Habitat - Indoor :: cleaning tank...

[harleysmom]

I have a 60 gallon tank filled with about 50 gallons of water. my Fluval 405 keeps the water amazingly clear! I love it, it was well worth the money. I have one 8 inch RES male.

but I haven't been able to find info online on how often to clean it. the manual it came with says to clean it weekly but that seems a bit much...or am I wrong? I think there is something on this site about that but can't find it and the search function isn't co-operating with me. I remember reading do a partial water change, not a full one, because beneficial bacteria builds up.

this is what I was thinking of doing in the routine I'm planning out:
-->partial water change 25% of tank once a week
-->full clean once a month involving:
-changing approx 50% of water in tank
-washing all accessories
-washing tank sides with vinegar
-taking fluval apart and fully cleaning it and changing media
--> full water change of all the water in tank once every few months

is that a good routine? should I clean it more often or less often? should I tweak it at all? I am not too worried about the tank being dirty because this filter is a godsend and the water is never anything short of pristine, what I am worried about is the filter being overloaded and it has been acting wierd lately, blowing bubbles out the outtake even though I can't find any leaks...how often do I clean it?

thanks so much for the info eh!!

[SabrinaF]

We have a 55g tank for our 5.5 in turtle. He has fish in there with 2 bubblers. We also have a fluval 305 (I think) We don't do water changes or clean it at all. We add water to it cuz it evaporates. But we haven't cleaned it at all. It stays really clean, he even eats in there.

[harleysmom]

thanks. my turtle eats in his tank all the time and it still stays clean.

[gwennie]

I'm not sure about folks here, but folks on my other turtle forum recommend canister filters be cleaned out every six months or so? It depends on whether you're feeding in your tank or in a separate container, whether you have aquatic plants a lot and your turtle shreds them, whether you have a pre-filter sponge or not, etc.

Since your turtle eats in his tank it's possible that there might be some muck in there, but you shouldn't really have to worry unless you see the output rate deteriorate...then you know your filter's struggling to get the water through.

It's a good idea to clean it at least once or twice a year to get all the muck out that gathers in there, but when you do, don't change out everything at once or you'll kill your good bacteria, and when you do rinse your filter media, it's recommended you use tank water ^^

I don't think you really ever need to change your ceramics out if you use them though? Other folks might know more about that department than I do - I'm sure they'll be along shortly lol

[BullDog]

That sounds like over-kill.
The 25% weekly is just fine, but monthly cleaning of the filter might be a bit of a chore.
When I had my 404 set up in my 75g, I cleaned the filter once about every 3 months. The only thing I ever replaced in it was the carbon. The other media you can just rinse out (rinse the biomedia in tank water).
But, you could always start doing a filter clean once a month, and I'm sure you'll always have a crystal clear tank. If you find it too much work or you find it just doesn't need it, you could leave it a bit longer. Find what works for you.

I don't see much of a reason to wash the tank sides with vinegar. If you get a bit of hard water buildup at the water level, sure, you can use a bit of vinegar on a cloth to clean it off, or even just a damp rag and some elbow grease.

I also think the 100% water changes might be a bit much. I do maybe 1 or 2 large water changes a year, and it's usually not 100%. Usually ends up about 80-90%, since the last bit of water is hard to get out of the tank.

[harleysmom]

I'm not sure about folks here, but folks on my other turtle forum recommend canister filters be cleaned out every six months or so? It depends on whether you're feeding in your tank or in a separate container, whether you have aquatic plants a lot and your turtle shreds them, whether you have a pre-filter sponge or not, etc.

Since your turtle eats in his tank it's possible that there might be some muck in there, but you shouldn't really have to worry unless you see the output rate deteriorate...then you know your filter's struggling to get the water through.

It's a good idea to clean it at least once or twice a year to get all the muck out that gathers in there, but when you do, don't change out everything at once or you'll kill your good bacteria, and when you do rinse your filter media, it's recommended you use tank water ^^

I don't think you really ever need to change your ceramics out if you use them though? Other folks might know more about that department than I do - I'm sure they'll be along shortly lol

thanks so much for the advice. I am not sure what you mean by "ceramics" but okay

yeh I signed up for turtletimes.com, another forum I just found, and they said the same, around every 6 months. thanks, now I know!! Saves me some trouble. I'll probably try doing it more often and see how it goes, yeah

[harleysmom]

That sounds like over-kill.
The 25% weekly is just fine, but monthly cleaning of the filter might be a bit of a chore.
When I had my 404 set up in my 75g, I cleaned the filter once about every 3 months. The only thing I ever replaced in it was the carbon. The other media you can just rinse out (rinse the biomedia in tank water).
But, you could always start doing a filter clean once a month, and I'm sure you'll always have a crystal clear tank. If you find it too much work or you find it just doesn't need it, you could leave it a bit longer. Find what works for you.

I don't see much of a reason to wash the tank sides with vinegar. If you get a bit of hard water buildup at the water level, sure, you can use a bit of vinegar on a cloth to clean it off, or even just a damp rag and some elbow grease.

I also think the 100% water changes might be a bit much. I do maybe 1 or 2 large water changes a year, and it's usually not 100%. Usually ends up about 80-90%, since the last bit of water is hard to get out of the tank.

the only reason I might wash the sides with vinegar , I meant above water level because for some reason it always looks dirty, I'm not sure why.fingerprints, water droplets, etc get builtup I guess. just bugs me, so I'd probly wipe that part down.

Yea I know what you mean about the water being hard to get out of the tank!! right now I just scoop it out with buckets but I'm getting a python thing when I get paid this week.

thanks so much for the advice.

[bover907]

I find that I have to clean my XP3 once a month, but I think mainly it's because I have a 5.5" turtle in a 40 gallon tank, and he's a slob, lol.

I also think it has to do with the fact that I use the super midcro filtration pad in the top of the filter. The water stays prestine with that in there, but it only takes a month to get clogged.

Today, I am going to just use the ble cut-to-size stuff and not micro pad and see if I get away with more than 4 weeks, and if the water stays just as clear. The blue cut to size stuff is way cheaper, so I'm going to give it a go.