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Canister filter maintenance

3K views 28 replies 15 participants last post by  Italionstallion888 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,
Can anyone detail the proper canister filter maintenance? I've got dual Fluval 406 filters on my 90G planted tank. I've forced myself into the habit of cleaning each filter once every two or three weeks (I never do both at once), but I'm not sure if I'm missing something.

Here's my process:
-Empty tank water into buckets
-Disassemble canister
-Take out each compartment of filter media (biomax, sponges, water polishers) and rinse them around in the buckets of tank water
-For sponges/polishers, I simply hand scrub them in the tank water to get debris off of them. I don't scrub them too much because I do not want to damage by my BB.

My main area of concern is regarding the sponge cleaning. What is appropriate here? How much scrubbing is too much? The polishers in particular look pretty brown because in the beginning they were neglected, but that is more of a stain than a clog -- they are pretty clean now that I have stepped up my maintenance.

Other question:
- I do not remove the intake/output hoses and clean the insides. Am I supposed to? If so, how do you all do that? The filter flow seems fine, btw, so I don't think they are clogged or anything.

Final thought & advice to others:
- I am happy with my canisters, but for those out there who don't like to keep up on maintenance a good set of HOB filters is probably easier/quicker to clean without making a mess or adding 15-20 minutes to your water change chores. Better yet seems to be a sump, but that's obviously more complex in other ways.

Look forward to your thoughts!
 
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#2 ·
To your last point: I think you're cleaning them too often. It obviously depends on the tank and amount of particulate matter that will be in the filter, but I suspect you could wait easily 2-4 months between cleanings.

At some level there's no real need to clean until there's a significant drop in water flow, though for a lot of people that could be too long, at least for peace of mind.

I hate HOB's, they are noisy, take up room, don't hold much media, and are ugly.

One other thing I do is replace one or two floss pads each time (I have about 5 in each filter), here where I'm talking about every 2-3 months. It's hard to say when they really need it, but that gives me a methodical way to keep them refreshed. I just wash the sponges, have not replaced them yet.

You may need to adjust if you are running carbon as it likely won't last more than a few weeks.

I doubt you can really scrub BB off in significant quantities if you are using tank water, especially if (as I assume?) you have a bio media such as matrix or rings, where much if it will reside and should just be gently rinsed in tank water.

I also make sure to clean the impeller well, especially the shaft, and put a bit of Vaseline on the shaft before reinstalling.

Take above with a grain of salt -- done a lot of reading, but that's based on only about 7 months experience.... (but 5 canisters running).
 
#3 ·
I agree with Linwood. You don't have to clean your canister filter out every water change or every other one. It's too much of a hassle as it's not needed that regularly. I only cleaned my canister filter out due to the flow decreasing as the months went by.
 
#4 ·
I have a Fluval 404 on a non-planted tank, I have had lazy spells where the filter was probably 6-7 months with out a cleaning. 3-4 seems about right though. It all depends on how dirty the tank gets (# of fish,amount of sediment that gets stirred up,excess food, etc...) and the reduction of water flow rate. You are cleaning them way too often. Give yourself a break.
 
#5 ·
What the OP knows (and I can vouch for) is that a 90g planted tank puts alot of crap into the canister.

Personally I do mine once a month, similar regime to yours.....I don't worry too much about killing BB in the sponge(s) as you have your bio media BB colony, as well as the other filter you are not breaking down.
 
#6 ·
What the OP knows (and I can vouch for) is that a 90g planted tank puts alot of crap into the canister.
Each tank is if course different, but if you watch for significantly diminished flow, that's a good indication of it having enough "crap".

Remember, a filter actually filters better (removes finer particles) as it starts to get a bit loaded up. You don't want it too loaded, but cleaning too frequently also reduces removal of the very finest particles.

The OP also asked about the tubing - that's a really good question. So far I haven't but I can see that they are getting pretty full of junk. I've read of people removing them and running them (in a separate environment) with bleach for a while to clean out, I've read of people using brushes on very long flexible wires, and I've read other people that say they never really get clogged enough to matter.

I do know that when I've cleaned the filter, probably from the back/forth flow, I then discharge a ton of loose crap for the first few minutes, and it's coming from the tubes. I keep meaning to try catching it in a net or something, but haven't.

Those who have had them running a long time... what is your experience?
 
#7 ·
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for your responses. I'm glad I'm not the only one who wasn't cleaning that regularly, but I have to say respectfully that I think you are wrong. It cannot be based on filter flow alone, though that's a consideration. When I clean mine so much debris from the plants is floating around trapped in there... if I did not clean it out, my nitrates would surely be pretty high because that rotting organic matter is just stuck in there. To that point, I also realized it's not enough to scrub the media in tank water... I also have to dump the excess water in the canister out into a bucket for disposal, or else I'd only have slightly reduced the build up of organics trapped in my filter.

Again, I thank you for your responses and don't mean to disregard your opinions, but I am sure that going more than a month or two is too long (certainly 5,6,7 months seems crazy to me).

