How often do you clean your canister filters?
- Thread starter yhbae
- Start date
There really is no correct answer re: the maintenance schedule, but there is a correct procedure to the cleaning and you've already nailed it (washing sponges etc. in tank water, etc.) to protect notrobacter and nitrosamonas populations.
All of my canisters (Fluval 205, 305, 405, FX5) get a thorough cleaning of the sponge mechanical filtration at least once every 2 weeks and usually every week. This is a PITA with the FX5 in particular, but goes a long way to ensuring pristine water conditions.
All of my canisters (Fluval 205, 305, 405, FX5) get a thorough cleaning of the sponge mechanical filtration at least once every 2 weeks and usually every week. This is a PITA with the FX5 in particular, but goes a long way to ensuring pristine water conditions.
I don't know yet. I just got my first canister in mid/late January. I checked it after a couple weeks and again at one month (February). So far, I haven't had to do any cleaning. I'm going to check it again either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how much energy I have left tonight. I've been sick this week and am getting a CT scan for my sinuses today. Woohoo.
Anyway, my tank is technically stocked, since I've got the fish that I will have in there for now, but they are all young so currently it's understocked. Get my meaning? They are all smaller, so they don't put the full bioload they will once they are older. I planned for the future, so to speak. Sorry, rambling again.
Anyway, I'm projecting that I'll only have to do a cleaning every couple months. I'll probably only clean part of it at a time, though, to prevent a mini cycle since most of my canister is bio media.
Anyway, my tank is technically stocked, since I've got the fish that I will have in there for now, but they are all young so currently it's understocked. Get my meaning? They are all smaller, so they don't put the full bioload they will once they are older. I planned for the future, so to speak. Sorry, rambling again.
Anyway, I'm projecting that I'll only have to do a cleaning every couple months. I'll probably only clean part of it at a time, though, to prevent a mini cycle since most of my canister is bio media.
I did mine every 3 months or so, and never faced any problem before hence I kept that schedule for a long time. But I always had HOB to supplement it, so who knows, that might have saved it...
I just cleaned my FX5 after 6 or 7, maybe 8 months:lipssealedsmilie:
(Its a 120 sa/ca tank)
It was,of course,dirty...but it could have waited a while more.
Fluval 202 in the bedroom 55gal. goldfish tank has been even longer
mg:
I do do (lol) 50%-70% wc per week in all my tanks. Python ftw.
And yes, my water is purdy.:bling:
(Its a 120 sa/ca tank)
It was,of course,dirty...but it could have waited a while more.
Fluval 202 in the bedroom 55gal. goldfish tank has been even longer
mg:I do do (lol) 50%-70% wc per week in all my tanks. Python ftw.
And yes, my water is purdy.:bling:
i have a Marineland C-220 and i tend to clean it every 2-3 months. just rinse out all the media in the sink. don't bother with using tank water because i've found it really doesn't make a difference for me.
I have 2 canister filters on my 55 gallon, and through trial and error, I've found that once every few months is fine, and not both at the same time, and that includes not cleaning the hoses at the same time. I'm borderline overstocked, and I've found that just doing water changes a few times a week and not touching the filters makes everything stable.
