stompa Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 i bought a fluval 204 filter today that was used on a turtle tank so ive chucked all filter media away and got new media. scrubed all the plastics bits with boiling water and ive boiled the filter pads till there clean ..... do you think this will be the right sort of cleaning so its safe for my fish or is there something else i should clean it with..... also has anyone ever seen orange filter pads in these fluvals as the pads are orange or are they that colour from the turtles?? ... any help would be cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 All the fluvals I have seen have come with white sponges, but my one in my goldfish tank went orange from the dye in the color enhancing food that just seems to go straight thru the fish and into there crap going into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stompa Posted April 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 ok..... thanks very much for that.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 I think that's serious overkill. I'd have just given everything a good scrub and a rinse and thrown it on the new tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stompa Posted April 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 oh well better to be safe than sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachy Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 my old fluval 404 had orange filter foam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 Did it start orange though? Because, as far as I know they only come in white. But they quickly turn orange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 mine are an orangy brown colour - they started off white and went that way over a couple of years. it hasn't caused anything strange to happen in my tanks, i think it is just staining from all the brown stuff that gets stuck in it. as far as cleaning filters go - if you go overboard you will kill all the bacteria that is in it, which might not be a bad thing if you are starting fresh, but it would mean the filter needs to be allowed to cycle for a bit to build the bacteria colonies back up again. i know i'm probably stating the obvious, but you never know the ribbed hosing on some models of the external fluvals seems to be exceptionally good at collecting gunk - most noticable as brown chunks that come out when you switch the filter off and back on again. i blast them clean with a hose from both ends (when i can be bothered taking them off my tank) and even that doesn't seem to get all the rubbish out. fluval do sell a 'bottle brush' type thing with a long handle, but i can't see myself ever paying them for the privelage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachy Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 Did it start orange though? Because, as far as I know they only come in white. But they quickly turn orange. Hmm, well it was a while ago, maybe they were white at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachy Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 I've been feeding my fish Tetra Colourbits and my sponges in my fluvals have all turned a reddish brown colour. should of kept the ceramic noodles from the filter though. good stuff to keep. I only clean my filter when the flow drops of dramatically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stompa Posted April 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 should of kept the ceramic noodles from the filter though. good stuff to keep. . as stated i my first post.... this was used on a turtle tank before i got it so thats why i chucked away the media... media is cheap as so not worth the risk... thanks everyone for you help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 i thought it would be a good thing to comepletly clean the filter, what if the turtles had something that could make his healthy fish sick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 They seem to be the only major source of blockage on mine. I pull a string thru with a rag tied to it to try to clean it out. Sometimes I tried taking them outside and putting the nozzle of the garden hose onto the rubber bit, but that seemed to leave a lot still in there. Stupidest idea ever having the corrogated hose, its really poor for flow too because of all the drag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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