Thanks and I look forward to more responses!
 
#8 ·
One thing to consider mattjm20, is that many people use a sponge pre-filter, or at least have fine enough grate on the intake so you don't have plant debris of any size. What I expect to see when I open the filter is something like mud or silt in the first sponge, not (many) identifiable sized pieces of plants.

I also suspect the vast majority of what you are seeing turn to nitrates are poop, old food, and various dead things like algae, and I suspect most rots faster than you can remove it anyway, even at 3 weeks.

Regardless, you don't have to treat it as an opinion. Just try it. Measure your nitrate levels just prior to filter cleaning as you lengthen the period (keeping the same water change period), and see how much higher they are, if any at all.

And yes -- using filter/tank water to wash the filters, I always discard it; mine is usually a brown, opaque mess. Sometimes I end up using new RODI water to rinse parts just because of how dirty.
 
#9 ·
I clean the debris out of the prefilter sponges in my filter every week, just wring them out in tank water. Adds maybe 5 minutes to the water change. I rinse out the ceramic biological media in tank water every few months, just a rinse to shake out any rubbish that has gotten in there.
Keeping rotting organics to a minimum (ie the stuff in your prefilter sponge) can go a long way to fighting algae.....
 
#10 ·
Thanks guys. Certainly the thing that fluval calls the "polishing pad" or something is what strains out any sort of organic matter. It is basically a long, thin foam piece of sorts. That is by far where most of the crap comes off of...

I have considered putting something over the filter intake to reduce that. It's not a bad idea. Would certainly making cleaning the filter easier and presumably not needed as frequently.
 
#13 ·
I generally clean mine every 2-3 months, or when I can see an extra special lot of gunk flopping around in it. I have a Cascade 700 that's got see through walls. What I do is..
Disassemble filter
Remove top and run water through the intake opening to flush out any crap floating around in the motor area
Remove media baskets - rinse ceramic media in tank water, replace polishing pad, rinse / squeeze out coarse pad to remove sludge. That takes a few minutes because it's usually REALLY nasty.
Wipe and rinse sludge from housing
Take hoses off and run water through them to remove most of the sludge
Clean outflow pipe/spraybar/whatever

It seems like a little TOO much cleaning, but I use it as a time to do integrity checks and make sure everything is flowing like it should. I neglected to clean the hoses last night and it was a mess I'd rather not have to clean up again.
 
#14 ·
It has been touched on but I think we tend to overlook how much each tank will vary. I also agree that it is not as simple as watching flow at times. Depending on how the tank works, you may do fine with just watching flow to judge when to clean but if you are testing and the nitrate begins to creep up I feel it is a good time to clean the filter. Waste is the same whether it is laying on the bottom or hidden in the filter. If there is a ton hidden in the filter but flow is still good, you may still need to clean the ton of gunk out of the filter.
If you want to make the filter last a bit longer, go for cleaning the impeller and shaft every time you open the filter. Just a small bit of grit and grime on the shaft will wear down the shaft just like a machine. If you leave it there it can cost you a shaft and impeller so check the cost of those when you are deciding if it is worth the effort. It can cost you a pretty penny!
The tubing is not an area that I clean very often. Possibly 4-5 times in five years but that is often due to having the tubing off for other reasons and cleaning it makes sense rather than putting it back dirty. The gunk that comes out of the tubing just seems to fade away once in the tank. Much of mine is simple mineral deposits from hard water.
 
#15 ·
It has been touched on but I think we tend to overlook how much each tank will vary.
...

Depending on how the tank works, you may do fine with just watching flow to judge when to clean but if you are testing and the nitrate begins to creep up I feel it is a good time to clean the filter.
Obviously there are many ways to get clean water, but I just want to suggest an slightly opposing view...

1) When nitrates rise, change the water

2) When the flow gets slow -- OR -- the RATE of nitrate rise goes up (how much you add each week), clean the filter.

Unless you have a big, heavily planted, lightly stocked tank, you'll make yourself nuts cleaning the filter every time nitrates go up, that's what water changes are for. But if you are building up rotting organics in there so that the rate at which you produce nitrates... well, yes, clean the filter.
 
#19 ·
It's the internet. We can't even agree on who invented it. :icon_twis

There's more than one workable answer. Each answer (to almost any aquarium question) that is workable has tradeoffs. So questions like "should I use dirt or sand or gravel" can be debated forever, as can "what is the right schedule for water changes".

What's useful is to learn what the tradeoffs are for each. The continual refrain of "I do X and that's right" is not very helpful for that, but when people explain what they are getting for their path, you can start to compare side effects of any action and choose what works for you.

So the discussion is more than noise. Barely. :wink:

I'm designing everything I do around minimal maintenance - stocking levels, filtration, plants, etc. So my answers will aim toward less work. Others consider it not work but fun/therapy/insignificant, and so might aim toward more margin for safety and more frequent cleaning.

