Canister Filter Cleaning

[wiktor]

Hi 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?

 

[eqbal9947]

Hi 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?

this is not an emergency
theres 50 youtube on how to do this

 

[I never finish anythi]

When I had a canister filter I used to wash all my pads in the fishtank water after a w)c . I would replace the carbon

 

[gbroadbridge]

Rinse with water from the tank when you do the weekly water change. Do not use tap or rodi water.

Change the carbon at the same time.

 

[brandon429]

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

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

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.

 

[bud_rick]

I used to clean filter pads in tank water and never change or clean the bio pellets lol. Guess I couldn’t make sense of washing all the bacteria out of the filter. I could be wrong for never changing it out though. ‍I also used to soak the motor/impeller in citric acid to avoid it from stopping from calcification.

 

[GARRIGA]

I leave canisters running until flow is reduced or water yellows. Ain’t broke. Ain’t getting messed with. Panic never a solution.

 

[bud_rick]

I leave canisters running until flow is reduced or water yellows. Ain’t broke. Ain’t getting messed with. Panic never a solution.

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.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

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

I love my canister, your Debbie Downer way of looking at a canister filter is completely not true,......AT ALL.

 

[Rmckoy]

I love my canister, your Debbie Downer way of looking at a canister filter is completely not true,......AT ALL.

There was a cycle post last night which I thought would be beneficial to read his work threads again.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

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.

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.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

There was a cycle post last night which I thought would be beneficial to read his work threads again.

not sure I'm understanding what your saying? sorry.

 

[GARRIGA]

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’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.

Canister maintenance is all about reducing the water volume inside. At least for me. That’s accomplished by closing the influent for a moment then shutting the effluent before turning it off. Just need enough room in the display for the displaced canister water. Now day trade opening no spills.

An alternative way to use canisters is to fill them up with various size gravel to capture and decompose detritus and use no sponges or floss. Then have a second canister to house finer media along with GAC or other items often needing change. Now you just clean that. Canister can go for years without maintenance. Could also just run a separate HOB for running GAC and such. Fine enough gravel in the canister will polish it to the point most things floating get trapped.