[OKCIS]

This is something that i have always wondered how its done and has me kind of mind boggled. I'm going to use my sons 29G as an example. Its using a marineland c160 for the filter.

I take the canister apart and rinse all the media (or replace whichever). Put it back together and startup again. I now have no bacteria left in my filters....... If I'm correct in my assumption my tank is going to recycle. Obviously if my assumption is correct this isn't the way to change filters or clean them. How is this accomplished. The guy at the chain store when i first started just told me to once a month change out the filter (I was using a penguin 150 at the time) and keep moving along. *** already experienced a recycle of the tank after filter changing. I don't want to do this again so I'm curious how I'm supposed to go about this. Is the bacteria in the bioballs enough that it wont recycle?

I also have no clue if this even made any sense.

 

[kewlkatdady]

you only rinse the bio media with aquarium water (non chlorinated)...

this will prevent you from harming the bio culture.

 

[sbernstecker]

You can also fill a bucket with tank water and just squeeze the foam inserts in the water a couple of times as well as the Bio media. Doing it this way you will maintain a healthy colony of bacteria

 

[OKCIS]

so the black filter on the bottom I can just rinse in the sink the bio balls and the polishing filter i rinse in the tank?

With something like a penguin 150 where it just has 1 filter for everything how do you do that system since its stopping everything in one filter?

 

[alicem]

so the black filter on the bottom I can just rinse in the sink the bio balls and the polishing filter i rinse in the tank?

No, don't rinse anything in the tank or sink.
Do this:
remove the filter from the aquarium,
drain enough of the water from the tank to fill a bucket,
use the water in the bucket to rinse the black filter, bio balls and polishing filter,
swish some bucket water in the filter box to rinse it out.
You may want to fill a couple buckets to rinse all your media.
Replace the black filter, bio balls, polishing filter, etc in the filter box and use declorinated
water to fill the filter box to start the prime for the filter.

With something like a penguin 150 where it just has 1 filter for everything how do you do that system since its stopping everything in one filter?

When I used Whisper filters they used filter cartridges. I would have two filters running and would "clean" one at a time.
For example:
rinse the right one, then two weeks later rinse the left one, then two weeks later the right one again.
If your filter has two cartridges, replace one alternating sides, like the two filters example above.
If your filter has one cartridge, rinse the cartridge in a bucket of tank water each week,
after a month, remove the carbon and continue to rinse and reuse the carbonless cartridge until it just about falls apart.
When you need to replace the cartridge, cut off at least part of the used filter floss and put it in the filter box to reseed the new cartridge.
Don't scrub off the filter box that week, that crud has good bacteria too.
HTH
Alicem

 

[sbernstecker]

use declorinated water to fill the filter box to start the prime for the filter.

I agree with everything that alicem wrote except I would just put all the media back into the canister and hook it back up to tank - Leave the canister empty of water - when you reconnect the valve block the syphon should start automatically and refill the canister with water, after the canister is filled you can plug it back in

Good Luck

 

[OKCIS]

Thanks for all the tips everyone thats the one thing with aquariums that has had me stumped for quite awhile!

This whole time *** just been buying new filters...... ARGH!!!!