Neither (IMHO) is wrong, just different; only you should choose for you.
 
#20 ·
I guess I'm a little different I use a calendar and keep track of how many days. I usually clean once a month but been going 60 days. I myself wouldn't go much longer then that it was very dirty at 60 days. I also have a prefilter on the intake and I like to clean it every two weeks. I missed it one week and it was sucked in from the pressure from the pump and pulling air in. I never clean the hoses they just don't get that dirty.
 
#21 ·
guess what happens if you rinse a filter in untreated tap water




nothing, it gets cleaned :)

same goes for daily cleaning of a filter, it still has the bacteria, we aren't dislodging all of them and in fact gross contamination of mixed aerobic digestor bacteria and their waste substrates are what we are rinsing off, they compete with nitrifiers for vital space and physically overpower them in clogged unexported media, studies show, but we usually can't tell as the nitrifiers are so dense in the rest of the tank, and in the water, but on the surfaces for the most part.

have been reading these details online the last couple days after we got to talking about nitrifier activity, you'd be surprised how many doctoral theses and hundreds of peer reviewed works are out there for cleaning routines on large scale industrial filters, the exact same science we are debating here.

the reason your tank doesnt care if you go 8 months with a clogged, barely running filter or an uber clean one where channels are not blocked by heterotrophs and detritus is because of the massive operational surface area in the rest of the tank. most any of us can simply take any filter we are running offline, and have no ammonia or ill effects other than migration of the detritus into and onto the sandbed instead of the filter.

for those who maintain fair control over their cast about organic waste in the tank, I can see why a clogged filter registers nitrate spikes but the majority of us have planted tanks as dirty as the filters in question...

its true there is acceptable variability, but the ideal is simply aged filter material that has nitrifier and other bac communities and not much sludge at all, so that pores and channels are open and useful. if someone wants to use a junked up hardly cleaned filter thats no big deal, my substrate looks like that most of the time and I dont use filters anyway.

some interesting takeaways:

-we are told that rinsing in tap kills bacteria on your filter, inactivates it, can restart a cycle

no. you can rinse your filters in tap, ro, di, milk, apple juice, motor oil and it wont kill the bacteria but Im sure the motor oil will kill the rest of the tank lol.


-clean or not clean your filter, filtration is going on in other areas such that what you do with a canister isn't really a big deal in planted tanks.
 
#23 ·
guess what happens if you rinse a filter in untreated tap water...

nothing, it gets cleaned :)
I'm sure there is a spectrum here, and it may depend on the tap water - some people have chloramines which are more potent at the tap than those with regular sodium hypochlorite. Clearly if you rinse with chlorine treated water, some percentage die.

Are you saying that percentage is insignificant?

Or that it may be large but that the rest of the tank has plenty and so in total it's insignificant?

Do you have any data behind all that? I've love to read it. There's much to much of the absolute "it does" or "it doesn't" floating around, unsupported, when usually the answer is "it does to a degree" and it's all about the degree.

As with the subsequent post, I would have tended to rinse plastic with tap water, usually not sponges but I could see doing that also. But I don't rinse my bio media, not because I am sure it would hurt -- but I am not sure it wouldn't.
 
#24 · (Edited)
the way you start is by posting a total plate count for heterotrophic bacteria from your local water report

thats the how much

and we compare that to tpc from my area or any other area successfully doing it

in writing what I wrote, I meant all tap, since they have all active tpc

it wont kill your filter to rinse w it. too much bioprotection


I don't mean to imply that isolated nitrifiers in a test tube wouldn't die if kept exposed only to untreated tap, but it takes those kinds of conditions to kill some of them off. We have fed the biofilms in a canister filter and know they are there

But the same sludge is in your house pipes when you didnt feed it, the sludge on the pipe walls is just enough housing even for 105 degree to pass by if you consider that as a testament to how tough the associations are with these bacteria. Not necessarily the individuals but the complexes that house them, we leave tons behind even after a rinse in scalding hot tap water

Won't kill em or your tap wouldn't be pumping out live bacteria, nitrifiers too, the total plate counts will tell for each region and that's not even the amplified results after coming out dirty fittings in our house.


its what the links show if one checks a few pages in



We are rinsing in brief periods then returning to tank conditions to re accumulate so the plate counts one would find off the rinsed media would still be considered beyond contaminated with activity, our stuff is tuff
 
#26 ·
5/8id x 3/4od tubing is something like 40 cents per foot at my local hardware store. I'll gladly pay the $3.20 for the 8 feet of tubing I need to replace the in/outtakes over cleaning the tubing any day. Considering the other money that gets spent on this hobby that's a drop in the bucket.
 
#27 ·
Regarding the original post, I clean my Fluval G6 once a month. I don't always rinse out the media, but I do clean the impeller, drain out the gunk in the bottom of the canister, etc. I clean the mechanical prefilter once every 2 weeks, as this seems to make the biggest impact on flow on my particular filter.

David
 
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