This might sound daft but...how to clean a filter?

[nry]

I have a TetraTec EX600 - it has baskets containing:

Base - ceramic rings topped with sponge
Middle - Tetra Bioballs
Top - more sponge topped with filter floss

I don't use carbon.

Generally all I've ever done, approx. every 4 weeks, is take the filter away from the tank, gently squeeze the top sponge, give the filter a good shake around, empty out (plenty of mucky water), change the floss pad, then refill with either old tank water or dechlorinated water.

Should I be doing more than this, or possibly less?

 

[Nathaniel Whiteside]

Sounds like its working for you buddy, Stick at it.
You could probably slacken off that, until you see a drop in flow rate.

 

[nry]

Not easy to judge flow rate, or at least I don't find it too easy

 

[Nathaniel Whiteside]

You should after a while, even down to watching the sway of the plants..

If they sway after a Filter clean, then 8 weeks down the line stop or slow down, then your judging the flow rate

 

[Iain Sutherland]

hey, personally id say that floss should be changed every week, sponges rinsed in tank water bi weekly and the rest can go months without issue. Its pretty hard to spot flow drop off as it happens so gradually, what your doing sounds fine but the floss really is a flow blocker after a week or two.

 

[nry]

In recent months I stopped using the floss based on a few threads on here, can't say I noticed any difference in water clarity. Might keep that up.

Flow rate wise, I also have a Koralia on with the CO2 so it makes it a little more difficult to monitor plant swaying

 

[Nathaniel Whiteside]

Ahh fair point yeah floss isnt great in planted tanks. You want as much flow as you can get.

My filter is a 2078 pro 3e on a 96L tank. its capable of running 700L tanks

 

[Iain Sutherland]

I like floss, each week it is pretty brown and slimy which would be in the tank overwise.

 

[Alastair]

When I ran tetra tecs, I rarely touched the top sponges, I focused more on just changing the floss and cleaning the mechanical rings and the sponge that is on top of those, They usually tend to be clogged with a lot of gunk.
But as the saying goes, don't fix what ain't broke. If your happy with it keep doing the same.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Nathaniel Whiteside]

I use Floss, but I was sort of making a point that if filter isnt oversized it will have drastic results on Flow rate, especially if only cleaned once a month