gravismaximus
Member
ok silly question- i have a friend that says i shouldnt change out both of the hob filters at the same time. i would think that you should, so who is right on this one.
hob filter change
- Thread starter gravismaximus
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spanko
Active Member
Not sure what you mean by "change them out". If you mean clean the pads then that to me depends on how often you do it. By this I mean is the filter material left in the HOB's long enough to become part of you biofiltration, or are you cleaning it ofter enough - say weekly - so that the bulk of you biofilter is on the surface areas of the rock, sand, and everything else in your tank?
flower
Well-Known Member
Change only one at a time absolutely. nycbob explained why quit well. I would like to also add, if you are completely swapping out the cartridge you destroy half of your bacteria, and if you only rinse, then replace it...rinse it in saltwater to leave the good bacteria and just loosen the solid waste to dislodge it from the filter.
I use canister filters, I don't care for the HOB types because of salt creep and the cartridges completely need replacing because the carbon in them becomes inactive.
Also, If you have live rock , half of your filters cleaned leaving the other is not so bad... The rock maintains quite a bit of your good bacteria.
spanko
Active Member
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3183977
Change only one at a time absolutely. nycbob explained why quit well. I would like to also add, if you are completely swapping out the cartridge you destroy half of your bacteria, and if you only rinse, then replace it...rinse it in saltwater to leave the good bacteria and just loosen the solid waste to dislodge it from the filter.
I use canister filters, I don't care for the HOB types because of salt creep and the cartridges completely need replacing because the carbon in them becomes inactive.
Also, If you have live rock , half of your filters cleaned leaving the other is not so bad... The rock maintains quite a bit of your good bacteria.
IMO only true if relying on your filters for your biofiltration.
flower
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3183978
IMO only true if relying on you filters for your biofiltration.
I agree, and you are right. However I overdo everything for safety’s sake. So I don't count my live rock as a filter. I know that it is, but by using the logic I do...I have never had a tank crash, or come near such a disaster.
I rely and only count on my canister filters and the media I put in them. The wonderful work the live rock does is gravy...
http:///forum/post/3183978
IMO only true if relying on you filters for your biofiltration.
I agree, and you are right. However I overdo everything for safety’s sake. So I don't count my live rock as a filter. I know that it is, but by using the logic I do...I have never had a tank crash, or come near such a disaster.
I rely and only count on my canister filters and the media I put in them. The wonderful work the live rock does is gravy...
stealth hippo
Member
Win.
gravismaximus
Member
it is a fowlr tank, what would be your recomended time to change out one of the filters? i agree with flower, id like the filter to most of the filtering and let the live rock be the icing on the cake.
racingtiger03
Member
Hmm, I had read before that filter media was a bad thing due to catching organic matter and possibly increasing nitrates. Isn't it best to rely only on the sand bed, live rock, and a skimmer to take care of filtration? Maybe I need to look into this some more again. I have a HOB filter that I removed the media from and placed just a bag of carbon in. If it is better to use a media I will go back to that 
nycbob
Active Member
Originally Posted by racingtiger03
http:///forum/post/3184502
Hmm, I had read before that filter media was a bad thing due to catching organic matter and possibly increasing nitrates. Isn't it best to rely only on the sand bed, live rock, and a skimmer to take care of filtration? Maybe I need to look into this some more again. I have a HOB filter that I removed the media from and placed just a bag of carbon in. If it is better to use a media I will go back to that
personally, i dont like the foam media. i think if u must, having a bag of carbon in a hob filter for chemical filtration is fine. the foam just traps too many detritus and waste, not to mention pods.
http:///forum/post/3184502
Hmm, I had read before that filter media was a bad thing due to catching organic matter and possibly increasing nitrates. Isn't it best to rely only on the sand bed, live rock, and a skimmer to take care of filtration? Maybe I need to look into this some more again. I have a HOB filter that I removed the media from and placed just a bag of carbon in. If it is better to use a media I will go back to that
personally, i dont like the foam media. i think if u must, having a bag of carbon in a hob filter for chemical filtration is fine. the foam just traps too many detritus and waste, not to mention pods.
gravismaximus
Member
so how often should i change out the filters? once a month, going back and forth. (so really like 2 weeks for each filter) or can i go longer?
racingtiger03
Member
To prevent nitrate spikes if you rinse them with some saltwater to remove detritus and waste buildup daily or every couple days perhaps, then it should be ok to do one filter every 2 weeks. Just make sure when you rinse its with saltwater so as not to kill the good bacteria growing on the filter media. From what I do remember about the filter media that is the best way to do it. Maybe someone that actually uses filter media can chime in with more/better info for you.
I'm very interested in seeing more info on this myself though. I don't remember running across too much info about filter medias maintenance for saltwater when I was researching lol.
I'm very interested in seeing more info on this myself though. I don't remember running across too much info about filter medias maintenance for saltwater when I was researching lol.
srfisher17
Active Member
Originally Posted by racingtiger03
http:///forum/post/3186983
To prevent nitrate spikes if you rinse them with some saltwater to remove detritus and waste buildup daily or every couple days perhaps, then it should be ok to do one filter every 2 weeks. Just make sure when you rinse its with saltwater so as not to kill the good bacteria growing on the filter media. From what I do remember about the filter media that is the best way to do it. Maybe someone that actually uses filter media can chime in with more/better info for you.
I'm very interested in seeing more info on this myself though. I don't remember running across too much info about filter medias maintenance for saltwater when I was researching lol.
The detritus on filter pads has to be decomposing somewhere; I don't really think it matters where. I ran a couple of tanks for a long time this way (Aqua-Clear, their sponges are great and they run for ever.) I cleaned one sponge every week in dechlorinated tap water (probably should use SW) and it worked very well. There are a lot if opinions on outside filters, but when you clean a big filter sponge and see all that gunk going down your drain, rather into your biofiltration system; I have to think that is a positive thing. Same with bio-balls and the silly (IMO) idea that they are "nitrate factories". Any tank is going to produce a certain amount of nitrate, it has to, if ammonia is going to be eliminated. If you remove the gunk, you lessen nitrate indirectly. I do think that any system that relies on outside filtration for boifiltration really needs two filters, or two pads (etc) that can be rotated when cleaned.
http:///forum/post/3186983
To prevent nitrate spikes if you rinse them with some saltwater to remove detritus and waste buildup daily or every couple days perhaps, then it should be ok to do one filter every 2 weeks. Just make sure when you rinse its with saltwater so as not to kill the good bacteria growing on the filter media. From what I do remember about the filter media that is the best way to do it. Maybe someone that actually uses filter media can chime in with more/better info for you.
I'm very interested in seeing more info on this myself though. I don't remember running across too much info about filter medias maintenance for saltwater when I was researching lol.
The detritus on filter pads has to be decomposing somewhere; I don't really think it matters where. I ran a couple of tanks for a long time this way (Aqua-Clear, their sponges are great and they run for ever.) I cleaned one sponge every week in dechlorinated tap water (probably should use SW) and it worked very well. There are a lot if opinions on outside filters, but when you clean a big filter sponge and see all that gunk going down your drain, rather into your biofiltration system; I have to think that is a positive thing. Same with bio-balls and the silly (IMO) idea that they are "nitrate factories". Any tank is going to produce a certain amount of nitrate, it has to, if ammonia is going to be eliminated. If you remove the gunk, you lessen nitrate indirectly. I do think that any system that relies on outside filtration for boifiltration really needs two filters, or two pads (etc) that can be rotated when cleaned.