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this is not an emergencyHi Guys, desperately need to clean my filter before i go away. How do i do this? rinse everything with ro? how do i clean my carbon pads? same thing?
Lol I’d let it go that long just because they are such a huge pita to mess with. I’d switch it out for a seachem/sicce hob. It’ll do the job just as well.I leave canisters running until flow is reduced or water yellows. Ain’t broke. Ain’t getting messed with. Panic never a solution.
I love my canister, your Debbie Downer way of looking at a canister filter is completely not true,......AT ALL.G i have different take tell me what you think of this option
- not any display reef needs or benefits from a canister filter
Any reef display has high surface area; any reef can have its canister filter removed offline instantly, no ramp down, bc the other active surfaces in the tank are always fine for every display reef in the world and there and there aren't any exceptions
The advice above hints that any bacteria loss would be consequential... it's not
We run these filters only to make ourselves feel good, you can rinse with tap because we rinse sandbeds in tap all day long/ same rules apply to sandbed bacteria
You could rinse a canister filter with bleach, all the media, then boiling water, then give the media a twelve day antibiotics course (bacteria are gone from inside the filter) and nothing will happen to the display
These filters are actually slightly dangerous to run on reefs because in power outage... when power is on there's no harm.
We run canisters that don't help filtration at all (seneye conversion rates stay the same with or without canisters) but have a slight chance of killing the tank if they're not cleaned out after they sat closed up during a power outage. Returning power in the dirty filter has killed thousands of tanks documented in threads. They're slightly dangerous and unhelpful as ammonia filters.
Having the canister bone empty and using it for circulation is the wisest move, though it doesn't seem that way since we're all click trained to buy and support bacteria that don't help our reefs. These extra aerobes are tolerated, they're extra bioload that take up oxygen in the tank. Extra surface area is a waste catch and oxygen competition sink in the system.
A reef tank is better with an empty canister used only for water movement than it is with a canister packed full of surface area material
These are for freshwater use, those are low surface area displays comparatively.
We should never hint that a reef tank is ever ever short on filter bacteria
There was a cycle post last night which I thought would be beneficial to read his work threads again.I love my canister, your Debbie Downer way of looking at a canister filter is completely not true,......AT ALL.
do this, your filter will be fine. if you have bio balls or ceramic type balls, just rince those in the water-change water, everything else can be washed in the sink or tub. Any large foam can be rinsed in the sink as well, carbon will have to be replaced though.Bring the filter to the kitchen sink, take it apart, and clean every piece. I scrub with a toothbrush under hot tap water to get the slime off.
Throw away the filter pad, and replace it with a new one (should be replaced weekly), then put the filter back together and put back on your tank.
not sure I'm understanding what your saying? sorry.There was a cycle post last night which I thought would be beneficial to read his work threads again.
I’m using a Tidal but it’s no where as effective as a canister in my experience. Can’t beat the efficiency of zero bypass if packed correctly.Lol I’d let it go that long just because they are such a huge pita to mess with. I’d switch it out for a seachem/sicce hob. It’ll do the job just as well.

