DETAquarium Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Hey Shrimpspot! I have a question I have been contemplating for a while now: "When and How often do you clean your filter(s)?" I know many people use a variety of filters such as canister, HOB, HMF, sponge, etc. I have gone over a year in many of my shrimp tanks not cleaning the filter at all, and shrimp thrive! Though at the same time algae begins to thrive. Algae doesn't usually bother me though, it really depends on the type as it helps diagnose your problems at times. I like stability as much as my shrimp, and if I can get away with never cleaning my filter, I will. If cleaning my filter would inhibit better results in my shrimp tanks, then I will absolutely do it. To add to the question above; "When cleaning your filters, how do you do it?" I ask this because in my canister filters I have just biological media, so the amount of beneficial bacteria I would lose in the process could outweigh the benefit of cleaning the filter. I understand I wouldn't clean the biological media, but even as much as rinsing out the canister filter itself could disrupt the normal balance I have in the aquarium. I could keep going on and on, but I want to know your feedback! Thank you, DETAquarium colorfan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGardenofEder Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 I only rinse with ro water when the flow is reduced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colorfan Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 good question.. How about canister filters? how often with them. I would also like to know. Going on a year with my canister and havent touched it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrimpmania Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Only clean your canister filter sponge,if you have one in there ,but if you only have biological media don't touch it ,now to clean your sponge take some of the water from your tank and use that water to clean it ,squeeze a few times and your done Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyana Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 I have canisters and I just squeeze the sponges in the water change water to get some of the brown stuff out. I don't go crazy. One tank I did at 4 months and the other is at 6 months and I haven't touch it because the shrimp are doing so well I'm afraid to mess something up lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpy Daddy Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 There is a reason for filter to be designed as multi-stage. Usually, you will only need to clean the mechanical stage or pre-filter but you don't clean the biological stage. Traditionally, fine filtration comes after biological stage. This design was started off by Ehiem. I think the rational was that a some dirty should stick to biological filter to feed the microbial. However, this will create a problem. When thick biofilm build up on the biological filter media, they will stick gunk and it becomes dirty and may not be efficient to clean the water column anymore. As times go by, pre-filter was introduced and all sorts of new designs are created to counter this problem. Depending on the design and material of the pre-filter, you may need to clean it once every 2 weeks to 2 months. If you have effective pre-filter, you may only need to clean the mechanical filter once every 6 months or never even need to clean it. If your biological filter did not build up gunk, then you will not need to clean it at all. Dirty filter and/ or dirty substrate will usually create three problems: High NO3 High organics and cause algae and bacteria bloom pH plunge due to too much humus nicpapa, DETAquarium and revolutionhope 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted August 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Thank you all for your responses. I use a stainless steel filter guard from Han Aquatics on all Canister filters. I will more than likely only clean my canister filter if I notice substantial build up within the canister itself. Otherwise I will let it be. shrimpmania and Shrimpie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimple minded Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 DET, I'm glad you brought up this topic.......I had the exact same questions in mind. I have an additional question I'd like to ask you and others: Before when I've opened my Eheim 2213, upon restart, the force of the water re-priming and re-entering the tubing causes pieces of the "buildup" to dislodge and spray into the tank. Is this a concern, or what is the best way to avoid this result? My initial thoughts were to restart the pump with the outlet tubing in a 5-gallon bucket so as to avoid this problem......I may also take the opportunity to replace/refresh the tubing altogether. Thoughts? DETAquarium 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrimpfreak Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 DET, I'm glad you brought up this topic.......I had the exact same questions in mind. I have an additional question I'd like to ask you and others: Before when I've opened my Eheim 2213, upon restart, the force of the water re-priming and re-entering the tubing causes pieces of the "buildup" to dislodge and spray into the tank. Is this a concern, or what is the best way to avoid this result? My initial thoughts were to restart the pump with the outlet tubing in a 5-gallon bucket so as to avoid this problem......I may also take the opportunity to replace/refresh the tubing altogether. Thoughts? The exact same thing happens to me for all my canister filters. I don't know how to fix it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpy Daddy Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 DET, I'm glad you brought up this topic.......I had the exact same questions in mind. I have an additional question I'd like to ask you and others: Before when I've opened my Eheim 2213, upon restart, the force of the water re-priming and re-entering the tubing causes pieces of the "buildup" to dislodge and spray into the tank. Is this a concern, or what is the best way to avoid this result? My initial thoughts were to restart the pump with the outlet tubing in a 5-gallon bucket so as to avoid this problem......I may also take the opportunity to replace/refresh the tubing altogether. Thoughts? Put a fine mesh net in front of the water outlet before you restart. Use the net to catch the gunk (those brown stuffs). The cloudy water is good stuff (lots of microbes and plankton) and you should let them flow in the tank. You shrimp will love eating them. DETAquarium 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted August 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Thanks Shrimpy Daddy, would you also attest to saying the "Brown gunk" that shoots out into our pristine shrimp tank is beneficial as well? If so, maybe a good idea to flush out once a month or so. So when it does come time to clean your filter you don't shoot out 6 months to a year's worth of stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpy Daddy Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Thanks Shrimpy Daddy, would you also attest to saying the "Brown gunk" that shoots out into our pristine shrimp tank is beneficial as well? If so, maybe a good idea to flush out once a month or so. So when it does come time to clean your filter you don't shoot out 6 months to a year's worth of stuff. Yes and no. Gunk is basically biofilm sticked with a lot of waste material. It does have microbes and plankton on it, but it will carry a lot of