Zoo Med 501 Owners

[Levo]

I have got a Zoo Med 501 mini canister filter, But I have found that the instructions that I got with the filter wasn't very good.

But for those who have had there filter for a while I was just curious to how you clean the filters?

How often will I have to change the Carbon bag in the filter as well and were do you get new ones?

 

[t_summ]

Most pet shops carry the replacement bags. You can get the fine mesh bags and cartons of activated carbon and save yourself a little bit of money in the long run. I usually change mine every 4 months.

Every month I will open up the cannister and rinse any large particles of crud out and clean the tubes with a bottle brush. I find that doing this keeps the water clean enough for the newts to continue to thrive in.

What size tank do you plan on using this filter on? I would recommend only tanks of 20 gallons or less. Good luck.

 

[Jennewt]

You don't need to use the carbon bag at all. I replaced the carbon bag with a chunk of ordinary filter floss, which is cheaper and helps remove crud from the water. I disassemble the 501s about every 6-12 months and clean out the inside. However, I use them on tanks with just a few newts (not much crud produced).

 

[Levo]

Thanks guys, I am using it currently on a small tank, I think it is about 10 gallons, I am not to sure but it's only big enough for one axolotl so it is small.

Plus because I have only the one axolotl in there he does make that much mess so I should be able to maintain the filter easily, I am not sure if the pet shops in the UK will carry the bags, I couldn't find a pet shop who knew what a mini canister filter was around the area I imported the filter from the US because of all the recommendations I had about it.