Filters Filters Filters...

[repunzlie]

I have an aqua tech filter.

Its only been on for a week. But when it comes to change it.. in a couple more weeks, what am I suppost to do?
I think I read somewhere that you leave the old one in your tank for a week when you put the new filter in?

 

[atmmachine816]

You can just take the filter cartridge and rinse it in old tank water and keep reusing it until it's clogged. Never change all your filter media at once though, because that's what keeps your tank cycled so if you ever change it, only change part of it.

 

[bluedollars]

i bought a filter that has a sponge like screen that is where the water falls out of the filter...that keeps all your good bacteria in it while u have to change the media...when u put new media in it the bacteria from the screen is back in the media...pretty sure its by aquaclear

 

[Torrean]

You can just take the filter cartridge and rinse it in old tank water and keep reusing it until it's clogged. Never change all your filter media at once though, because that's what keeps your tank cycled so if you ever change it, only change part of it.

I agree with this except instead of clogged I would say falling apart. If it gets so clogged that you can rinse it out in tank water then spray it with a water hose or something. You won't hurt the bacteria any more than if you replaced the filter and you might be able to clean it out and reuse it rather than spending money.,

 

[2chains]

i have an in-tank Tetra Whisper filer for my tank. It has these replaceable Bio-bags that it uses. How often should I change this, or should I not change it and just leave it, occasionally rinsing it when it becomes clogged?

 

[Torrean]

OOOOKKKK. Apparently TFF does not like me. I had almost finished a nice long explanation of filter cartridges and when to change them when in mid-sentence TFF deleted my entire post. Here is a short version.

1. bio filter cartridge= should be changed when it is fallin apart

2. chemical filter cartridge= contains activated carbon. Should be changed every other week. You can do this yourself by just replacing the carbon (available from most lfs) or you can by new filter bags every other week. Doing it yourself is cheaper.

3. other chem filters include phosphate, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia absorbing filters. I have little to no experience with these. There are other ways to deal with all of these...live plants and a stable filtration system


That is the much condensed version of what I typed earlier.

 

[2chains]

thank you torrean. so ill leave my filter in as long as possible and just rinse it down when it gets clogged or something.

 

[iairj84]

Those "Bio-Bags" will last you a lot longer than a month, I've had mine running for close to 3 months now and the only reason they say to replace them is for the carbon and if you're really worried about that you can buy the carbon separately. I have purchased batting from walmart and will start making my own cartridges when this one dies. The only time I would need the carbon is for removing medication but I will keep around an extra bio bag for that case.

 

[Torrean]

I said this in the post that got deleted but I left it out in the short version

The way you can tell that you need to rinse your filter is that it begins backflowing. Backflowing is when the water begins to flow from somewhere other than through the filter media and out the spout. Usually this occurs at the intake tube or over the sides and around the filter media in internal filters.