replacing media filters?

zoowks

zoowks

AC Members
Oct 13, 2007
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Orlando
So I was just want to clear the..I guess water, sorry bad pun, my tank is a 10 gal established tank with a biowheel filter, bout 5+ months old, i replaced the filter once about 2 months ago because it was covered in so much stuff, was this acceptable? I thought it was at the time since I have a biowheel. And when should i replace my existing one if i need to, also I've heard mixed about replacing them, i've heard some just rinse with noncholrinated tap water or tank water and place back in, or replace entirely, or replace about half of the media

any suggestions, or clarifcations would be nice
 
I don't think there's any need to replace a biowheel. If it has so much gunk on it that it has trouble turning, then you can take out a little tank water and rinse it. Never rinse it with chlorinated or cold tap water -- the bacteria will die off.
 
yeh i was talking bout the media filter, i kno u never need to replace the biowheel and i already talked about chlorinated water
 
I usually just rinse the filter media in treated water until it completly falls apart.
 
The bio-wheel support the bacteria for the tank. I would rinse my filters in a treated bowl of water to clean them up. If they were really bad I would spray down my filters from my Emperor 280 with the sprayer from the kitchen sink to clean them up and then rinse them in treated water before I placed them back in the tank. I had that filter for 1.5 years and my sister has been using it for around 2 years and it still has the same bio-wheel on it. We have never had to do anything to the bio-wheel.
 
I bought a large piece of sponge at the lfs, cut it up and put some in each filter. This lasts forever. You just ring it out in your change water, if it's really bad I'll rinse it under the tap.

If you want to stick with the filter media you're using now and you feel you have to replace it you'll still have enough bacteria inside your filter and it shouldn't cause any problems. I'll also clean the inside of my filter with tap water if I feel it needs it so I guess I've broken all of the rules and I've had no problems with fish or plants.
 
yes, you can replace your cartridges if they need it, falling apart...really really gross. I rarely have to replace them because I swish them weekly in my removed tank water. I too, predominantly use sponges or ceramic rings (even in filters that take cartridges) which last a really long time. I use poly-fill shoved around these and I replace it pretty frequently with no ill effects.
 
msjinkzd said:
yes, you can replace your cartridges if they need it, falling apart...really really gross. I rarely have to replace them because I swish them weekly in my removed tank water. I too, predominantly use sponges or ceramic rings (even in filters that take cartridges) which last a really long time. I use poly-fill shoved around these and I replace it pretty frequently with no ill effects.
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YUP, I do the same, ..and have had no problems with mine either
 
Hijacking the thread here. So if I have something like an Eclipse 12 gallon can I get away with filling the filter area with ceramic rings and/or sponges and never use the Eclipse filter cartidge size G again? Just clean the ceramic rings/sponges every so often (weekly/monthly whichever is needed)...
 
Thats what I do with my Eclipse 3 hood. I have a section of floss cut to size in my filter container. I simply remove it every week, rinse in aquarium water and then put it back. Saves money.
 
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