Habitat - Indoor :: Canister cleaning

[staman]

I bought my canister filter about a month ago and its been happily running ever since. The guys at Big Al's told me they break down their canisters and change the media only once every six months. Does that sound right or should I be changing it more frequently because of turtles. Also when you do clean the filter are you just changing the filter pads or are u chaging the pads and the media. The glass rocks (efimech) apparently harvest the bacteria you need to break down ammonia. How long do they last? I heard people are rinsing the rocks with tank water...

[steve]

When to change/clean the media is up to you. I would say, the more frequent partial changes, the less complete changes you need to do. If the mechanical media (usually foam) needs cleaning, then you should not hesitate too long. The bio-media (usually ceramic rings) should be cleaned/rinsed with tank water - this helps preserves the bacteria. Different brands say different things - one said to replace bio media every 6 months, another says you never need to replace it. Since bio media is intended to allow healthy bacterial colonization on the rings surface, I don't think they need to be frequently replaced unless they are worn out.