Need help cleaning filter!

[Scaggs1117]

So I need to clean my filter, not necessarily replace media just carbon. Last time I changed the carbon I noticed a lot of gunk in there. I have a fluval 307 canister and I’m deathly afraid of cleaning it because of wiping out the bacteria and I don’t want to have a nitrite or ammonia spike. So my question is, is there a beneficial bacteria additive I can put it the filter after cleaning it out to help that of keep bacteria in there?

 

[Saltyreef]

So I need to clean my filter, not necessarily replace media just carbon. Last time I changed the carbon I noticed a lot of gunk in there. I have a fluval 307 canister and I’m deathly afraid of cleaning it because of wiping out the bacteria and I don’t want to have a nitrite or ammonia spike. So my question is, is there a beneficial bacteria additive I can put it the filter after cleaning it out to help that of keep bacteria in there?

Do you have liverock in the tank?

If so, even removing the media will have minimal effects on bac. Colonies.

Clean your filter and enjoy your tank

 

[Scaggs1117]

Do you have liverock in the tank?

If so, even removing the media will have minimal effects on bac. Colonies.

Clean your filter and enjoy your tank

Yea I do and sand substrate. Ahhh okk. A lot of people say most of it stays in the filter which I didn’t believe to begin with, thanks!

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

You can rinse out your media with saltwater and that will not damage your back colonies.

 

[TheBear78]

Just clean the media in a bucket of tank water. No harm done.

 

[brandon429]

adding this:

if you disconnected that filter, and never put it back, no harm would come and no change. you need that surface area in freshwater setups, not in reefing.

the worst thing you can do is half clean it, turn it on, and pump waste into your system. that filter is a liability, not a help (if you get a power outage while at work for 5 hours, all its bac crash, then power on pumps it into your tank)

the safest thing you could possibly do is remove all media, run the canister empty, and use it only for flow.

I'm adding this post/thread to my updated cycling science 2023 thread: aka new rules opposite of what everyone was taught using the old methodology. the only time a substrate-packed canister filter or HOB filter is useful is when a display aquarium lacks the surface area needed to oxidize ammonia waste from inhabitants. no reef display ever meets that condition, none of them. it would require a system with no rocks to pose that risk, I literally don't know a single rockless reef tank on the site.

the irony is that full complete cleaning is safe, or taking it fully offline is safe, but any partial cleaning is a total risk to your reef. = ironic

 

[Spicy Reef]

If you time it with a water change, take a couple of buckets of water from the tank. Wear gloves just in case little critters.. squeeze and clean the sponges as much as possible in the first bucket then again in the second... good enough.
You can also put a prefilter on the intake to help keep the contents of the canister clean longer.
choosing to clean or keep in the system depends a lot on your livestock...

 

[Idech]

Yea I do and sand substrate. Ahhh okk. A lot of people say most of it stays in the filter which I didn’t believe to begin with, thanks!

That is 100% true, but for freshwater tanks. Not saltwater, as the rock is where the beneficial organisms live.

 

[Scaggs1117]

Just clean the media in a bucket of tank water. No harm done.

Yeah that was the plan, thanks!

 

[Scaggs1117]

That is 100% true, but for freshwater tanks. Not saltwater, as the rock is where the beneficial organisms live.

Ahh ok thank you!

 

[Scaggs1117]

If you time it with a water change, take a couple of buckets of water from the tank. Wear gloves just in case little critters.. squeeze and clean the sponges as much as possible in the first bucket then again in the second... good enough.
You can also put a prefilter on the intake to help keep the contents of the canister clean longer.
choosing to clean or keep in the system depends a lot on your livestock...

Thank you very much

 

[Scaggs1117]

adding this:

if you disconnected that filter, and never put it back, no harm would come and no change. you need that surface area in freshwater setups, not in reefing.

the worst thing you can do is half clean it, turn it on, and pump waste into your system. that filter is a liability, not a help (if you get a power outage while at work for 5 hours, all its bac crash, then power on pumps it into your tank)

the safest thing you could possibly do is remove all media, run the canister empty, and use it only for flow.

