# Changing filitration media



## cichlidOCD (Jun 17, 2009)

How often are you supposed to change the media in a hang on aquarium filter?


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

it depends on what your using...i use scotch brite green scrubbies and 50 micron filter pads and havent changed them for a long time...maybe 8 or 9 months. i just clean them with every water change.


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

also does your HOB have biowheels...if so you media should be for mechanical filtration only since the wheels handle the bio-filtration


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

i agree....id just rinse off your media to clean it instead of buying new pads....those can get pricey :wink:


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

cichlidOCD said:


> How often are you supposed to change the media in a hang on aquarium filter?


It depends on what it is. Some of it never gets changed out because it harbors beneficial bacteria. That's your biofiltration media. Or, if it does, it gets changed out a bit at a time so you don't lose all of your beneficial bacteria. Some of the media may be in place simply to filter out particles. That's your mechanical filtration and it shoould be cleaned or changed as needed. I go with once per week, but depends on tank and stocking, etc. Give us some detail on your filter and existing media if you need more specifics.


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## cichlidOCD (Jun 17, 2009)

I have two filters:

1) Marineland biowheel 
2) Tetra Whisper


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

got a question regarding bioballs (scrubbies) in the sump.
how often are we suppose to clean the sump area where the scrubbies are/
when i clean my sump, i remove the scrubbies and put them in a bucket.
however, my water gets cloudy after doing this. 
i do this every 2 months or so.
am i killing some good bacteria?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

mel_cp6 said:


> got a question regarding bioballs (scrubbies) in the sump.
> how often are we suppose to clean the sump area where the scrubbies are/
> when i clean my sump, i remove the scrubbies and put them in a bucket.
> however, my water gets cloudy after doing this.
> ...


There's typically no reason to do so. If mulm collects in the bottom of the sump or biomedia chamber, then I'd rinse that out, but no other reason to mess with sump biomedia. The cloudiness could be a lot of different things and not necessarily an indicator of bacteria dieoff. I have biomedia that I've not touched in over two years. But, I do rinse mulm out of the sump every 2-3 months or so. Some of this depends on your setup. Biomedia in a chamber above the water line should never need maintenance. If it's sitting in the bottom of the sump, try elevating it using eggcrate or similar so you can rinse underneath it without disturbing it.


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

i did a retest on my ammonia and nitrate this morning and my 
ammonia is fairly high. 4.0 and above.
before the i cleaned the sump, it was normal.

the problem is i cant get to the mulm at the bottom of the 
sump without removing the bio media.

this sump now has 2 drains and a mechanical filtration before the water
enters the bio media. its a 10x10x4" tupperware on top of biomedia.
the **** that i have to clean is below the bottom crate.









here is my other similar design, but the one i currently use does not have refugium.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> did a retest on my ammonia and nitrate this morning and my
> ammonia is fairly high. 4.0 and above.
> before the i cleaned the sump, it was normal.


I'd stop doing whatever you're doing to clean the biomedia if it's resulting in a 4ppm ammonia spike. That's more dangerous than anything you're trying to clean out of the sump. Whatever you're doing is really wiping out the bacteria that you need.

I'd also either redesign the sump or find another way. If those are solid dividers for the refugium, then that's the issue. I'd redesign and forget about the refugium, as I consider it a nice to have not a need to have.

Another option might be to use a siphon tube to stick down through the media and siphon out the bottom under the media as best you can. You don't have to get all of it, you just don't want it to build up into a thick layer over time so it looks like the bottom of an undergravel filter.


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

i dont understand how im killing them though.
i put them in a bucket full with tank water then i siphon out the
waste at the bottom. then i siphon the main tank to fill it up then return
the bio media.

im going to try to siphon the waste next time without removing the scrubbies
and see if this is better. 
as you can imagine im very worried right now with the ammonia.
i put more ammolock in there and some more stress coat.
hopefully i dont lose any of them.


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

well after doing some more research on wet/dry trickle filter, it looks like
mine is set up as a wet/wet filter.
and since all the dirt are at the bottom of the bio chamber 
it looks like i will have to either siphon it out or redesign the sump 
itself so that i can easily service it.
your right once again prov.
what are the bacteria suppose to look like anyways? 
are they visible to the naked eye? i want to make sure that
the ones at the bottom are NOT bacteria.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> are they visible to the naked eye?


No, you won't see them. What some think is bacteria is typically mulm, which is decaying organics. There will be some bacteria on that mulm, but that's not what you see. There are different types of bacteria. Mulm will be loaded with heterotrophic, which break down organics. Nitrifyers are something different.

