Trust U- tube advise???

[PlantedRich]

Okay, rather than look at this from the position of experienced users who pretty much know what we need, let's look at this from the position of a new guy who really wants to know how to clean and maintain his canister filter.

Does this U-tube tell a new guy what he needs to know or does it just lead him into making mistakes and thinking he knows what is needed?

Several have mentioned chlorine in the tap water. We all pretty much agree that it may not be best but is no big thing? Maybe telling the new guy not to unnecessarily wipe out bacteria with chlorine would help? Small suggestion to use tank or dechlor water?

So the new guy goes along thinking this is all he needs to do? At least one of you good folks said this is exactly what you've been doing for thirty years!

I'm betting there are a couple other things you may have been doing in the last few years that are not mentioned in the video. .
Any body see some things left out that may ruin the new guy's day if he misses them?

[NWA-Planted]

Originally Posted by PlantedRich

Okay, rather than look at this from the position of experienced users who pretty much know what we need, let's look at this from the position of a new guy who really wants to know how to clean and maintain his canister filter.

Does this U-tube tell a new guy what he needs to know or does it just lead him into making mistakes and thinking he knows what is needed?

Several have mentioned chlorine in the tap water. We all pretty much agree that it may not be best but is no big thing? Maybe telling the new guy not to unnecessarily wipe out bacteria with chlorine would help? Small suggestion to use tank or dechlor water?

So the new guy goes along thinking this is all he needs to do? At least one of you good folks said this is exactly what you've been doing for thirty years!

I'm betting there are a couple other things you may have been doing in the last few years that are not mentioned in the video. .
Any body see some things left out that may ruin the new guy's day if he misses them?

Ah, ok. That does make more sense.

Sent from a dark corner in my happy place

[Fishies_in_Philly]

ok, so, according to you, i have been cleaning my canisters wrong for 30 years and all my fish should have died many times over? please, if you don't mind, enlighten me on how exactly i should be cleaning my filters? guess those reef tanks i had back in the 90's survived out of luck

first off, he never stated that it was an instructional video on how to clean your filter, it was just a vid of someone cleaning their filter. second, brita reduces greatly the amount of chlorine in the water, i know many people who breed frogs that use that exact same faucet filter with no problems. third, you are assuming that he has chlorine in his water, not everybody does.

in one post you stated something about reading directions and in another, you are talking about chlorine. so i am still quite confused over what exactly your issue is with this YOU-tube video. and quite frankly, if you were someone who was going onto you-tube to find out how to clean your canister, you're probably a lost cause anyway....lol i do not mean you specifically, so no need to get testy.

and i agree, to an extent, a previous post about info found on the web as well as this forum. i never see forums as the definitive "guide" to anything. i believe that on forums, such as this one, you garner many sources of insight and information and then make your own educated decisions. but i also realize that some people do not see it that way.

[PlantedRich]

No, Bill! Your fish are likely to be fine. But I want to point out that you are wrong in a number of ways. One is that you are likely not doing your filters as this vid shows. Or maybe it's possible that you just dump a lot of money out when they stop working.

If you don't ever rinse the bio- media, I'm guessing flow will cut down to pretty low. If you don't clean the impeller the flow WILL stop! You do clean your impeller once in while, don't you?

Why would I be looking at vids of how to do it? There are lots of requests from new folks asking how it should be done. I wanted to find a good one to refer them to when they ask.

I posted this as an example of what is NOT done right.

Now can all you folks come down just a few notches and tell me if you DO think the media all needs to be rinsed at times and if the impeller ought to be checked while the can is open?

All information should be checked for accuracy. One start on that is reading the instructions. In this case the instructions do tell us to clean the impeller.

[secuono]

I never use tank water to rinse, I use my well water straight from my faucet. Just make sure to match the temp and never had any issues...


Only thing I didn't agree with was he unplugged the filter AFTER he closed both valves. Other than that, if he has well water and doesn't use chemicals nor salt to filter, it's totally safe and acceptable to do it like that.

