowheels should never need cleaning if the other media in your filter is doing its job properly. i have a dual output biowheel hob filter and i plan on not cleaning the wheels. mind you, nothing stays perfect forever, so i suppose it would be alright to quickly dip and swish the wheels in old tank water if absolutely necessary.

on a side note, if your biowheels stop spinning for any length of time, the bacteria on them will die, so you do need to make sure the places where the wheel pegs sit are clear of gunk.