General Care Discussion :: help on cleaning canister filter

[pao]

so ive had my canister filter for about a month now, im thinking its due for quick maintenance, but im not exactly too sure on how to do it(all the filter came with was instructions on how to set it up) i dont even know where to start, how im going to get the in/outake tubes out without spilling or even how im gonna take it apart without water going everywhere, because im pretty sure there are parts of my filter that arent supposed to get wet, and in case it matters, i have a marineland c-220
any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance

[pao]

another quick question but off topic, ive recently started introducing more veggies to my 2 res diets, i feed each of them the same amount of pellets every other day because before one had gotten larger than the other but theyve balanced out now, but one is more open to veggies, so if one eats more veggies than the other will i have another size difference problem? or is veggies just so theyre healthier and wont suffer from certain conditions?

[TheComputerGremlin]

First, I'd move your food question to a new separate thread in the feeding section. Otherwise, it will get missed when discussing the canister filter.

I don't have that brand filter, but I have a Rena XP3. It comes with a catch on the top of the filter that you pop open, it seals off the two tubes, and you just leave that piece under your tank for cleaning.

After that, I just haul the whole canister to the bathtub (the only place I currently have to clean it, otherwise, I'd be cleaning it outside in the yard). I take apart the filter piece by piece and clean each one. The key thing, though, is if you have biological media, you want to keep that in tank water while you are cleaning the other parts. So my BioStars go into a pail with tank water from inside the canister. Everything gets a good spray with my shower head, and I reassemble it, trying to remember the right order.

So far I haven't had to do any major cleaning, so this is for routine cleaning. If I needed a major cleaning involving bleach or something, it'd be different.

Hope this helps. Maybe someone will come by with experience with your filter.

[SpotsMama]

Try calling the manufacturer. You may be able to find a number for them on the internet.