Filter Cleaning

Once the outside is clean, the rocks, plants, and other decorations may be returned to the tank. Now wait a couple of weeks before cleaning the filter. Why wait? The major cleaning you just performed disturbed the beneficial bacterial colonies on the plants, rocks, and gravel. Fortunately many beneficial bacteria reside within the filter media, so you haven't completely upset the Eco-system. However if you changed the filter at the same time, you might trigger a dangerous ammonia spike because there aren't enough beneficial bacteria left to eliminate the toxins. When you are ready to clean the filter, should you clean or simply replace the filter media entirely? Some experts caution that replacing the filter media removes too many of the beneficial bacteria, and triggers a new tank break-in cycle. Other experts argue that sufficient bacteria reside on the rocks,plants, and in the gravel to prevent the tank from cycling when the filter is replaced. I believe what you should do depends on the type of filter media you use. If you have filter media containing carbon, ammonia absorbers, or ion-exchange resins, it should be replaced if it's more than three weeks old. After a couple of weeks the absorbing qualities of the media have been exhausted, and it no longer serves it's purpose. Media that acts as a mechanical filter instead of absorbing toxins (i.e.: ceramic rings, filter fiber, or sponges) should be gently rinsed to remove debris and returned to the filter instead of replaced. If care is taken to use water that is the same temperature as the aquarium water, and the media is quickly returned to the filter, the bacterial colonies growing on them will not be lost entirely. Don't forget to clean the filter tubing and other parts of the filter assembly. A filter brush will help clear out the sludge that invariably builds up in all the small crevices.