External filter cleaning

[john5748]

I have a 380 litre tank that I have been running for about six months and use an external Eheim thermofilter which I clean out every 2 - 3 months.

I have read on numerous posts here that you should use the tank water to clean the filter medium so that you are not losing the beneficial bacteria that has been built up in the filter.

This is something that I have not been doing as it would take pretty much the whole tank's water to clean it completly, I have been running it under the tap and cleaning it that way, then once it has been cleaned I prime it with the tank water and set it away.

To date (touch wood) I have had no problems as I check my tank's water quality once a week for PH, Nitrate, Nitrite etc.

Does anyone else have a similar filter as I would be interested to hear how they do it?

 

[andyj]

Why not just take a bucket of tank water, and use that to clean the filter

The Chlorine in tap water will kill the beneficial bacteria in the filter media.

 

[lizard]

To clean the filter media, you could also take tap water, dechlorinate it, then use that to rinse it. I've only cleaned my canister filter (Eheim 2213) once in the time I've had it (six months or so) and I think I used the dechlorinated tap water method.

Pamela
aka Married Lizard

 

[gadazobe]

Do you just run the one filter on the tank?

It is best to clean your filter in tank water that has been set aside for this purpose - I find that about 3 buckets is enough (about 30 litres) and in your size tank that shouldn't be a problem. If there are enough decorations in the tank, then your beneficial bacteria will survive on them and in the gravel and so far they seem to be enough to keep the tank going until the filter regains it's colony.

 

[john5748]

I may be having a blonde moment here (sorry in advance to any clever blondes) but do you realise how big, and how many different components require cleaning in this sort of filter, there are:

1, Cannister body
2, Inlet and Outlet tubing
3, Gravel, in between the pads
4, Three pads which go at the bottom, middle and top of the cannister of different thickness

The 3 pads alone when they are taken out of the cannister are caked in poo and other stuff ,and these normally take 10 minutes each to clean by running a tap through them, not to mention the amount of water I need to run through the gravel before it runs clear.

I got this filter from a friend who no longer keeps fish so I don't have any instructions for this filter, I am just following the advice from my lfs

 

[SirMinion]

I always use tankwater.
Remember that the filter doesn't have to be spotless, just de-clogged. It takes me about 30 minutes to strip, clean and re-assemble our externals under a flow of tankwater running through a narrow syphon directly from the tank into a bucket.

Which reminds me, the filter on the comminity tank needs doing.

Fluvel 304

• Cannister body
• Inlet & outlet pipes
• pipe valve assembly
• Impeller & impeller cover
• Cannister lid
• two sponge pads
• sponge holder
• four media trays & media

All in half an hour!

 

[john5748]

I always use tankwater.
Remember that the filter doesn't have to be spotless, just de-clogged.

Thanks for the advice, that must be where I have been going wrong. I have been cleaning it spotless before putting it back in .

It normally takes me a whole afternoon to clean all the parts, I am going to try and match your record next time

 

[Tolak]

On my cannisters, I rinse the media, trays, & pads in a bucket of tank water, the plastic housing, hoses, and everything else get rinsed in tap water. They just get hosed in the utility sink. Never had a problem, it usually takes around a half hour tops to do one.

If you have houseplants, or a garden, use the water you rinsed the media in to water them. I started this a while ago, the houseplants look great, can't wait to see the roses & veggies outdoors this year.

Tolak