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Thread: Filter Wash and Change

  1. #1
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    Filter Wash and Change

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    I am using a Eheim 2026, how long before I need to wash all the filter media and change blue nylon and white cotton media? Fish load is not high but lots of plant leaves etc. tends to get sucked into the filter.
    "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled" - Richard Feynman, 1986. Rogers commission into the Challenger disaster

  2. #2
    I got the following email reply from Yi Hu Fish Farm with regards to the same question that I asked them sometime back :

    ************************************************************
    Dear David,

    Greetings. You enquiry in regards to your Eheim 2026 in referred to me. I would say that the only piece of material you need to change in your filter would be the mechanical filter medium (white filter pad). Do not partially wash it, change the whole pad after every 2-3 months.
    Leave the blue filter pad alone as it is a coarse filet pad (biological filter medium) and the beneficial bacteria will dwell on it. If your water quality is alright, you may not need to change this pad at all. If not, change this pad every 6-9mths. Always remember not to rinse you filter mediums under tap water. Rinse them with old tank water.
    Hope this helps.

    ************************************************************

    As for the substrat, I would removed 1/3 of each and top up with new ones every year.

  3. #3
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    Thanks David!

    Answered all my questions beautifully
    "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled" - Richard Feynman, 1986. Rogers commission into the Challenger disaster

  4. #4
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    the main reason why the filter media shouldnt be washed under tap water is that the chlorine inside the tap water will kill the bacteria.

    however, i always doubted that the chlorine in our tapwater is even in sufficient quantity to kill the bacteria.
    so i am interested to find out this in local context.

    i had been washing my media in tap water and nothing had happened to my water quality.

    and when we do quite large water changes...that itself is just like washing the media in tap water....

    ?

  5. #5
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    Actually, you got a point there. Think someone got to do an experiment with 2 identical tanks, the only variable being the method of washing the filter. Then measure the water parameters again. Anyone interested?[]

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    I normally replace only the 2/3 of my filter floss and rinse away the 'muck' with the tank water. This usually hapens about 2~3 months. The main reason I'm using the tank water is not only it won't kill the bacteria colony but also I want to save water (recycling saves the environment...lol!!).
    Cheers!!

    Sherwin Choo
    [email protected]

  7. #7
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    LSZ, is yours a planted tank or a bare tank? Because the helpful bacteria will grow in the gravel, on driftwood, rocks, plants, in the water etc. so if your tank is already established, destroying the bacteria in the filter media won't cause much of an effect because the bacteria will multiply back into the media quite fast as there are already colonies of them in your tank.
    "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled" - Richard Feynman, 1986. Rogers commission into the Challenger disaster

  8. #8
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    read that 90% of the bacteria colonies are inside the tank and not the filter. of course might be different if you have all those bioballs, sintered glass etc.

  9. #9
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    filter media provides quite a lot of surface area for the bacteria to colonise
    even tho bacteria can and do grow on the tank surfaces, the filter makes a better home, regardless of what type of mechanical or biological media you use, as long as there's plenty of surface area

  10. #10
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    Just a question?

    Do we need to chg the ceramic rings and Zeolite stones that come with the filters also?

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    U mentioned fish load isnt high but the problem lies more with your dead leaves etc...then should use some kind of prefilter so your filter wont clog in the long run and spoil any internal parts.
    There's no point constantly cleaning your filter. Are you using a skimmer currently ?

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    Yo artvale,

    Yep, using a skimmer. According to the flow indicator, the filter is still operating at max efficiency, I guess the plant leaves are not affecting the flow rate.
    "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled" - Richard Feynman, 1986. Rogers commission into the Challenger disaster

  13. #13
    Its is questionable whether there is a need to use tank water to wash the filter media for a well established tank.

    I compared using tap water and tank water and I could not tell whether there was any difference. So I have since use tap water to wash all the filter media together once every 3 months or so. I think there is enough bacteria colonised within the media as well as the tank that the chlorine in the PUB water could not kill.