waste material. If it falls to the substrate, it will be gradually broken down just like any waste material. If it is a lot and your shrimps or other tank residents are already producing a lot of waste, you will see a lot of waste material build up in your substrate sooner or later. This will clog your substrate and prevent proper aeration and pathogenic will start to grow. All these are the key ingredients to form unhealthy substrate. One interesting fact I discovered about gunk. If your tank is seeded with normal bacteria culture (nitrogen-fixing bacteria), the biofilm and gunk will be very thick over time. However if you seed the tank with probiotics (lactobacilius or other similar microbial, but not all probiotic blends are the same), there is also no gunk produce. I'm not sure is it due to the probiotics will kill those thick biofilm-producing bacteria, their metabolism is so diverse that they dissolve everything or maybe even both. DETAquarium 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted August 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Very interesting. Do you think if we dosed probiotics gradually over a course of time, it would eat the gunk build-up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpy Daddy Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Very interesting. Do you think if we dosed probiotics gradually over a course of time, it would eat the gunk build-up? Hmm... I'm not 100% sure. I tested quite a few probiotic blends and they are giving me different results. If you want, I can send you a bottle of probiotics (Revive Vita) for free and you perform this test then let us know the result? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted August 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Sure absolutely. If you think there's a chance the buildup could be reduced, I think that would be fantastic for all to know. pictokid1983 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpy Daddy Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Sure absolutely. If you think there's a chance the buildup could be reduced, I think that would be fantastic for all to know. This is something I can't test myself. I revamped all my tanks to use my products right at the beginning, and there is no gunk for the probiotic to eat. LOL!!! Hence, I will be grateful if you can test this for me. ^^ Please PM me the address to ship the Revive Vita and also let me know the size of the test tank (I need to calculate how many bottle to ship). Cheers. Shrimpy Daddy pictokid1983 and DETAquarium 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kloudie Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 This is something I can't test myself. I revamped all my tanks to use my products right at the beginning, and there is no gunk for the probiotic to eat. LOL!!! Hence, I will be grateful if you can test this for me. ^^ Please PM me the address to ship the Revive Vita and also let me know the size of the test tank (I need to calculate how many bottle to ship). Cheers. Shrimpy Daddy Well my question seems out of topic , but @ShrimpDaddy , are you and hyoushoku from the good ol' shrimpnow.com the same person ? I notice the profile picture , your wide range of knowledge and pretty sure it was you. When shrimpnow gone I feel somewhat lost , cause you're the only one who still stay active and answer all of my questions about Cardinals . I'm really happy when I found this site and even more happy that my admirer ( LOL ) still active and share knowledge for others . Big thanks to you, cheers ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpy Daddy Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Well my question seems out of topic , but @ShrimpDaddy , are you and hyoushoku from the good ol' shrimpnow.com the same person ? I notice the profile picture , your wide range of knowledge and pretty sure it was you. When shrimpnow gone I feel somewhat lost , cause you're the only one who still stay active and answer all of my questions about Cardinals . I'm really happy when I found this site and even more happy that my admirer ( LOL ) still active and share knowledge for others . Big thanks to you, cheers ^^ Hi Kloudie, Yes, it is me. ^^ Sadly, ShrimpNow is dead. The owner is busy with his shrimp business and have no time for it. Not sure you are aware. Nowadays I have my own website and dedicated email for people to seek help. You can visit them just in case I get busy and disappear from forum again. pictokid1983 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyana Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Please report back, if it works I'm going to get a bottle to clean out my tanks. The tubes have all that brown gunk like you say in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted August 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Please report back, if it works I'm going to get a bottle to clean out my tanks. The tubes have all that brown gunk like you say in them. I definitely will, I am excited to try. Lyana and Shrimpy Daddy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infamouz23 Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 I have been using Revive Vita for a while now. I have more of a milky white bacteria buildup in my hoses. I also have no brown gunk in my hob filter tubes. Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk pictokid1983, Shrimple minded and Shrimpy Daddy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonedaquarium Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 Yes and no. Gunk is basically biofilm sticked with a lot of waste material. It does have microbes and plankton on it, but it will carry a lot of waste material. If it falls to the substrate, it will be gradually broken down just like any waste material. If it is a lot and your shrimps or other tank residents are already producing a lot of waste, you will see a lot of waste material build up in your substrate sooner or later. This will clog your substrate and prevent proper aeration and pathogenic will start to grow. All these are the key ingredients to form unhealthy substrate. One interesting fact I discovered about gunk. If your tank is seeded with normal bacteria culture (nitrogen-fixing bacteria), the biofilm and gunk will be very thick over time. However if you seed the tank with probiotics (lactobacilius or other similar microbial, but not all probiotic blends are the same), there is also no gunk produce. I'm not sure is it due to the probiotics will kill those thick biofilm-producing bacteria, their metabolism is so diverse that they dissolve everything or maybe even both. hi im just curious what probiotics do you use? and what kind of probiotics would you recommend to eat up the gunk or sludge like build up in the substrate... thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpy Daddy Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 hi im just curious what probiotics do you use? and what kind of probiotics would you recommend to eat up the gunk or sludge like build up in the substrate... thanks Eh.... I'm using my own brand of probiotics. (^_^")y pictokid1983 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted August 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 hi im just curious what probiotics do you use? and what kind of probiotics would you recommend to eat up the gunk or sludge like build up in the substrate... thanks Stoned go check out the Shrimp Daddy website: www.shrimpydaddy.com He has created a number of products. stonedaquarium 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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