Quick Question About My Filter

[linda1503]

Sorry, probably a silly question! I've recently been given a fluval 105 exterior filter, this is the first time I've used an exterior filter and not quite sure about its maintenance. There are 4 sponqes in it and I swapped 2 of them for the ones in my interior filter so its cycled and my stats are fine. I left it running for nearly 2 weeks before I turned it off to check it. The filter wool was obviously mucky and I changed that, rinsed one of the 4 sponges in tank water and that was it. My questions are: what do I do with the ceramic 'hoola hoops thingys? Do they need to be washed every week? Do I have to changed the filter wool every week or just when its too dirty, how often do I have to clean the impeller as the instruction manual says this is very fragile and I'm a bit worried about breaking it and finally is there anything else I should be doing?

Sorry to sound so useless but as I said this is the first exterior one I've had and want to keep it on top form. I do have the instruction manual but would rather take advice off guys than rely on a booklet. Thanks

 

[raptorrex]

first off, never feel foolish or sorry for asking well thought out and pertinent questions on a subject you are not familiar with, to me it simply shows intelligence.

the only real rule here is not to remove too much of the bacteria colony, when you clean your filter, just as with an internal. some people clean one section of the filter each week. so like ine sopnge section per week culminating in rinsing the ceramics, then start again. ( for the ceramic rings, i would simply rinse with tank water. removing any visible dirt). some like me clean only when the flow drops, so without saying "this is how to do it", i will describe how i do it.

every three to six months the flow drops from my Hydra prime 30 external. i remove the filter and open it. pouring the water from the filter into a bucket, set this aside. i treat the course sponge filter sections as mechanical, so i clean them in straight tap water, often hot, to clear them. if necessary, i rinse the ceramic media in the filtered water, that was in the filter when i removed it. this happens about every two or three cleans. the white filter wool tends, for me, to last two cleans. if you have a good bulk of ceramic in there it can be changed every clean. cleaning the impeller i tend to do every nine to twelve months. i don't know your filter, but it is often possible to see enough of the impeller casing to gauge if cleaning is required. providing you are careful, pulling the housing apart is not really a problem. it is important to avoid dropping the casing or, more vitally the impeller. but as for externals being fragile, i am far from sure. indeed each part is, normally bigger in an external, than in an internal. so in theory should be stronger. i then put the filter and media back together. i add the water that was in the filter when i removed it. filtering it through some white filter mat first. cleaning the filter inevitably causes a loss of bacteria. my reason for rinsing the media and returning the re filtered water to the cannister, is an attempt to retain as much free bacteria as i can. i have no idea if this actually works, all i can say is, that considering the problems i have had with my tank, very few, none have been related to filtration.
hope this waffle helps. let me know if i can help more.

 

[linda1503]

Lol thanks boboboy your 'waffle' certainly helped. I now have more of an idea about cleaning this filter. I must say that I find it much better than the internal one I was using. The only thing that worried me for the first few days was the fact that I live in a second floor flat and got up every morning worried that the water had all been pumped out over the carpet! Got over that worry now and am very happy with it! Still have concerns about cleaning the impellar but I suppose that once I've done it the first time I'll be ok! Thanks again.

 

[raptorrex]

Lol thanks boboboy your 'waffle' certainly helped. I now have more of an idea about cleaning this filter. I must say that I find it much better than the internal one I was using. The only thing that worried me for the first few days was the fact that I live in a second floor flat and got up every morning worried that the water had all been pumped out over the carpet! Got over that worry now and am very happy with it! Still have concerns about cleaning the impellar but I suppose that once I've done it the first time I'll be ok! Thanks again.

glad i could be of help could you flesh out your concerns regarding the cleaning of the impeller, i may be able to put your mind at rest, lol perhaps.

here is a link to the fluval on line manual: http/www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/manuals/fluve01.cfm

and one to the impeller assembly section: http/www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/manuals/fluve13.cfm

 

[linda1503]

Hi boboboy, my concerns about cleaning the impeller stem from the fact that in the instruction manual it says:

Important: The impeller fan has a ceramic shaft which is resistant to wear and tear in use, but is still fragile. Handle carefully during maintenance!

And on the same page it say:

WARNING! The yellow ceramic impeller shaft is permanently attached to plastic holder and is brittle to lateral pressure. Take extreme care when handling the impeller!

As you can see from these warinings it can be quite scary for a first time user having to pull out and check the impeller! Like I said Its probably just having to do it the first time that is daunting! lol After I've done it a few times I'll probably be wondering why the hell I was so worried!

Oh, those links are very good, gives me more info! Ta!