    Good to clean the filter regularly not only to improve flow rate but also remove the organic material that causes the yellowish tinge of the tank water.

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    Well Jason , lots of things in the fishkeeping hobby is questionable too
    I guess do what works for u as the individual.
    For me i wash only the baskets that hold the bacteria medium in old tank water. ( using a 2026 too. )

    Moreover when i wash the filter it will be during a water change so might as well use the old water i just took from the tank , instead of wasting water from the tap.

  15. #15
    This is an interesting topic.

    I have previously washed my filter media (sponge pad for an EHEIM 2006)in tap water as it was too yucky to wash in the old tank's water. But eversince I have removed those "problem plants" in my aquarium,those that shed leaves like nobody's business,the filter media is pretty clean. [:]

    So I have switched to washing them in the old tank's water before a water change. I do agree with lsz on the point that the chlorine content in Singapore might be pretty low,thus not doing much of a damage to the tank's parameters. Nonetheless,I am still using a water stabilizer (also an anti-chlorine) for my water changes.

    I guess we can safely wash our filter media in tap water here in Singapore. Have yet to hear of anyone here that has "bombed" a tank just because he/she washed the pads in tap water?
    http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7168/Bleeder4.jpg

    Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance :: Carl Sandburg

  16. #16
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    Liquid,
    my tank has got gravel.
    But all of them are rather bare. (an eg is like the pic in my yahoo gallery..pic 18 i think.)

    Well i think the issue here is not whether it is alright to kill the colony of bacteria in the filter media, but rather whether they will be killed by tap water at all.

    Like i said, if you do a large water change eg 50%, isnt it gonna kill quite a bit of bacteria if the chlorine in our tap water really kills?

    I havent done a water test for my tanks in ages...

    anyway i do 25% every 2-3 days for every tank large or small (my smallest is a 15gallon 2ft.)
    So my water quality never worries me. My fish are thriving too. Eat like crazy grow like mad breed like rabbits ..

    I am just curious.
    FOr there are many practices in the hobby that i feel is overkill.

    Over-caring for the fish is not always a good thing

  17. #17
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    wa biang pressed "enter" key by mistake.

    just to say that my routine will not suit a planted tank of coz.

    But i was never into planted tanks coz i prefer more natural setups. (it may be strange to hear that i feel that planted tanks are unnatural...but in actual fact, they really are. Bonsais and Gardens look natural and nice, but they can never survive like this in the wild.)

    My focus had always been on the fish and fish behaviour itself, and of coz if looking for fish behaviour, one will not look for tetras etc as the only kind of fish in the tank.

    Not out to criticise others, but stating my preference.

    This hobby is huge. There is plenty of room for everyone

  18. #18
    Hi lsz,

    Nicely said.

    But I would just like to add that as a tetra lover myself (no offence okies?),they can be interesting fish to watch in terms of behaviour too. Firstly,most tetras are schooling fishes and it is also a pure joy for me to see them buzzing around the tank in groups.

    Of course,there are a zillion fishes with a zillion different behaviours,some are aggressive,some like to bother other fishies,some are always in hiding except when feeding,some are nocturnal....the list goes on.
    As long as they swim...they will always have my fancy! []

    P.S Btw,it'll be nice if we could meet up with the other fish lovers (or fish-siao,in singapore context) for coffee one day!
    http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7168/Bleeder4.jpg

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  19. #19
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    yeah

    actually to say that a fish is "smart" is only relative.

    In absolute terms, fish intelligence is still very limited.(the Manta Ray, with the intelligence of a house cat, is abt the smartest fish in the world)

    But it is indeed a fact that some families are smarter than the other.
    Well i am partial here, but ask any cichlid lover and they will tell you

    where else do you find a fish that explores instead of swimming blindly, that recognises the owner, that can poke its head out of a cave and retreat backwards, that can have mood swings and sulk, that prefers to choose its own mating partner, that takes care of the young and herd them ard to graze......oops

  20. #20
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    arowana!!

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