cleaning filters

[mrairportjunke]

Re: cleaning filters

lol.  yeah i rinse my stuff with tap water. except for the bio i just rinse it with fish tank water.  but everything else is cleaned with tap. figure theres enough bio in tank and everywhere else to make up for what i kill on the filter pad.

[Philbert]

Re: cleaning filters

With my Eheim, I double the water flow when I run a wad of wet paper towel down each hose using a long rod...the non-washable slime build-up inside slows down the water flow big time.
I use a small thin length of chain with a wad of wet paper towel twist tied on the end to clean out my HOB intake tubes, same result.
You can't rinse out the hardcore slime; it needs to be wiped out. Like cleaning a gun barrel...
Since I get filter cartridge replacements from Ken's Fish really cheap, I reuse a filter 2 times, then replace. If my tank looks dirty, like after a brine shrimp feeding, I use poly fiber in the filter to clean it, then put in a new filter.
I pay $.95 for Whisper Large replacements, $1.35 for the large Penguin/Marineland/AquaTech 20-40 filters. The Whisper replacements don't need assembly, just slip them in. I am lazy and cheap, both!

[mrairportjunke]

Re: cleaning filters

where is kens fish or whats the website?

[blacksmith37]

Re: cleaning filters

I use poly quilt filling fiber from Wal mart in several different filters. At maybe $0.10/ sq ft I don't have to decide if it is worth rinsing for re-use.

[mrairportjunke]

Re: cleaning filters

nice.  i use that stuff in my beta tank filter.  lol. so i guess it would work same in the others.  that good idea. save money too