[HypnoticAquatic]

ill put my 2¢ in. it is a good idea to check the bio media once in a while* if you have a very heavy load and little room for the bio it can depending on how its set up get clogged but is uncommon to say the least. i just shake the bio media around to get any loose debris off an put it back.

i havent ever cleaned any of my impellers ever unless there was sand or something that was blocked and if that ever happends i just remove it get the obstruction out an replace it back and have had zero issues from that.

i also dont ever use prime on a wc only time i use that is for recharging my purigen. i fill my tanks up with the hose so there is a temp difference which isnt an issue unless you shock the system by filling to fast with super cold water, i just basicly mimic a rain storm an slightly bring down the temp, thankfully i have good tap water an can keep crs and other types directly in it.

best thing i can tell anyone is learn how it works and then why it works that way, after that you have the info to make a much better decision for your tank.

[Crob5965]

wow I thought if I kept reading I was going to learn something about canister filters, I was wrong

I dont wash out my bio media in tap water but I do with my sponge filters and I dont have any issues

[Evilgrin]

other then pulling the plug after stopping the water flow I don't personally see what the big fuss is about. Sure he rinsed his mechanical filtration in Tap Water big deal it's mechanical filtration about the same as putting in a new filter sponge.

Did he rinse his bio media? Nope Was it necessary probably not can't say for sure wasn't there.
Did he clean his impeller? Nope Again probably wasn't needed at the time of the video.
Did he clean his hoses? Nope Again probably wasn't needed at the time of the video.

Did he claim it to be the end all be all video of how to clean a canister NOPE Not once.

Is he someone with access to a video camera and is fairly enthusiastic about his hobby? Most Likely the case.

Do I see flaws in his approach yes, is it going to negatively impact his fish I doubt it from the little I see in the video. But instead of being so negative maybe you could post on his account and offer some advice on what he might be able to improve on instead of trying to ridicule them on another venue for their lack of knowledge or what you perceive as a lack of knowledge.

You claim to see major errors in what he is doing but you don't point them out you leave it for others to find. List what you perceive to be the mistakes he's making and list the reasons why and what should be done instead. that would be of great benefit to those who are new to the hobby, instead you post came off more like the that one kid in school that would just point and laugh at someone else having a hard time but never offer to help them.

Again not to seem as if I'm attacking you personally it's just an observation.
I'm only here for the fish ok ok and the plants.

[talontsiawd]

I don't even want to comment on filters. If this is the worst video you have seen on YouTube regarding how to do something, watch more. I am a fairly accomplished musician and most hobbyist videos give terrible advice regarding just about everything. I don't hold them "accountable", I just move on. So what, he did something you don't agree with, YouTube is not a site for professional advice, that's reality.

[m00se]

I can't believe this idiot just killed his biofiltration by rinsing his pads and inserts in tap water. Yeah, the main biomass is on the substrate, but that's not where the water is flowing. The fact is that the nitrogen cycling capacity isn't going to recover for 10 days.

YOU ARE AN IDIOT.

KIDS DO NOT DO WHAT YOU SEE HERE!

BlorchHeadblownov 10 hours ago

This was the only comment posted in weeks before this morning when it was only 45 minutes old.... Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it?

[magnum]

Well his power strip was pretty close to the canister that's probably not the best habit to get into. Other than that we all take short cuts I don't have a problem with what he did.

[Fishies_in_Philly]

See, i gotta apologize for getting snippy. I had your whole post out of context. If you had posted from the start that you were looking for vids to link new people too, i think you would have gotten a different response. personally, when someone asks me how to clean their filter, i tell them to read the instructions. Lol i would never link to you-tube. Maybe if eheim had videos like fluval does, i would link to that, but never you-tube. I have way to many idiots who watch how to fix their cars on you-tube and then come to my shop and try and tell me how to fix their cars, so i am big time anti you-tube....lol

[5BodyBlade]

OP, did you make any comment like "Hey you might want to do it this way..." giving any type of criticism/help or did you just run here to bash the guy and increase your own opinion of yourself? The guy in the video made no claims at all. He just showed how he does his filter maintenance. If you've showed anything that is wrong with Youtube it's that trolls are ever present.

[CAM6467]

The guy cleaned his filter pads in the sink and dumped out some nasty filter water. Quick, somebody call PETA!!!!!

Some of you guys just blast total BS on here to give your hands a rest from your "other" internet hobbies...

[TexasCichlid]

Who the heck cares? I've cleaned my pads the exact same way for years. No issues. The amount of surface area in filter pads is minimal for bacterial colonization. Looks like he left his bio-media intact.