What are your filter/hose cleaning routines?

[Gowalkitoff]

How often do you rinse your filter media, brush off sludge build up, and brush your canister hoses? Do planted tanks, different substrates, or botanicals change the frequency of these?

[lucius]

For my hang on back and canister filters, I rinse the media when I notice the flow coming out of them is not as strong.  Same with the sponge filters, if the air coming from the top seems to be reduced I will squeeze them out.  Or if after a power outage or water change and the filter doesn't start up again on its own when I plug them back in.

I hardly ever clean the canister hoses.

To help prevent large debris from going into my filters and hoses I use the mesh type pre-filters on the intakes that need them.

[Gowalkitoff]

For my hang on back and canister filters, I rinse the media when I notice the flow coming out of them is not as strong.  Same with the sponge filters, if the air coming from the top seems to be reduced I will squeeze them out.  Or if after a power outage or water change and the filter doesn't start up again on its own when I plug them back in.

I hardly ever clean the canister hoses.

To help prevent large debris from going into my filters and hoses I use the mesh type pre-filters on the intakes that need them.

Re: power outages is when I used to clean my HOB's too. Now though, I have a canister filter and don't have power outages, so I'm trying to develop a pattern for rinsing media. I find it difficult to notice the flow reduction with my canister outputs. Can large debris i.e. leaves going into the filter or over feeding, contribute to an increased rate of sludge build up in the canister media and hoses?

I used to have a routine where I did the canister media and hoses every 4 months or so, between my semesters. Never had any issues. I just cleaned them after letting them sit since April and the buildup was so bad that both the coarse sponge and fine filter floss were completely saturated bricks of sludge. I feel I must be doing something wrong.

[lucius]

Yeah, my basement laundry sink is just brown goop after cleaning out the media.  I use a sink strainer to prevent most of it from going down the drain and scoop what I can into the garbage. 

Not sure how much water you change but in my 75 and 90 gallon tanks I change about 50%.  When I'm filling back up and the water level is a couple inches below the spray bar, I plug the canister filter back in.  Then I can see what the flow is like. 

Do you vacuum your substrate?  Maybe it might help mitigate debris from going into your canister filter.  I don't vacuum.

[Gowalkitoff]

Yeah, my basement laundry sink is just brown goop after cleaning out the media.  I use a sink strainer to prevent most of it from going down the drain and scoop what I can into the garbage. 

Not sure how much water you change but in my 75 and 90 gallon tanks I change about 50%.  When I'm filling back up and the water level is a couple inches below the spray bar, I plug the canister filter back in.  Then I can see what the flow is like. 

Do you vacuum your substrate?  Maybe it might help mitigate debris from going into your canister filter.  I don't vacuum.

I have a 90g planted with fluvial stratum. I don't vacuum but I'll sometimes "wave" at the substrate to fluff things up. I only do about 20% water changes so the Ph doesn't swing too much. I only unplug the filter when I move it to rinse it. Maybe the media was so bad because I've messed with the plants a few times and even with a water change it made a mess of things.

[Jody]

I don't do mine very often. The hoses pretty much never.
Maybe every 6 months for the canisters, unless I notice that flow is low or that I can't remember last time I opened it..

Jody