View Full Version : how often do you rip apart your filter?
judgemax
07-10-2005, 12:17 AM
just curious as to how often you rip apart your filters ..(all kinds ) i have a hob bio wheel and it seems to gather so much gunk inthe intake pipes ...i end up taking it the whole way apart atleast once a month ...am i being paranoid ,,could this stuff be benificial ..or harmfull?
about once a month or so.
i have two fluval 4 plus in my turtle tanks
two aquaclear cascade biofall 300's in my fish tank
and a small generic canister in my newt/frog tank
YoFishboy
07-10-2005, 1:03 AM
I do about the same - once a month or so - some gunk in the tubes is ok, its just a question of does it clog up and impede the filter flow.
Blinky
07-10-2005, 1:15 AM
My 65g is overstocked, heavily fed and densely planted. Each week when I do a water change I open the canister (FilStar XP2) and rinse everything out in tank water. Once every two to three months I take the hoses apart and clean them out with bleach and brushes, wipe down the inside of the canister, clean off the impeller and anything else... gooey... :)
I try to clean my powerhead at least every few months, and rinse the quickfilter insert during the weekly water change.
Civicman86
07-10-2005, 2:44 AM
Anyone know the best way to get sand out. I have a penguin HOB filter. My tank with sand has some sand in it i beleive. I can hear the propellers hitting something it sounds like. I have taken the filter off and rinsed throughly, i have also tried putting a cutip down in the small hole to maybe get it out and nothing worked. IS this a normal problem? Easy fix? Its really annoying. All my other filters are super quite.
flyfly
07-10-2005, 5:39 AM
I have to rinse out my aquaclears intake on my 55g planted about every week/ 2 weeks. tooo much plant debris gets stuck and impedes the flow.
judgemax
07-10-2005, 12:16 PM
ok so i am not over scrubbing the thing...lol it seems to get so gunky in the pipes but never has it impeded flow just a buildup ...i have pipe cleaners type things that i use ...came with the one aquarium ...thanks guys and gals
thesydmonster
07-11-2005, 9:45 PM
I'm with everyone else... I clean mine about once a month. I have to clean the intake tube every week because of plant debris, also. Sounds like you are doing fine! :D
Kasakato
07-11-2005, 10:13 PM
My 20g is overstocked and heavly planted like Blinky. So every week I do a water change, gravel vac, and I clean out the media in my FilStar xP1.
cyberbeer65
07-11-2005, 10:33 PM
At every water change (wich is every two weeks) i clean out the filter media itself,and once a month I tear down the filters and give them a good scrubbing.
mooman
07-12-2005, 4:44 PM
jeez, you guys are making me worry. My 29g with an eclipse hood has been up and running for 6+ months and I have never touched the intake pipe. All I do is shut off the filter when vacuming, and nudge the intake to dislodge the worst of the plant debis (goes right up the vac tube). Water flow is still strong as ever (too strong in my opinion).
My mechanical filter media is rinsed out weekly, the units themselves only every few months. My biofilters are back-flushed every six months or so, their tubing and impeller chambers cleaned approximately annually.
randalizm
07-13-2005, 2:05 AM
My 29g with an eclipse hood has been up and running for 6+ months and I have never touched the intake pipe. All I do is shut off the filter when vacuming, and nudge the intake to dislodge the worst of the plant debis (goes right up the vac tube). Water flow is still strong as ever (too strong in my opinion).
haha i have a 29g eclipse hood too and do the same thing as you. havent cleaned it (except for the glass) since i got it which was about 4 months ago. i agree with you about the water flow being to strong.
bakechad
07-13-2005, 11:46 AM
I follow the instructions that came with my Emperor 280. It says tear the whole thing down every two months. I've learned that regularly cleaning the impeller assembly makes it run quiet with a high flow rate.
CharlieV
07-13-2005, 12:22 PM
I have an internal cannister built into my Juwel Rio 125. It has several layers of sponges as media. I have not yet cleaned the bacteria colony sponges but i clean the other two sponges weekly in tank water during my weekly change.
I clean my powerhead and prop etc. once a month and replace filter floss every week