Canister Filter Pre Filter Sponge

Do you use them? I just removed mine to clean them and all kinds of junk was released from them into my tank. My fluval 405s didnt come with them. I bought them separately and i was thinking about not putting them back on and letting the filter pick up all the stuff the prefilter was getting. I dont have any crabs or small fish that could get sucked into the intake.

Or does anyone know of a trick to get the pre filter out of the tank without releasing all the crap into the tank.

 

twelvebeer

when I used a cannister on salt water, I did not have the sponge pre filter
I had the plastic grill type end cap, that prevents small things climbing or being drawn into the filter, but no nems etc so nothing that might wander there and get caught up in it

sponges - the longer you leave it between cleanings the more stuff gets accumulated on it, thus the more gets released back into the water when you remove to clean it

are you removing to clean weekly?



Steve

 

Ive only had the tank up for 3 weeks. I did put them back on and maybe Ill clean them more often so the mess wont be as bad.

 

I had my eheim canister hooked up during the cycle of the tank. I wasnt too concerned about cleaning it within the first 2-3 weeks. But I did start cleaning it every 10 days after my ammonia and nitrites dropped to zero. I now have removed all media from my canister and am using Ecobak pellots in my canister. I got a nice skimmer, so I felt the canister was more of a hassle than it was worth, so I put it to use in what I hope will give me much better results.

 

Well you could always put a old net over it and pull it out. I just got a new rena xp4 and the prefilters are in the canister.