cannister filter question

so some of you may know i recently added a cannister filter (fluval 205) to my setup with great results so far. Ive read through about 18 pages of threads on the subject and have learned so much. Theres gold in them hills!! so instead of asking questions, ill tell you what i think from what ive gathered and maybe you guys can chime in..All these points i have pulled directly from these awesome forums

If i constantly run charcaol, itll clear the water but might strip trace elements

I want to be careful of running biomedia (balls,ceramic) if i dont clean them regularly they will become nitrate factories(do the ceramic beads need to be cleaned as much as biballs?)

I must clean the sponge filters weekly, and any mechanical filtration weekly

if i keep the filter clean and running strong i might not see such great skimming cuz the waters in good condition

I might want to not run it all day long, just perhaps once in a while to clean up messy water..

I also am going to remove my Biowheel from my Penguin 200, as it can be a nitrate factory

so anyway, since ive installed this thing my water has never been so clean, the fish look like theyre floating in midair, absolutley no particulate matter, and all my corals have bloomed, i can actually see the polyps on my leather, and my plate coral is thriving.. its also nice having a powerhead moving my water, which was sorely needed.. i have another three weeks to return it so if theres any reasons you guys might think i dont need it, lemme know..

thanks as always
john

 

It takes a little out but the pros in running carbon far outweighs the cons. Besides, you're replacing elements every time you do a water change.

If you don't clean them often AND if you overfeed, they can produce nitrates. Again, the pros far outweigh the cons so as long as you keep everything clean, you will be ahead of the game.

I would clean the sponges weekly and the ceramic beads every 2-3 weeks or so (assuming you don't overfeed-if you do, clean them more often). Make sure you rinse them in salt water only and only clean 50% of those beads at a time so that your bacteria doesn't die off too much.

Maybe

I prefer to run carbon 24/7.

Only if you don't keep it clean.

 

I heard you don't clean the wheel, just the tank part. I have an Emporer 400 and have never cleaned the wheels. I run at 0 nitrates/nitrites and 0 on ammonia all the time(unless a crash, thanks son). My fish act like I'm starving them when I look at them, but they are all healthy!

 

You can clean the wheel if necessary but if you do, just make sure that you clean it with saltwater. I have these wheels on my freshwater tank but I don't overfeed so gunk rarely builds up on them, if ever.

 

wow that was quick.. thanks so much guys.. so as far as the biomedia, i will be using "biomax" ceramic rings.. so when i clean these guys (weekly right?) do i just swish them around in some saltwater, or do i need to get in there and srub them down? im just supposed to be removing any detrius from them right?

 

I would only clean them weekly if you overfeed and find that they're getting really gunked up. I would also only clean one half of the total amount of rings at a time so that you don't upset the bacteria too much. Just rinse, no scrubbing required.