Changing The Filter Cartridge...

[BlueDragon]

So having been re-cycling my tank now since the 22nd May I realize that if I were to beleive what I was told then it should be nearly time to change the filter cartridge. I was told, and I read, that it should be changed every month. But I never fully believed that and have always thought a month was too often. And since I've been working my backside off trying to get my tank healthy with bacteria I can't see how changing the cartridge straite afterwards will be helpfull at all. So my question is how often should you really change the cartridge? I've read people on here who say they don't change theirs till it's litrally starting to fall apart, is that the right attitude to have? And how often should I be cleaning it? I've left it entirely alone all through this new cycle, not even cleaned it once. But I get that you must have to do it sometimes. I just didn't want to mess the cycle up again : /

 

[Tizer]

you never change it, why would you? the bacteria building up on it are beneficial to your cycle and keep the water pristine. Ditch it, with them on it, and you start over again. All you do is squeeze it in tank water once a month to get the dirt out and allow water to flow through it freely again. job done.

 

[BlueDragon]

I thought you had to every now and then? Now I am confused : /

Will the sponge not disintergrate eventually? Or start to break up? Does the carbon not even need replacing?

 

[ZoddyZod]

what you are told in the manufacturers manual is ways for them to make more money from you.

As Tizer said, keep the media and just give it a good rinse once in a while. I've yet to see anyones sponges or media disintergrate.....it'll take years and years for that to occur (some of my sponges are 3yrs old with no sign of falling apart).

as for the carbon......that will be 'full' within a couple fo weeks of being in the filter, then it will just act as more media for the bacteria colony to settle on. It's only really needed to remove toxins/medication as is seen as a temporary addition to the filter.....although some do use it for keeping their water pristine.

 

[elmo666]

you never change it, why would you? the bacteria building up on it are beneficial to your cycle and keep the water pristine. Ditch it, with them on it, and you start over again. All you do is squeeze it in tank water once a month to get the dirt out and allow water to flow through it freely again. job done.

If you use a fiter pad containing carbon this will definitely need replacing if you want to maintain the benefit of chemical filtration. Carbon reaches a point where it is saturated and is no longer effective. Now, here is the difficult bit. There is no set time scale for when saturation will occur, so to air on the side of caution I would sugget changing the cartridge evry six to eight weeks, sqeezing as much water as you can from the old pad into the new one. Alternatively, if possible, replace half a pad at a time.

 

[ZoddyZod]

elmo - what chemical filtration do you expect to be doing with the carbon ongoing?

 

[Tizer]

you never change it, why would you? the bacteria building up on it are beneficial to your cycle and keep the water pristine. Ditch it, with them on it, and you start over again. All you do is squeeze it in tank water once a month to get the dirt out and allow water to flow through it freely again. job done.

If you use a fiter pad containing carbon this will definitely need replacing if you want to maintain the benefit of chemical filtration. Carbon reaches a point where it is saturated and is no longer effective. Now, here is the difficult bit. There is no set time scale for when saturation will occur, so to air on the side of caution I would sugget changing the cartridge evry six to eight weeks, sqeezing as much water as you can from the old pad into the new one. Alternatively, if possible, replace half a pad at a time.

Bacteria will use the carbon filter pad as an area to grow and thrive. If your filter has one and you knew nothing about what the carbon pad does when you started the cycle, you will do just as well to leave it in there. Although it does nothing for med/chemical removal anymore, its still acting as bio filtration. No point replacing it in the slightest.

That said, carbon sponges dont have the surface area of standard bio media pads, so yes, if you wanted to increase the area which bacteria can grow, replacing it slowly with a normal pad would be a good idea in the long run. However, i wouldn't bother until 6 months down the line. Why "rock the boat".

 

[BlueDragon]

OK, so I shouldn't replace the cartridge ever, but I should clean it every now and then, is that right? And I just squeeze it in some used tank water to clean it, right? But I'm still a bit confused about the carbon, do I need to replace it at all?

I did twig that the manurfacturers were just trying to push sales, but I thought they must be at least just exagerating a fact.

I'll just keep on leaving the filter alone then, yeah?

Thanks for all your replies and info : )

 

[ZoddyZod]

you will need to give the sponges/media a rinse in tank water every once in a while as they do get clogged and reduce the flow of the filter.

I only ever use carbon after using medication, so personally I don't see the need to replace the carbon until there is a specific reason to do so.

 

[BlueDragon]

OK, thanks ZoddyZod : )

But I won't be getting rid of too much of the bacteria if I'm cleaning it will I? With things ending up going so wrong I'm a bit overly worried about doing something else wrong and causing another problem or having to start all over again, again... again.

 

[Tizer]

bacteria latch onto the sponges tightly, thats why they turn a manky brown colour, a gentle squeeze in tank water, like you might squeeze a bath sponge, to dislodge the dirt is all you need to to. Probably only needs doing once a month or every two months.

 

[BlueDragon]

Thanks : )

 

[alistairw]

Hi all

Just to tag onto the original post by Bluedragon, I have a further question.

I have a Fluval U2 filter which has 2 sponges either side of a cartridge that contains white "nodes" about half a cm across. Are these the biological media or the poly/carb filtration. I have been slightly confused by the terminology!!

I understand from the previous posts in this thread about cleaning the sponges, but I am unsure what to do with these little white nodes. i think the instruction tell me to replace every 2 weeks? Is this correct? Would I be throwing away a whole load of beneficial bacteria or will there be enough left in the 2 sponges?

My apologies for my ignorance......I am new to all of this.......but your help would be appreciated!!

Al

 

[Tizer]

Hi all

Just to tag onto the original post by Bluedragon, I have a further question.

I have a Fluval U2 filter which has 2 sponges either side of a cartridge that contains white "nodes" about half a cm across. Are these the biological media or the poly/carb filtration. I have been slightly confused by the terminology!!

I understand from the previous posts in this thread about cleaning the sponges, but I am unsure what to do with these little white nodes. i think the instruction tell me to replace every 2 weeks? Is this correct? Would I be throwing away a whole load of beneficial bacteria or will there be enough left in the 2 sponges?

My apologies for my ignorance......I am new to all of this.......but your help would be appreciated!!

Al

Just leave the filter as is and wash the sponges out monthly. The "nodes" are bio media and don't really get clogged up, but they will have bacteria on them, which would be unwise to get rid of.

 

[alistairw]

OK, thanks for your advice!!