Typically, what you're doing wouldn't be decimating the bacteria, but it obviously is. I'd re-examine the equipment you're using, meaning buckets etc, for something that may be acting on the bacteria. Even so, I'd hate to have to remove the media to clean the sump, if it were me.

It does look as though you're media is somewhat submerged, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's sometimes inevitable because of space limitations and should still work ok.


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

yes, my media are actually fully submerged.
it works but will not house as much bacteria.

the first divider is draining at the top. 2nd one is draining at the bottom.
i can use the 2nd one instead and put the egg crate about 4" high so only 
2-3" of media will be submerged. if i can remove it without damaging it.

the problem is the 1st chamber is siliconed both sides and only 1" gap between the 2nd
divider. im not sure if can pull this out without breaking it since it was 
tight fit and its also siliconed at the bottom of tank both sides.

any suggestions?
i can leave it as is and just get a siphon at walmart and hopefully i
can siphon the mulm at the bottom without killing the bacteria.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> any suggestions?
> i can leave it as is and just get a siphon at walmart and hopefully i
> can siphon the mulm at the bottom without killing the bacteria.


I would try that first. It might take a little work, but best you ca do for now, and you don't have to do this very often.

You also might try to put together a siphon like one of the ones pictured below. I used acrylic tube and stuffed it into vinyl hose that you can get at a home improvement. You could also use something besides the acrylic tube if that's not easy to come by. You'd have to have a local plastics shop or else order online. Let me know if you need any online sources.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Sounds like Prov has you headed in the right direction but I might throw in a different spin for you to consider. Syphon can be a bit slow for really moving things out. If you have a spare power head, I might look at building in a CPVC tube and flexible tubing to connect to a powerhead. The powerhead would give you much more forceful flow to get the grung out. An el at the bottom with slits cut in the side of the horizontal tubing would allow swishing back and forth to add some mechanical stirring. Leaving the tubing in between uses would get you away from doing the total teardown bit. Different strokes but going the same way. opcorn:


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

thanks guys,
i was actually thinking of doin a cpvc (cheaper than pvc) and making a square ring
with 3 Ts to stand it up but on an angle connected to the inlet of a 300gph powerhead.
the powerhead will have to be removable but wasnt really sure it would work that way.
i know i can use 3 nozzle connected to the outlet but not certain it would 
work with 3 inlet.
this will square ring will be below the crate and the outlet going over
the divider and in the pump area. this way i will never bother the medias
and powerhead will still be fully submerge. i can use the powerhead in the main tank
instead of buying a new one.
what do you guys think?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I guess I'm not understanding. How much water do you need to move to siphon out the bottom of the sump? Is a powerhead really necessary?


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## cichlidOCD (Jun 17, 2009)

mel_cp6, you stole my forum!!! no hard feelings...


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

not so much of the amount of water but i want to be able
to get all the waste out. i used to siphon the water and waste out before but only
after i remove the media. i will 1st try to siphon it without the powerhead and see 
if i can efficientlt remove them without disturbing the media.

otherwise i may just actually redesign the sump. 
i will remove all the dividers and reseal the tank as well because i will most likely
damage the old silicone at the bottom of tank.
i will do it like how lowcel did his but smaller version.

btw, the ammonia is down a more safer level.


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

hows this design.
i really want to have a refugium in this 40 long tank.
or i can re-do my 30gl. basically the same as this but without the 
refugium. i will put filter socks on the 2 drains and maybe put sponge 
on the top to futher block waste. my only concern is it may also reduce flow.

what do you think prov?










its not to scale, only 2" of media will probably be submerged.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I don't see a difference or advantage in regards to being able to clean media, but the filter socks may reduce the need. You're right though, you'll have to keep up with cleaning them or you risk some flow problems.

I would've done a simple siphon down through the media. That's my best suggestion.


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

in my old one the media are all submerged and the debris at 
the bottom are the ones i try to clean.
with this one, i can clean it by syphoning it from the bottom via
last divider. therefore, i will not have to mess with the scrubs.
by the time water gets here, it should've pass the filter socks and
filter on top of trickle plate and blocked by the sponge on last divider. 
so technically, it should require less maintenance at the bottom.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

I have two sumps set up with refugiums and trickle filters. The larger is a 40 G breeder.

What you might consider is locating the fuge to one side of the sump and using either pump bypass or "raw" return water to replenish it at a rate of 1 - 2X's turnover.

On one sump I use "raw" return water teed off the drain and I need to vac the fuge on occasion which stirs up the flourite, not good, the other fuge uses pump bypass and the only maintenance I do to that one is trim the plant growth.


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

cichlidocd: sorry for hacking the thread.

got a pic of the sump fox?
i dont really want to start building this until im sure its how its should be.

something like this perhaps?


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

deleted, started my own thread.


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