Do you clean entire filter?

[Holly9937]

I usually rinse out my media when I do a water change, but do you ever, or should you, remove the entire filter and clean the inside? Like down in the bottom? I would imagine it would be a huge hassle, but I would think that stuff might accumulate down at the bottom of the filter, or should most of it be caught by the sponges before it would settle elsewhere?
Thanks

 

[anonapersona]

Yes

Yes, you need to do the whole thing occasionally. The uplift tube and output tube and the impeller and that whole area needs to be cleaned each time, flow through there is critical and it doens't take much to restrict the impelller. I don't wipe the whole unit out each time, assuming we are talking about a HOB type unit, but I will every other time. Canisters get dumped out and rinsed each time they are cleaned which is every 8 weeks or so. I only clean the tubings twice a year perhaps, but I back flush them with the regular cleaning.

 

[OrionGirl]

I siphon the waste out of the bottom of my HOB tanks with each cleaning to remove all the waste that is stopped by the sponges but not actually caught in them. I clean tubes and impellers about every 6 months, though I will any solids that are trapped in the intake tubing as I notice them and wipe away any build up in the return area.

 

[Kasakato]

I clean my HOB every 1 months, and the impeller every 6 months.

The canister gets its media cleanded every 2 weeks, replaced one a year, and the imperller is also cleaned every 2 weeks.

 

[Holly9937]

And I would just let the media (along with the bio-wheels) sit in some tank water while I do the cleaning? It is two HOB filters I am referring to! I figured as much once I asked the question, but it had just never occured to me until I read a post from someone saying they had cleaned part of the filter and I thought :duh: I probably should be doing that!!! Now if I can just remeber how these things go together...LOL

 

[anonapersona]

And I would just let the media (along with the bio-wheels) sit in some tank water while I do the cleaning?

Just leave the biowheels alone as much as possible. If they look really brown and slimy and you start to see stuff floating in the tank, you can swish the wheel in tank water to get the chunks off. But, mostly, just leave it alone. You don't need to submerge the media or the wheel unless you as so slow that they might dry out -- you shouldn't take more than 5 hours to clean a filter!! Unless you need to hold it overnight, just set it aside, it will stay damp and get the oxygen it needs, suffocated is just as bad as dry! If you need to keep for more than a few hours, I'd bag it to keep the moisture up and expose it to air.

 

[Holly9937]

I have a penguin 330 and the biowheels just lift off the top, so they would have to be removed before I could really get to the rest of the filter. I was just paranoid that I would start a cycle if I screwed up this cleaning endeavor

 

[anonapersona]

full procedure

Wel, the full procedure would be to remove all the parts to a bucket. Pour out the body of the filter and wipe it down with a paper towel or a fish safe sponge or wad of filter batting. then take a filter brush and clean the impeller, the tubes and intake cage. If you are being thorough, get some white vinegar and wipe the top of the filter and any water spots. I like to shake out the biowheels though some people don't, I think they get bio-slime inside them and then may not turn if they get unbalanced. I wipe off the endcaps also. There is plenty of bacteria safe in the fiber of the material after I'm done. I toss the parts back into the bucket to hold until I reassemble, not submerged in water, just wet and dripping. While the tank drains for a partial water change, I tend to plants or gravel, remove the hood and wipe the glass with vinegar to remove spots. I wipe the tank glass of algae if necessary. Then put everything back together and fill the filter with tank water. Plug in and let it go.

If you never wipe the body of the filter, eventually stuff will break free and float around the tank. The thing is, after the filter cartridge or padding insert if you use that, any gunk cannot be caught, all you have is the biowheels and they are not going to catch gunk, they might even add to it.

 

[WinterWind]

I thought you shouldn't clean the filter entirely b/c it kills beneficial bacteria?

I did clean my filter every few months or so, but I stopped after reading it was harmful for the bio-load of my tank.

 

[OrionGirl]

The percentage of bacteria that are colonizing the filter (not the media) is pretty low--you won't remove enough to impair the total colony. It's like cleaning off the glass--bacteria colonize that, too, but we regularly scrub it clean without spiking any toxins in the tank.