How to Clean Your Aquarium Filter - Need to Know
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2024
- You should clean your aquarium filter by removing the filter pad and gently squeezing it out under your sink. Be very careful not to clean that filter pad too much because the bacteria on the pad is what’s holding the cycle together in your aquarium. It’s very crucial that you just give it a quick rinse and put it back inside your aquarium filter. Having the filter pad underneath the faucet too long will kill the bacteria due to the chlorine in your water supply.
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It’s very important that you don’t clean your aquarium filter pad to thoroughly. There’s bacteria that has been growing on that filter pad and it’s very important that we don’t remove too much of that bacteria. This sort of goes against a persons general rule of thought when cleaning the filter pad because we also wanna keep it somewhat dirty.
What holds the ecosystem of a fish aquarium together is the cycle. This is a process in which beneficial bacteria start to grow on the filter pad and that’s what creates a cycle for this ecosystem. It’s very important that this bacteria stays on the filter pad and continues to grow to hold that cycle together for your fish tank.
What also works very well for cleaning your aquarium filter is to remove the pad and to dip it and some of the aquarium water that you put into a small bowl. This is because it’s the same water from your fish tank and doesn’t contain any of the chemicals from your city water supply that may harm the bacteria. This works extremely well and all you have to do is get a small bowl or dish and dip it into the fish tank to fill it with some water and then squeeze out your filter pad in that water. 

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At what point do you need to replace the filter? I have the white carbon cartridge ones.
Wow! Your place is amazing.. so many tanks👀
Helpful video. Thanks Chris!
Appreciate your video. I came here to clean the #%**! Out of my filters. I loathe the smell. Glad I watched this, and I’ll focus on the smell being a good thing
Your filter should have a wet earthy smell to it. If the odor becomes unpleasant or rotten smelling you may have a problem. But a natural earthy scent is perfectly normal.
My son left me to take care of his fish tank. He went to basic training in the military. I put a new pad in today but it really made the water dirty. I hope it clears up. I didn't watch this till after I already changed the filter. It's a filter with hard plastic on the side n mesh type filter bag. I didn't unplug it when I switched them. Any tips to clear the water?
i use the same water that im draining from my tank to rinse it! it works just fine!
and easier too... lol, instead of dripping tank water all over 😅
me too. i was told tap water would kill all the bacteria in the sponge.
@cyborgbadger1015 if you have city water then the chlorine will kill all the bacteria on the filter pad well water is fine
drippings? he's in a shop! and his fish are healthy. trolls.
😂😂 Oop you got me before I could troll. 😂😂 Another great video, keep it up. 👍
off topic question . where did you get those frames for your glasses ?
Another reason to rinse in a pail . The gunk on the pads is good plant food . 😊
This was so helpful!!! I appreciate you taking the time to go through everything. I'm thinking of buying an aquaclear filter for my 5 gallon Betta tank and I had a question about it. It comes with 3 layers of filter media. Sponge, carbon and the biomax pellet things. Do any of those layers need to ever be replaced? Or are they good with just a rinse when it gets dirty? Thank you so much!! Sorry in advance if this is an obvious answer.
Carbon needs to be replaced if you want it to keep doing its thing, though it's not necessary if you are doing your regular maintenance. It does grow good bacteria like the biomax pellets however! I haven't replaced mine in years since I use some medication and plant fertilizers I don't want it to neutralize, and it's just another part of my filter ecosystem now :>
@@intrstellas awesome thanks for the comment! Appreciate it :)
I rarely clean my tidal55 HOB filter. It is best to let that beneficial bacteria build up as strong as possible. The only reason you would deep clean it would be if the filter is having a hard time sucking water through or if it is overflowing. And then it is just a quick rinse in a bucket of aquarium water. Also having as much filter media and biomedia in your HOB as it will hold while functioning properly is very important. The more surface area the better for the bacteria growth. Also add some bottled bacteria to the HOB after you clean it to help the bacteria colony as stable as possible, you don’t want your cycle to crash.
So when cleaning your filter out, only clean the sponge? Would you not look down into the filter to check for clumps of debris that could be clogging?
I’m often bottle brushing out my tubes, impellers, filter sieves, etc. so that the flow rate is maxed out. I don’t do it with every filter squeeze session but every other or 3rd breakdown. Major improvement.
I have a 5 gallon tank and I'm using Top Fin Silentstream 10 Power Filter with cartridge. Would I clean the cartridge the same way? You're saying good stuff is stored in the filter, so when do you ever replace the filter? or what would I do to prep for a new filter?
any updates i have a 5 gallon as well and dont know if i should rise the filter pad thats on the inside
@@mahalasincere I been using water from the faucet and haven't had any problems.
