Equipment Review and Discussion :: 1st time canister cleaning - any tips?

[V Lou]

It's time to clean my canister filters, one Eheim and one Fluval. I have their manuals, so I have the specific details, no problem. I would really appreciate advice on such things as what to be aware of, what to watch out for, what to definitely NOT do, plus whatever else you think might be of help.

Cleaning them for the first time will probably be very simple, straight forward and uneventful, but given the incredible people in this forum with tons of experience, I though I should ask for your advice before I find myself knee-deep in major trouble. Plus, I bet there could be some pretty funny stories out there to learn from; at least they might seem funny by now....

I Thank You! for your advice in advance

[jozzep]

Hey Lou,
You def did the right thing by asking. It might save you lots of headaches.
First thing, don't take the water out of the hoses. This could save you issues with priming when you reconnect.
Don't rinse out the bio media and leave it in a container with some tank water so the bacteria will not die, and you won't have to cycle your tank again when you restart it.
Don't replace all the filter media (in my case filter floss), but rinse some and reuse it.
Fill canisters back up before reconnecting.
I've gotten frustrated plenty of times when i first cleaned my filters....Mostly with priming.To the point that they were close to going in the dumpster.Once you get a process going that's successfull, repeat it every time the same way, and will never have issues again.

[steve]

Hey Lou,
You def did the right thing by asking. It might save you lots of headaches.
First thing, don't take the water out of the hoses. This could save you issues with priming when you reconnect.
Don't rinse out the bio media and leave it in a container with some tank water so the bacteria will not die, and you won't have to cycle your tank again when you restart it.
Don't replace all the filter media (in my case filter floss), but rinse some and reuse it.
Fill canisters back up before reconnecting.
I've gotten frustrated plenty of times when i first cleaned my filters....Mostly with priming.To the point that they were close to going in the dumpster.Once you get a process going that's successfull, repeat it every time the same way, and will never have issues again.

edit: correction... I did not read that correctly...

[V Lou]

Thank you for your reply, jozzep. Both of my canisters have valves to close off the hoses, so that won't be a problem.
With the bio-media, I won't need to replace any of it with new media just yet, but I would like to "rinse" it. Your point is well taken; I will pre-treat the rinse water to de-chlorinate it. Thank you! And, I will have enough pre-treated water on hand to refill the canister before reattaching the hoses. And, I will work quickly to prevent drying and loss of bacteria. Thank you so much for bringing up those points, so I won't have to recycle for sure. Awesome!

(To make priming easier, I could give you a tip, in return for your tips. Feels good to return the favor.... Try this next time.... have the water level as high as you can possibly get it so that when you prime your pump, the water has to rise only an inch or two to reach the top of the outgoing hose. That starts the siphon more quickly and you're primed. It is less work for the pump to lift only an inch or two of water, because those pumps don't have a lot of power, even when you are assisting by pumping it manually. Once it is all primed and running smoothly, the air is all purged, you can lower the water level down to three or four inches from the top, or not lower than whatever the pump specs. say. See if that helps.)

So, tell me.... will my pumps be smelly inside when I open them up? My aquarium doesn't have much of an odor.
I have a regular paint/varnish type of face mask and another one with respirator canisters. I think either one would keep out most smells, I'd guess. Will it smell a lot? I plan to wear a mask and glasses anyway to prevent exposure to parasites, bacteria from splashing...., but the potential for odor worries me the most -- silly. Yeah, I think the odor potential is making me procrastinate. The pre-filter kit arrived today, so just the fear of yuckiness is holding me back......

[V Lou]

....well, i guess i'm going in; can't wait/procrastinate any longer. i have my hazmet gear assembled, rinse-and-fill water de-chlorinated and am sure dreading this. Who knows what lurks beneath those pump heads..... i will overcome the fear..... however sheepishly.....


And, Steve -- Thank you soooooooo much for the edit support. You've got out backs!!!

i can't think of any other ways to procrastinate............ ohhhhhhhhhhhh.....

[V Lou]

Okay... got'r'dun! Interesting wildlife inside there -- one filter was enough for today; I'll save the other one for another fine weekend.

[steve]

It can get pretty nasty in there, but you get used to it

[V Lou]

My girls are totally worth it. But, I am not looking forward to getting used to it. This will be an interesting way to compare Fluval to Eheim. I bought them months apart, so this first cleaning won't tell me anything - the next cleaning sure will.

[TurtleKeeper48]

How long did you go before the first cleaning?

As as tips - At least with the Fluval, take that manual and throw it away.

[marisa]

I don't quite understand the bold type portion of the instructions above...I do rinse the biomedia (with tank water). Then I put it in a container that has been filled with tank water to keep it from drying out.

[V Lou]

RE the bold print. I think that is so we don't rinse it with chlorinated tap water, which would kill the bacteria. You are right to use the tank water to rinse it with. That's a good idea. Thanks. I'll try that with my Fluval. For my Eheim's first time, I filled my utility sink with water and treated it with turtle-safe dechlorinater before rinsing my baskets of biobeads in it. Lots of rinsing and lots of dechlorinator. It worked, I guess. I haven't cleaned the Fluval yet. Too much happening, lifewise, lately. Maybe this weekend. But, I am set up so that it would be so easy to rinse the biobeads with the tank water itself. Great!! Tip!!!! Ahhhhh, what a forum.

I am embarrassed to say how long it was between when I installed my Eheim and a couple of weekends ago when I cleaned it. Take how long it would be that would embarrass you and add two months. That should be about right. I'm laughing, but the tank was always crystal clear, so there were no worries. I just thought, geeze, this has been a while, shouldn't I clean something? and yup, it was pretty yucky. The Fluval is next, but I have owned it only about 3 months, I guess.