I'm adding this post/thread to my updated cycling science 2023 thread: aka new rules opposite of what everyone was taught using the old methodology. the only time a substrate-packed canister filter or HOB filter is useful is when a display aquarium lacks the surface area needed to oxidize ammonia waste from inhabitants. no reef display ever meets that condition, none of them. it would require a system with no rocks to pose that risk, I literally don't know a single rockless reef tank on the site.

the irony is that full complete cleaning is safe, or taking it fully offline is safe, but any partial cleaning is a total risk to your reef. = ironic

Very interesting, thanks!

 

[Scaggs1117]

adding this:

if you disconnected that filter, and never put it back, no harm would come and no change. you need that surface area in freshwater setups, not in reefing.

the worst thing you can do is half clean it, turn it on, and pump waste into your system. that filter is a liability, not a help (if you get a power outage while at work for 5 hours, all its bac crash, then power on pumps it into your tank)

the safest thing you could possibly do is remove all media, run the canister empty, and use it only for flow.

I'm adding this post/thread to my updated cycling science 2023 thread: aka new rules opposite of what everyone was taught using the old methodology. the only time a substrate-packed canister filter or HOB filter is useful is when a display aquarium lacks the surface area needed to oxidize ammonia waste from inhabitants. no reef display ever meets that condition, none of them. it would require a system with no rocks to pose that risk, I literally don't know a single rockless reef tank on the site.

the irony is that full complete cleaning is safe, or taking it fully offline is safe, but any partial cleaning is a total risk to your reef. = ironic

So basically what you’re saying as well is I can clean the sponges totally and the bio filter will be fine still

 

[brandon429]

Yes, because your rocks are the biofilter and we're not touching them. The risk isn't losing bacteria from the filter: it's letting waste trapped in the filter get circulated in the main display. The harsher you clean the filter material the safer it is for your reef display

The weaker you clean the filter bacteria in the goal of preserving bacteria, the more waste will be retained and that is the hidden danger

You can easily easily rinse all media in the canister under normal tap water for a long time, squeezing and rubbing out all the stored up waste, the bacteria don't matter. Make it 100% cloud free rinse

The final rinse for all media is freshwater, ro/ drinking water, to evacuate the tap. Then put it in, clean out the inside of the filter so there's no scum inside and put it all back together totally clean. That's the safest way to clean a reefs canister filter just shy of removing all the media, throwing it away, and inputting all brand new dry media. There is no benefit in adding bottle bac to a cycled reef tank.

 

[brandon429]

You're going to feel so weird rinsing out and killing the filter bacteria lol

That's the degree and depth of old cycling science training in our hobby. I would bet no pet shop employee could ever pass this knowledge quiz, they'd all say its crazy and your tank will die.

Let me show you a working example. Look at the massive amount of filter/ surface area we removed all at once here

This remote dsb system is equivalent to four of your canister filters in surface area: see how we just instantly removed it and nothing happened? That's the hidden rule, at work:

Removing remote deep sand bed

I setup a removable deep sand bed in my sump 9 months ago but now I’d like to remove it to give me more room in the sump. What do you think the impact to tank chemistry might be and how to mitigate any negatives?

www.reef2reef.com

 

[brandon429]

In that thread we directly show that instantly removing bacteria beyond the live rock in a reef display does not matter, it has zero impact. Nothing was able to cloud waste into his tank because he simply unplugged it from the water flow chain.

 

[Scaggs1117]

Yes, because your rocks are the biofilter and we're not touching them. The risk isn't losing bacteria from the filter: it's letting waste trapped in the filter get circulated in the main display. The harsher you clean the filter material the safer it is for your reef display

The weaker you clean the filter bacteria in the goal of preserving bacteria, the more waste will be retained and that is the hidden danger

You can easily easily rinse all media in the canister under normal tap water for a long time, squeezing and rubbing out all the stored up waste, the bacteria don't matter. Make it 100% cloud free rinse

The final rinse for all media is freshwater, ro/ drinking water, to evacuate the tap. Then put it in, clean out the inside of the filter so there's no scum inside and put it all back together totally clean. That's the safest way to clean a reefs canister filter just shy of removing all the media, throwing it away, and inputting all brand new dry media. There is no benefit in adding bottle bac to a cycled reef tank.

Thank you!

 

[Scaggs1117]

In that thread we directly show that instantly removing bacteria beyond the live rock in a reef display does not matter, it has zero impact. Nothing was able to cloud waste into his tank because he simply unplugged it from the water flow chain.

You have been very helpful, exactly what I needed. Much appreciated!