How do you clean the intake? That is my question
I have a white filter pad with rocks and hard plastic, but I also have the black pad, I'm really confused
So helpful thanks!!
Very helpful! I’m new and have a HOB filter as well as a canister oase filter on my larger tank. Do you have a video on that one?
when should i replace the sponges? not just cleaning?
Isn't there a ton of bacteria in the gravel and plants in an established aquarium?
I toss my Aquaeon replaceable filter pad every two-three weeks and replace with a brand new one.
My fish always thrive and live a long time.
Those filters are made to be replaced every month.
Same routine for over 12 years.
why replace them? just rinse and stick them back in.
Where do I get those pads? I have the same tank? Thank you Tami
Poor fella puffer fish that man has been waiting for his food
Wouldnt it be better to rinse the sponge in tank water....
I did not watch this video to learn how to clean my filter... I just watch everything and anything fish related🤣
Same haha cleaned my filter more times than i could possibly count but if its an auqarium vid ill watch it!
How stop it from flowing up ,the pad is on the bottom
Thank you
Thank you
Thanks for the tip.
thank you !
HOLY SHIT beautiful room
Redundancy is king. Never know when that back up bacteria will come in handy. I just use quilt batting as my fine pad.
My friend does that as well
Nice clean up God bless
I added new clay substrate and all of a sudden my brand new top fin hang on back filter won't work!! I can feel it vibrating but there's absolutely no suction or outflow
the clay's blocking it.
What do I do if I already threw out the filter cartridge like.. a week ago? I ruined my cycle so now what? :(
add more beneficial bacteria with API quickstart or Seachem Stability
Nonsense.
I dispose of my charcoal filter pad in my Aquaeon filter every two weeks and have never had a problem in over 12 years.
There is plenty of good bacteria on the gravel and plants in an established aquarium.
Never had a fish die for any reason except for old age.
@@neilmartin99 thanks!
@@snowschnee7121 You can also tuck a piece of sponge in front of the replacement filter pad and only quick rinse that sponge every 3-6 months (depending how much gunk builds up) if you are concerned about losing beneficial bacteria when you toss your filter.
The bacteria will reside inside that sponge so rinsing the outside the sponge quickly and squeezing off grime from exterior surface will be fine.
Never clean that added sponge filter on the same day as filter change.
Same with vacuuming gravel.
Space everything out and you should be fine.
GL
I used to rinse in the sink too, but no more. I don't wanna take the chance of killing too much beneficial bacteria. How come you don't wash in aquarium water just for safe keeping?? More convenient? I know there might be people who might rinse it too much.
You didn't feed the puffer.
I wanted to see that, too. 😕
Not sure i got a phd on cleaning a filter - but i did get a masters in unplugging it…
I prefer to clean in tank water bc then I use that water to water plants
How do you propel the tank water to clean the filter?
@@Ptrocles I just dunk it into the water then squeeze it really good. That’s really it. I don’t repeat it , just once. Last time I rinsed it under the water faucet and I loss bacteria causing a bacteria bloom .
My filter has always overfload
Nasty washing in the kitchen sink
Oh forgot to say it's the first tank
FALSE! The cycle is not only performed by the filter the cycle is provided by the whole aquarium surface, like the substrate, glass, plants... The substrate perform much more biological filtration than any hang on back filter! The most important function this filter have is to circulate the water!
I agree with your statement, however I notice when I vigorously squeeze out my filter pad, EVEN in aquarium water, a significant cloudiness appears later in the tank that I only water changed out 1/4. Seems like I upset the balance, possibly by “eliminating too much bacterium”?? I think I need to squeeze out the filters just a bit less. Open to anyone’s feedback here.
@@bdmennecloudy water generally means a bacterial bloom which is when there is not enough beneficial bacteria to cope with the amount of fish waste and ammonia and the bacteria multiplies causing cloudiness if this happens i recommend doing 50 percent or less water changes and possibly adding bottled live bacteria from fritz or api
I find it hugely satisfying to not so gently toss my over saturated sponges against a white porcelain tub and watch the gunk splat out - it makes a huge mess and gross but fun sound. My issue is that I’m almost crashing my cycle because I don’t know when to stop cleaning my sponges 😢I never know when to actually clean the hob housing- they get so gross and I usually find dead snails or fish (I keep guppies and other nano fish) among light geeen slime. What’s beneficial and what’s detrimental in the housing. How often to clean?
I think it's still safer to rinse in tank water as not everyone's water is the same