Filter Cleaning Techniques

[tfoster]

I just wanted to get a better understanding of how people go about cleaning their filters. While I am waiting for my Aqua Pro CF1200 filter for my 4 ft tank can you please indulge me and give me your tips and tricks for maintaining the nitrogen cycle in your tanks.

How do you go about cleaning do you use water from your tank to clean the filter medium?

Do you use more than one filter, cleaning them on alternate periods?

What techniques, please share...

Cheers

Tim.

[r.d.m]

i have 1 eheim cannister on each of my tanks and change 20%of the water each week. with the filters i wait until the flow slows down(2-3 months) then while im changing the water i keep a large bucket of water from each tank and clean the media in this, i have the media in net bags which makes it easy to lift out and dunk up and down in the bucket, like a big tea bag, ive done this for several years now with no problems .

[Ducksta]

tfoster, both ways you mention work well.

Another option is to use a disposable pre-filter (usually wool) which you just change before the gunk starts clogging up your biological mediums.

[bob12369]

I have 2 Sera Canister Filters 1300 set up on my tanganyikan tank.

The filters have 4 baskets each in them. In the bottom basket of one filter, I have Biopur (Ehfimech) to catch the coarse particles, followed by 2 pads, coarse then medium. Following this I have the remaining 3 baskets completely filled with Siporax, which is a sintered quartz glass media (hense the pads to "protect" the Siporax). This is my main biological Filter which I rarely need to service. (I also have the intake pipe set up in reverse so that the strainer is away from the bottom so not as much muck finds its way into the filter).

The second filter Is more of a mechanical/Debris catching filter, again with 4 baskets but with this one I have 2 baskets full of mechanical filter media, 1 basket with Pads (from Coarse to Fine) then 1 basket full of Siporax. The intake is nearer to the bottom and this filter gathers much more debris and requires a bit more maintanence.

This kind of set up has never given me any dramas and I am more than happy with the performance of these filters and media after experimenting with others before this.

HTH