Canister cleaning question

[superjohnny]

Hey guys,
I've been looking for a place to learn more about tanks and I just ran across this site. I must say I've been pleasantly surprised by some of the good info here.

I have a 45 high fish tank with 2 red tail tinfoil barbs, two liperinas' (sp?), a cichlid (I think) and two Chinese algae eaters. My tank has been up and running for about three years and two moves with no dead fish. What's going on is my water seems to always be a little golden-brown. No matter how many water changes I do it just has a tint of brown. Is this normal? I got this tank/setup from a friend and he told me to clean the Fluval model 203 canister filter when the flow-rate slows or seems impeded, but I have not noticed that to be an issue so I haven't cleaned it. (yea, in like 2 years).

Would cleaning this change my water color? Does anyone know where I can learn about the right kind of filter media for that particular filter and my particular tank? I haven't cleaned the canister cause it's such a pain in the butt to get on & off.

Here are some pics of my setup. Thanks for the input :)

http://www.download.johnnyanddana.com/images/fish_tank_1.jpg

http://www.download.johnnyanddana.com/images/fish_tank_2.jpg

[NickH]

Ouch! It's amazing your canister is still flowing any water after running for 2 years straight. That could definitely be discoloring the water. Cleaning canisters is more timely than HOB filters for sure, but acceptable cleaning intervals are about every 3 to 6 months. For comparison, HOB filters should be cleaned every 4 weeks (or more).

Assuming that you don't have that much media in the canister (which is probably why you are getting away with running it this long), you should probably be prepared to buy some new media. To start, there are two or three foam pre-filters that should be rinsed thoroughly. Then there are 3 media baskets. The filter comes with Fluval Carbon (now utterly worthless, it only remains active for 2 weeks) and a small amount of Fluval Bio-Maxx. I would purchase enough Bio-Maxx to fill the two upper baskets. Fill the lower basket with Fluval Pre-filter media (basically ceramic noodles). This should provide for maxium mechanical & biological filtration while still allowing for acceptable flow rates over a long period of time. With a light bioload, you should be able to stretch filter cleanings to 6 months (while still doing regular water changes).

Hope this helps...now go clean your filter!:eek:

[superjohnny]

Shall I post a picture of the filter & it's insides? It might be a very ugly (or maybe just funnY :D) thing to see.... i'll take pics & post 'em.

Off to clean... Thank you for the input, I appreciate your help :)

[superjohnny]

no pics. pretty uneventful actually. There are three levels to the filter: the bottom 2 are ceramic "noodles" (for lack of a better term) and the top one is porus like a spongue you'd use to clean the dishes.

I rinsed it all out with dish-soap and water.









just kidding.
I used luke-warm water. Is that right? nothing special, just ran it under the faucet for a minute. Ok? I'm going to go windex the glass to make it sparkely clean next... ;)

[NickH]

Man, you got me..I read the soap part...I was NO!

Anyway, do NOT use any kind of cleaner in the tank or in the filter. Make sure you use water dechlorinator after you clean the filter.

[AikidoGuy]

hahaha he go tme with the soap part too. I immediately thought
" this poor guy is gonna get flammed for that one"



nice one,he got points for that one

[beviking]

Seems he got everyone with the soap bit!!:D
If you can get away with cleaning the media under regular tap water that's fine. You may want to use dechlorinated water to rinse the media though. Tap water can remove the beneficial bacteria in the media. If it's a quick rinse, probably won't do too much, but you may remove too many if you really rinse it. Just a thought.

[Sumpin'fishy]

I think he did fine rinsing the sponge part with chlorinated water. I do my filter floss that way weekly. I figure I'd vigorously clean that part myself (scrubbing hard with hands and hot water) to get everything I can out. I have a separate canister with noodles for bio. As long as he is gentle and just do something like dunk the noodles in DE-chlorinated water every few months, I think he's fine. As for the mechanical filter.....scrub as best as possible.

