Tropical Fish Forum

Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: pollydoodle on January 22, 2019, 05:47:45 PM

Title: How often should I clean my filter
Post by: pollydoodle on January 22, 2019, 05:47:45 PM

I've had a problem with my filter, all my own fault and sadly lost several fish because of it.

I have read differing advice on how often to clean the filter and wondered what the correct length of time in between cleaning

Title: Re: How often should I clean my filter
Post by: Sue on January 22, 2019, 06:30:00 PM

The most recent advice I have read is every two weeks for a mature filter. During cycling, cleaning should be less often until the biofilm is fully established.

The brown goo that builds up in the filter is uneaten food, fish poo, bits of dead plants etc and it is a "nitrate factory" - all that waste decomposes to make ammonia which is turned into nitrite and on into nitrate and if left it can have serious impact on the tank nitrate level.
I have 2 filters and I clean them alternately, one every week. It is amazing just how much brown muck comes out of them.

Title: Re: How often should I clean my filter
Post by: Matt on January 22, 2019, 09:08:20 PM

I go quickly bit longer (about a month or two) but do find that I struggle with nitrates if I go much longer than this. I am very fortunate to have very low (almost zero) nitrate tap for water though.

One thing to note here though, which may well be especially useful to others that land on this page, is how to clean a filter... this should be done with gently squeezing/swishing the filter sponge it in tank water removed during a water change (or chlorinated fresh water) so there is nothing present which might harm the biology of the filter. Cleaning a filter does not also involve changing the filter media (with the exception of some specialist chemical media's inactivated carbon). If your biological filtration is done by ceramic rings, the equivalent is a rinse and 'jiggle about' in old tank water.