whetu Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 It's not actually as bad as it sounds. I run two Eheim cannister filters. Filter#1 I run 'properly' with genuine Eheim media, regularly cleaned and maintained. Filter#2 is just packed full of cheap ceramic noodles and hasn't been cleaned since we moved to this house in May 2008! Anyway I cleaned Filter#2 today just for fun. OMG it was eeewww inside! :lol: Well actually it just had a lot of black gunk in the bottom - didn't smell bad or anything (which is what I would expect from a filter that's got water flowing through it at a reasonable rate). It was a bit like doing an archaeological dig though. I had forgotten that about a year ago I made a sandpit for my fish to play in. Actually it was a peat pit - a shallow dish full of peat, with food pellets hidden under the peat. Well it seemed like a good idea at the time, but a few vigorous tail-swishes from my clown loaches and all the peat was out of the dish and all over the tank. :lol: Today I rediscovered where about half a kilo of peat had gone... inside the filter of course! That's all the news from me - just wanted to share what I did with my day off! :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N1CK Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Sounds like you had fun :lol:, i get a day off school tomorrow!! :bounce: then again on thursday!!!!!!!! :bounce: :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Whetu, check out my video here of my mudfish tank. It has a thick peat substrate and leaf litter on top. Also bits of wood they wriggle under. No filter because, as you found, it would just get sucked up. It gets 50% water changes every week (or two). Just in case you were thinking of trying it again.... I am a big fan of leaving filters for long periods. That is how they are supposed to work. A sponge over the inlet is a good idea to stop solids getting into the filter, but other than that, the bacteria should just be left to do their thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkfur Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 the peat was probably good, lots of the old books reckon you should put peat in your filter provided the fish like soft acid water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 I have my Aqua One CF1200 been running for over twelve months. Not opening it for cleaning until I notice a drop in water flow. As Stella mentioned, the longer its been running the better. All my tests come up sweet so no need to change it. I imagine though it will look much like yours when I do Whetu. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Like Stella, I clean my filters as little as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted August 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Oh that's good to know - I'm not the only person here with a filter that hasn't been cleaned since Adam was a fry! Actually after looking in my 15-month-uncleaned filter today, I would be confident that I could have left it for much, much longer without touching it. I mean sure there was a heap of gunk in the bottom but the flow was still good and like I said nothing was nasty and festering in there. So what media do you all run in your low-maintenance filters? I assume not the fine filter wool that would get clogged reasonably fast? Do you have one mechanical filter and a different biological filter? Do share! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 I fill mine up with the ceramic noodles. I run a Jebo 819 at the moment and it has thin filter pads in each tray that get very clogged up with black muck but it doesn't impede the flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 where does one get peat from? am interested in adding it to my filter to keep the pH nearer the acidic side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Garden centres. Make sure it is natural peat and not one with mould inhibitors and other stuff that might be toxic to your fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Animates does little 150g bags of Brooklands peat for $1.95 I believe. Nice fine stuff too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreams Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Wow Stella the mudfish look so excited lol and it does look like they're protesting at not getting fed. On one forum i visit quite often, they recommend that cannister filters be cleaned once every few months or so if the filter is being used as mechanical filtration as well. This is due to the gunk build up which leads to a build up of nitrates...high nitrates levels affect the health of the fish. What do you guys think about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted September 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Wow Stella the mudfish look so excited lol and it does look like they're protesting at not getting fed. On one forum i visit quite often, they recommend that cannister filters be cleaned once every few months or so if the filter is being used as mechanical filtration as well. This is due to the gunk build up which leads to a build up of nitrates...high nitrates levels affect the health of the fish. What do you guys think about it? I have a nitrate test kit and my main problem is getting enough nitrate in the tank, not too much! Mine is a rather heavily planted tank, so I suppose if you have a planted tank and keep an eye on the nitrates you would get a feel for it if that was becoming a problem. Another potential issue would be a dropping pH so that would be something else to keep an eye on. My tank has driftwood and (had) peat in the filter so it tends to keep the pH low anyway. If I was also adding CO2 I would need to monitor the pH and make sure I didn't make pickled fish in vinegar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Animates does little 150g bags of Brooklands peat for $1.95 I believe. Nice fine stuff too. that sounds good, thanks for that Sam! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 I even have 1 and a half bags waiting to be used under the substrate of my next tank, might need to grab some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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