Changing Filter Media???

This does need to be cleaned and at some point replaced......
My question to you lot is how often would you clean this or replace...???

what sort of filter are we talking here?

I clean out my canisters every 3 months or so, or when the flow rate really starts to drop.

I clean my larger internal filters every few weeks and my smaller ones almost every week as they get clogged really quickly. but it all changes depending on how many fish/fry i have in the tank, what sort of fish they are (bristlenose are very messy)

Sponge filters get cleaned weekly, just a few squeezes in a bucket of tank water to keep them flowing well.

All this cleaning is done in tank water. Only if i am completely shutting down a tank owing to illness does the media get cleaned in tapwater, and then it usually got some blech in it too, then it sits in hot water for hours to leach out all the bleach as well as kill off any remaining nasties. this is only ever done out of need, why kill all those good bacteria when i can use them in another tank. I dont think you can ever over filter water.

in terms of replacing media. I think biological filter media only gets better with age! physical media on the other hand only seems to last about a year with me. it gets replaced out of need rather than want.

It all depends on the fillter. I have 3 tanks at the mo with fillters of all shapes and sizes but ill let you know how i do it

120ltr with rena xp3 external 600ltr capacity and gravel filter

with this tank because i have the UGF it takes most of the waste so i give half of the tank a good vac every week. this seams to work for me and my gravel is always clean. i give my gravel fillter a major clean once every six months. I remove all media from exsternal fillter exept wool and that picks up all waste from the water. Then empty it again and replace media.

the external fillter i change the filter wool once a month and this is pleanty it never is that cloged up. as for the sponges i leave the up 2 two months as the fillter wool takes what little the gravel filter dose not collect.

90ltr jewel fillter and fulvul 4+

Standard jewel fillter. I remove the fillter wool and replace once a week as this is my bristlenose tank and they are very messy. the sponges in hear last about a month before needing a quick rinse in tank water. I give one half of the bio sponges a quick rince every month and this keeps them just right.

the fulval 4+ i give a good rince by-weekly as this gets clogged up very quickly as its powerfull flow rate picks up the waste from the floor and sucks it all up. I also give this tank a good vac evey week


My other tank is pritty much the same as the 90ltr . the only difference being i have a home made fillter in there which i made with a jewel powerhead. with this it has a sponge rapped around a pipe with holes in which it sucks through. because the sponge has nothing around it when you turn the fillter off the sponge drops alot of waste so i leave it running while i put it a jug under the water . then turn it off and lift it out.

One last quick note. sponge fillter should last indefinalty or untill they fall apart. as for wool i insist on changing them weekly as they soon decintergrate and can damage your filter. Care should always be taken to keep as my bactia in your filter media

Every couple of weeks my sponges get a good squeeze, and my media gets changes every 6 weeks.

Bwompus wrote:

Every couple of weeks my sponges get a good squeeze, and my media gets changes every 6 weeks.

every 6 weeks

you muct be the media company's number 1 customer

Doug wrote:

Bwompus wrote:

Every couple of weeks my sponges get a good squeeze, and my media gets changes every 6 weeks.

every 6 weeks

you muct be the media company's number 1 customer

For the carbon should I do it every 8 weeks?

what about the biomax? I havent changed it since I got the filter. almost 4 months.

See...this is why I frequent this site...I learn!

once a month the sponge filters get a good squeeze and I replace filter cartriges every 3 weeks

Lunchbox wrote:

once a month the sponge filters get a good squeeze and I replace filter cartriges every 3 weeks

Maybe its an American thing.

Sponge filters squeezed every month or so
Canisters emptied and re filled once every 3 months or so and sponges change generally yearly
Never had an issue
Sump floss changed weekly, other sponges one at a time 6 monthly
I have a mate who has a canister unserviced for 3 years now without an issue !

i mainly clean mine when the flow starts to get slow.
sponge fillters get replaced when the sponge starts to fall apart. i use the double algard sponge fillters x2 to each tank so i can sqeeze one sponge every week best sponge fillters ive ever had by far.

Bwompus wrote:

Doug wrote:

Bwompus wrote:

Every couple of weeks my sponges get a good squeeze, and my media gets changes every 6 weeks.

every 6 weeks

you muct be the media company's number 1 customer

For the carbon should I do it every 8 weeks?

what about the biomax? I havent changed it since I got the filter. almost 4 months.

dont understand why people leave carbon in their fillters to be honest i only ever use it to pull meds out the water after treatment.
carbon breaks down quite quickly if used in a fillter 24/7

yeah, Carbon is a special case. If im using carbon, its only for a week max so that i know it doesnt hit that point of dropping stuff back into the water as it tends to do

I only ever use it to remove meds or some other specific nasty in the water, not as a constant thing. If you want something to 'polish' the water then I recommned a UV clarifier, or even better a UV steriliser as these cause particles to clump together and then they are easily filtered out.

Doug wrote:

yeah, Carbon is a special case. If im using carbon, its only for a week max so that i know it doesnt hit that point of dropping stuff back into the water as it tends to do

I only ever use it to remove meds or some other specific nasty in the water, not as a constant thing. If you want something to 'polish' the water then I recommned a UV clarifier, or even better a UV steriliser as these cause particles to clump together and then they are easily filtered out.

Couldn't of said it better myself

Hi
I don't think I have ever replaced all the media(noodles & sponges) in one go, scared ill promote a mini cycle.I always leave half of the old media when adding new media..

Hangon filters are cleaned when the flow lessens, every 2 to 3 weeks, the noodles & sponges get a rinse and are put back in.
Sponge filters get a clean maybe monthly sometimes bi-monthly, Just a squeeze till clean, in the old tank water.
Internals get cleaned every other water change ie weekly or bi-weekly,
Canisters get the treatment every 3 to 4 months,

I don't know why people use carbon either, I have never used it & never will, I use Seachem Purigen for polishing the water and removing meds.