Filter Clean

[wiktor]

Hi guys i really need to clean my filter but i did a water change on Sunday. If i do a water change inside my filter after cleaning will this %20 water change quite back to back (10%each) Make my tank spike again? Fairly new setup maybe few months.

 

[ASWoodsy]

Hi guys i really need to clean my filter but i did a water change on Sunday. If i do a water change inside my filter after cleaning will this %20 water change quite back to back (10%each) Make my tank spike again? Fairly new setup maybe few months.

I do not believe it would make your tank spike again, as the bacteria you need is on the surfaces of rocks and sand, and not in the water column.

 

[wiktor]

I do not believe it would make your tank spike again, as the bacteria you need is on the surfaces of rocks and sand, and not in the water column.

Well a lot of the bacteria is in the filter sponges etc? I’m cleaning them out in old water but filling with new saltwater. I wouldn’t risk fully rinsing the filter out as if new.

 

[ASWoodsy]

Well a lot of the bacteria is in the filter sponges etc? I’m cleaning them out in old water but filling with new saltwater. I wouldn’t risk fully rinsing the filter out as if new.

No, as long as you don’t go crazy scrubbing the filter sponges or replace all of them, then you should be fine.

 

[brandon429]

reef water has millions of cells of tradable, usable cycling bacteria. anywhere you read that it doesnt is a web forum rumor or a salesman selling something that does have bacteria in it.

reef water has millions of cells of suspended bacteria, on micro rafts/particles that slough from reef surfaces, that it counts like bottled bacteria.



we have threads of cycling completely dry reef tanks from other tank's reef water, in 20 days no extra food or bacteria dosed.


no reef display needs a filter. The water, rocks, sand, filtration surfaces all have filter bacteria and the rule is, live rock is so powerful with it's surface area that it alone can run any reef on this site.

we have 50 page threads of removing people's sand, filters, all of it leaving only the rock, with a 100% water change, and nothing recycles even while they're hooked to a seneye ammonia meter, even with the same fish bioload that 2 hours ago had all the extra surface area help in the tank. the rock simply steps up, immediately, permanently.


the rule in cleaning reef filters is this: don't stir up the waste they collect and circulate it back into the tank, clean them 100%.


so if you can remove a filter from any reef here, and never put it back, and the reef never loses it's ammonia control, that means the only thing that matters when you clean one is that you clean thorough.

you can see now how it would not matter if you rinsed the filter in tap water, removing it is an option/so why would rinsing it completely free of waste matter.




there are no times a reef tank runs low on bacteria or surface area. they run high on dangerous retained waste and it needs to be removed without clouding up the main display.

 

[Garf]

Hi guys i really need to clean my filter but i did a water change on Sunday. If i do a water change inside my filter after cleaning will this %20 water change quite back to back (10%each) Make my tank spike again? Fairly new setup maybe few months.

Post a pic of the tank if you can. I don’t have any traditional filtration, just 1% daily water changes.

 

[wiktor]

No, as long as you don’t go crazy scrubbing the filter sponges or replace all of them, then you should be fine.

Will be rinsing in filter water and then replacing water. Since it’s a sudden water change i might not change my water on sunday

 

[wiktor]

Post a pic of the tank if you can. I don’t have any traditional filtration, just 1% daily water changes.

250L tank and a 2000L/hr uvx aps filter.

 

[wiktor]

250L tank and a 2000L/hr uvx aps filter.

 

[homer1475]

Cleaning the filter material will not cause a single issue. Or completely removing it. Sure your going to kill some bacteria, but 99% of your bacterial filtration lives on the surfaces within the aquarium.

I helped a friend start a reef tank, all thats in it is rock, heater, and powerheads. Nice thriving tank actually. Of course he has some particles floating around(what a filter sock, or filters will take out), but it's not that noticable. Traditional power filters are not needed in the saltwater hobby.

Think of the sponge material in a filter like a normal filter sock on a sumped tank. We change them every few days, nothing happens to our tanks when we replace the sock(filter material) with a clean one every few days.

I've also done many large water changes(like 60 to 80% of my water volume) with not a hitch. As long as ALK, CAL, and temp are roughly the same, everything will be fine.

 

[brandon429]

nice pictures. that aquarium meets every rule stated above, it's huge with plenty of surface area in the rocks alone.

extra surface area beyond the rocks has a neutral impact in your tank, more isn't better, more is more oxygen command against your fish *although* we have so much spare oxygen in reef tank arrangments/open-topped high-current setups, that all the additional oxygen tax is dealt with/right up until a power outage and the circulation stops.

then, all the extra surface area we packed in just in case becomes a huge liability.


you simply dont even need a filter on this reef, ever, it's not a benefit other than adding motion to the system. cleaning filters with tank water won't matter one way or another. I'd use tap water.