Cleaning the filter

[Joeser777]

So i've read in multiple different places on cleaning the filter, i've read a book saying to never clean it, i've read a few places saying to clean it every 2 weeks, i've read to clean it once a month...

When should I REALLY be cleaning it?

I have an internal filter with 2 sponges inside, what's the best way to clean it? one each time i clean? or both when i clean?

Also there's brown gunk in my sponges, is that what i should be cleaning?

 

[Opacum]

Watch your water flow. If it slows down too much then squeeze one filter out thoroughly under cool water and put it back. You may get some whiteness as your tank mini-cycles due to that cleaning, but you'll still have a good supply of bacteria on the other sponge. Try seeing if you can wait two months between maintenance. Also being you are not using chemical filtration like carbon, watch your ammonia and Ph. If you do add carbon, then that must be changed monthly as the activation is lost after that time. The brown gunk can just be nutrient sludge or just algae that hasn't turned green yet. You'll probably want to just rinse that off the sponge because that will foul them eventually. When your sponge loses its springiness it is time to change them. Again, make sure that you replace them at two week intervals as not to disrupt your cycle...

 

[Joeser777]

Watch your water flow. If it slows down too much then squeeze one filter out thoroughly under cool water and put it back. You may get some whiteness as your tank mini-cycles due to that cleaning, but you'll still have a good supply of bacteria on the other sponge. Try seeing if you can wait two months between maintenance. Also being you are not using chemical filtration like carbon, watch your ammonia and Ph. If you do add carbon, then that must be changed monthly as the activation is lost after that time. The brown gunk can just be nutrient sludge or just algae that hasn't turned green yet. You'll probably want to just rinse that off the sponge because that will foul them eventually. When your sponge loses its springiness it is time to change them. Again, make sure that you replace them at two week intervals as not to disrupt your cycle...

Thanks for your response big help!!

So only clean the sponge out of it looks nasty?

 

[Opacum]

That's pretty much a good indicator... the tank will tell you if the sponges are failing. If you start to get nitrIte readings especially, and your tank starts going white cloudy, it means your tank may be recycling which could mean your sponges may be deteriorating. Remember all surfaces in the tank will hold a degree of bacteria. Again, watch that springiness and water flow. If you have a substrate in the bottom of your tank always vacuum it by putting your vacuum siphon straight down and twist, lift out and repeat the process. Don't swirl the gravel back and forth, because if you mix up the gravel then the bacteria on the surface of the gravel will start dying within a half hour and you'll start to recycle and get that annoying white cloudiness. And when you change those sponges, make sure that when the tank gets the white cloudiness you DON'T water change... that'll make the cycle last longer and do nothing to relieve the cloudiness. Let the tank find the bacterial balance and you should be fine. Once that tank clears and you see that nitrAte come back, then you can go back to your normal water changing regimen. Hope this helps, J!