biomedia
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Peace River
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Do you mean for a sump or in a canister filter? What is the size of the system and how much live rock? Depending on the type of bio media and context it could be from every two weeks to never.
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While I run sumps on my main systems and have an all-in-one, I also have a canister filter on a system. While many people have moved beyond canisters and have less than positive feedback, there are still those who have beautiful reefs using canisters. Personally I try to keep the bacterial filtration in the live rock and not in the canister (I use the canister primarily for mechanical filtration and occasionally chemical filtration).
A few thoughts on your system: first, if what you are doing is working at the moment then you probably don't want to make a quick changes, and second, you are primarily focused on removing the waste and detritus that has been caught in the biomedia so a light rinse is often adequate IME.
One other caution about canister filters - if you lose power for a period of time (more than just a flicker) there is the risk of contents of the filter going anoxic and losing the bacteria. When the water comes back on, if you haven't cleaned the canister and the contents get pumped back into the tank then it has the potential to have negative effects.
A few thoughts on your system: first, if what you are doing is working at the moment then you probably don't want to make a quick changes, and second, you are primarily focused on removing the waste and detritus that has been caught in the biomedia so a light rinse is often adequate IME.
One other caution about canister filters - if you lose power for a period of time (more than just a flicker) there is the risk of contents of the filter going anoxic and losing the bacteria. When the water comes back on, if you haven't cleaned the canister and the contents get pumped back into the tank then it has the potential to have negative effects.
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Jilly92
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Wow. I kept all the media and sponges from the previous owner and haven't really made any changes except adding carbon and more bio rings. I haven't had any issues except my first algae bloom which is why I wanted to do a deep clean, and there was red slime under my flower anemone. The water is clear again after putting in carbon and filter floss. I will leave the bio until I have issues I guess. Thanks for feedback!
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Another thing to consider - hopefully your sponges and other mechanical media in the filter are trapping most of the waste and detritus and you can clean that part of the filter media regularly. Some of that waste, extra food, etc. may make its way into your biomedia - a little bit can be broken down by the bacteria. However if it builds up and is more than your bacteria can handle then it can create an issue for the system. An option is to do a light rinse to the biomedia occasionally as a preventative and another option is to watch your water parameters (assuming you are testing regularly) and watch for algae outbreaks (of course, that is often a lagging indicator). Good luck!
