Filter Media Replacement/Maintenance questions

MrSpike · 09-14-2007, 7:09 PM

So, all the filters I see recommend replacing the media every 3-4 weeks but alot of people here don't seem to do that. Here is what I have:

Whisper 10 (in 10g)
Whisper (hang on in tank) 3i (for 2.5g, currently in 10g)
coming via UPS:
Penguin mini (100gph model, for 10g, replacement for whisper 10)
Sponge filter (for whatever, maybe one of the additional 10g's I have in the garage)
bunch of filter floss

Right now I am trying to do a weekly rinses of the filter cartridge using water I took out of the tank. When I do this only a tiny bit of the gunk on the filter bag comes off in the sink. How long should I wait until I replace this? I have heard to just dump the carbon after a while, rinse the bag again and put that back in? I have also heard to keep the sponge in to retain the bacteria but I have no sponge and none of the filters I have or ordered (save for the spong filter itself) have sponges in them. Should I add one?

Also, I am getting replacement filter floss, can I use this? I was planning on using it mainly to cover the intake for my shrimps sake but what else can I use it for?

Last q... with the sponge filter do I just rinse that out every week or so? How long will it generally last?

Thanks for all the help!

echoofformless · 09-14-2007, 7:51 PM

The sponge filter should last almost indefinitely.

This is my personal method with sponges: when I do a water change, I will fill two and maybe even three buckets. In the first bucket is the initial squeeze out. This water gets very gross. Then you go to the second bucket, same thing. This water gets less gross. Third bucket, you guessed it...and this water gets the least gross. See this way you're inviting less and less dirty water to be pulled back into the sponge.

I use the same method with cartridges, only instead of squeezing I hold it at the surface of the water and rock it semi-circularly at the surface in a very rapid manner. This shakes out a lot of the gunk and by the time you get to bucket three (or even four if you can!) it's as clean as it will get.

Replacement of HOB filter cartridges to me is a matter of just doing it when you think you need it. For example I have been using the same cartridge on my Penguin 125 for almost a year! It's in a 20g tank that is also filtered by a Fluval 104 and has very little solid waste because there are only a school of rasboras and some SAEs that I feed very sparingly.

My Emperor 400 cartridges are a different story - for some reason (size I am thinking) I can only get a few rinses out of those before they literally start coming apart in the buckets!

MrSpike · 09-14-2007, 8:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by echoofformless

The sponge filter should last almost indefinitely.

This is my personal method with sponges: when I do a water change, I will fill two and maybe even three buckets. In the first bucket is the initial squeeze out. This water gets very gross. Then you go to the second bucket, same thing. This water gets less gross. Third bucket, you guessed it...and this water gets the least gross. See this way you're inviting less and less dirty water to be pulled back into the sponge.

I use the same method with cartridges, only instead of squeezing I hold it at the surface of the water and rock it semi-circularly at the surface in a very rapid manner. This shakes out a lot of the gunk and by the time you get to bucket three (or even four if you can!) it's as clean as it will get.

Replacement of HOB filter cartridges to me is a matter of just doing it when you think you need it. For example I have been using the same cartridge on my Penguin 125 for almost a year! It's in a 20g tank that is also filtered by a Fluval 104 and has very little solid waste because there are only a school of rasboras and some SAEs that I feed very sparingly.

My Emperor 400 cartridges are a different story - for some reason (size I am thinking) I can only get a few rinses out of those before they literally start coming apart in the buckets!

So let me get this straight, you squeeze/rinse out the filters in the buckets are you are doing a water change? this is the water you are pulling from the tank(s)? If thats the case that would be difficult for me as I only have a 10g so for a water change I fill one 10qt bucket and thats it. Obviously rinsing in the sink is out of the question...

And for the filter that lasted a year, does it have carbon in it? Is it one of those things where the floss is around the frame and there is carbon in the middle? If so, do you replace the carbon or just dump it? I keep hearing that carbon can release the goobies back into the water if it is not replaced often.

echoofformless · 09-14-2007, 8:32 PM

As far as my buckets, I don't necessarily fill them all the way if I'm doing a smaller tank. The main idea is not volume, but to have separate bodies of water so that each rinsing stage can be cleaner than the last. Still if you are using just one bucket, it's better to squeeze, shake, etc in a bucket than to just pour it all off into the sink.

The cartridge in my 125 is indeed one of the floss glued to plastic with carbon in the center types. carbon doesn't leach anything back into the water. Once it has reached its maximum absorbency, it simply stops being effective and lets everything pass it by. Therefore whatever gunk might be there is getting rinsed away the same as it is from the floss/sponge/foam.

MrSpike · 09-14-2007, 9:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by echoofformless

As far as my buckets, I don't necessarily fill them all the way if I'm doing a smaller tank. The main idea is not volume, but to have separate bodies of water so that each rinsing stage can be cleaner than the last. Still if you are using just one bucket, it's better to squeeze, shake, etc in a bucket than to just pour it all off into the sink.

The cartridge in my 125 is indeed one of the floss glued to plastic with carbon in the center types. carbon doesn't leach anything back into the water. Once it has reached its maximum absorbency, it simply stops being effective and lets everything pass it by. Therefore whatever gunk might be there is getting rinsed away the same as it is from the floss/sponge/foam.

Cool thanks! Last question, should I/could I add a sponge or something to either the whisper 10 or the penguin when it comes? If I put it after the cartridge (between the cartridge and the flow into the tank) it looks like I could fit one there.

MrSpike · 09-14-2007, 9:43 PM

All right, I lied, one more question... If the carbon is no longer working, wouldn't it be better to dump it out rather than keep it in the filter bag? Then you just have the floss cartridge there.

rsanz · 09-14-2007, 10:51 PM

I have a Penguin BIO-Wheel Mini. Be sure to rinse out your filter cartridge every time you do a water change. I find that if the cartridge is too gunked up, it will not allow the water to flow through the filter normally and the BIO-Wheel will stop spinning. At that point, I try my best to shake out all the crap in some tank water, but it comes to a point where I can't clean it enough to get the BIO-Wheel spinning normally again.

At that point, I just buy a new cartridge. This happen probably every 3 or 4 months, I've found. You definitely don't need to replace the cartridge every 2-4 weeks like the package indicates, though.

MrSpike · 09-15-2007, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsanz

I have a Penguin BIO-Wheel Mini. Be sure to rinse out your filter cartridge every time you do a water change. I find that if the cartridge is too gunked up, it will not allow the water to flow through the filter normally and the BIO-Wheel will stop spinning. At that point, I try my best to shake out all the crap in some tank water, but it comes to a point where I can't clean it enough to get the BIO-Wheel spinning normally again.

At that point, I just buy a new cartridge. This happen probably every 3 or 4 months, I've found. You definitely don't need to replace the cartridge every 2-4 weeks like the package indicates, though.

Thanks for the info. BTW, how do you like your blue ram? I looked at getting one of those for my tank and moving the betta to my 2.5g.