how to clean prefilter

[laqu]

okay, so i have prefilters and on most tanks i just remove them and wash them when i clean the filter ... it's a real pain

i've been running with just shrimp till now or betta and the prefilters were nice and clean (thanks to mr/mrs shrimp) now i have fish too (and no shrimp in one tank)

here's my questions:
1) when i turn off my filter a bunch of stuff falls off the prefilter and even more falls off when i remove the hob from the tank .. there must be someway to clean the prefilter without making a mess

2) how often should i be cleaning the prefilter?


3) in the tank below the prefitler is helping hold the moss wall in place (well now it is) ideas on cleaning this one?


IMG_3057 by laq997, on Flickr

[h4n]

What i've done in the past was use a ziplock bag, zip it closed around and then pull off the prefilter, catching the stuff in the bag.

hope that helps!

[steven p]

Originally Posted by h4n

What i've done in the past was use a ziplock bag, zip it closed around and then pull off the prefilter, catching the stuff in the bag.

hope that helps!

This, or a cup.

[laqu]

so every week?

how often?

great ideas...

[somewhatshocked]

Clean it as frequently as you need to.

In my heavily populated tanks, I rinse them out about twice a week.

In some of my shrimp-only tanks, they only have to be rinsed every three weeks or so. Just depends upon the amount of gunk it collects in your tank.

[laqu]

so i cup it and rinse often ... got it

[discuspaul]

Originally Posted by h4n

What i've done in the past was use a ziplock bag, zip it closed around and then pull off the prefilter, catching the stuff in the bag.

hope that helps!

Good idea.

What I do, is use some clear 3/4" tubing to siphon off the bulk of the crud from the pre-filter right in the tank first, before turning off the filter, removing the pre-filter, and giving it a good wringing out to fully clean it up. Gets most of the outer coating of waste off, so there's little left to float off into your water column when you remove the pre-filter.

[laqu]

thanks!

[Green_Flash]

I just usually rinse it.

[jczz1232]

Or a fine fish net and net it out

[binbin9]

I usually wait until the waterfall from the HOB begins to trickle, this is a good indicator that its pretty full of gunk.

Use a cup to contain the flowback, mind your baby shrimps. And then I rinse with aquarium water and not tap, which is harmful to your good bacteria.

[laqu]

Originally Posted by binbin9

I usually wait until the waterfall from the HOB begins to trickle, this is a good indicator that its pretty full of gunk.

Use a cup to contain the flowback, mind your baby shrimps. And then I rinse with aquarium water and not tap, which is harmful to your good bacteria.

thanks