[superjohnny]

Sorry fellas, but you only get to be a n00b for a short time so ya gotta enjoy it while you got it :D

Anyway thank you for the input, I really appreciate the help. The canister's segments seemed full with the noodles so I don't know why my flow hasn't been restricted. The water that came out was pretty nasty so it needed to be done. Is there any need to change the spongue 'thingy' in the top canister compartment or the noodles?

PS, the tank looked a little cleaner this morning, I'm sure my fish appreciate your help as well ;)

[beviking]

Originally posted by Sumpin'fishy
I think he did fine rinsing the sponge part with chlorinated water.
As long as he is gentle and just do something like dunk the noodles in DE-chlorinated water every few months, I think he's fine. As for the mechanical filter.....scrub as best as possible.

YUP!!

As for the changing of sponge or noodles, no need unless they start to fall apart.

[Sumpin'fishy]

Agree with that! The water will probably continue to look better as you keep up with cleanings. The noodles tend to "self clean" as they get decent water flowing through them. The excess bacterial bunches will wash off of them. I'd maybe try to clean once a month (the sponge) and see how things even out for you. You can then determine what works best for you;)

[OrionGirl]

Gonna' take a guess...But in the 2nd pic, it looks as though there is a chunk of wood (on the right side)...If so, it's most liekly leaching tannins into your water, which is causing the tea coloration. Not a big thing, easily removed with cardon if you choose. Many fish actually prefer the water that way.

As for the cleaning--looks like a seriously understocked tank, so I doubt there was much detritus build up in your filter. While I suggest cleaning it on a schedule, no reason to freak out. Maybe twice a year? Whatever works and doesn't muck up the tank, I say.

I rinse my sponges under tap water weekly and have never had any problems, and my water is very chlorinated. Never had a problem. I think soaking them would cause a problem, but not a rinsing.

[beviking]

C'mon, I said "...use dechlorinated water to rinse the MEDIA..."! Sure, clean the d@%$ sponge if you want in chlorinated water, but I would be cautious of cleaning the noodles like this too!:mad:
Uh oh, he's upset...look out...:rolleyes:

I think OrionGirl hit it on the head!
(Except the sponge part:rolleyes: ;) )

[Sumpin'fishy]

Beviking, both of us are AGREEING with you about how to clean stuff, we are just explaining to Superjonny in more detail how WE clean each part of the media. No problems with your ideas.

[beviking]

You mean you're not all ganging up on me? Whew!!
:rolleyes: :D

[Sumpin'fishy]

HAH :p

[superjohnny]

I really like having a fish tank, but I really don't like where I went with this one. I am really tired of the plastic plants... they're just so ugly. I don't really know what to do though, from what I've read "high" tanks don't make great plant tanks. Plus my light is pretty small (like 20w)... so I'd need like 3 more lights at least. Then my substrate is just all rocks most of which are >4mm. Again, from what I've read 2mm is better because stuff doesn't die in the crevices. I dunno what to do :)

I think over the next few months I'm going to transition my tank to a plant tank and trade my fish in for Angel's... they're prettier anyway :)

I appreciate the input and help though. I'll be a little more diligent about cleaning my filter from now on.

[superjohnny]

Originally posted by OrionGirl
Gonna' take a guess...But in the 2nd pic, it looks as though there is a chunk of wood (on the right side)...If so, it's most liekly leaching tannins into your water, which is causing the tea coloration. Not a big thing, easily removed with cardon if you choose. Many fish actually prefer the water that way.

-cut-

Yes, there are two rather large pieces of wood in the tank. I bought them at a fish store (talk about getting ripped off, that's like $20 worth of wood :rolleyes: ) What do you mean this is "easily removed with cardon"?

muchos gracias

[quick061]

Originally posted by superjohnny


Yes, there are two rather large pieces of wood in the tank. I bought them at a fish store (talk about getting ripped off, that's like $20 worth of wood :rolleyes: ) What do you mean this is "easily removed with cardon"?

muchos gracias

she means that if you put activated carbon in the canister as filter media then it will absorb the chemicals from the water and clear it up. just check your lfs for some fulval carbon media and stick in there.