So I cleaned my canister filter for the first time....

Coachb9 · 05/14/2016, 06:25 PM

It has only been operational for 4 weeks. I only cleaned it because I needed to take carbon out to treat for ich. Well after u made a huge mess by not taking the tubes out of the water first, I took it outside and rinsed the media balls in salt water and all the pads in saltwater. I put it back the way I took it out (I think) and got it back up and running. I didnt clean the tubes however, mostly because I didn't think about it.
For the past 3 hours, it has been spitting a cloudy substance out every minute or so. Sometimes it's a decent amount and sometimes it's a very little bit. It all pushes to the top and sits in the surface which is where I assume a protein skimmer would come in handy.
My question is what is this spitting of cloudy stuff and is there something wrong?

Bpb · 05/14/2016, 08:43 PM

Not much help here. Most people don't run canister filters on their reef tanks. It's just a sinkhole for detritus, and an unnecessarily tedious piece of gear that needs frequent cleaning. If you have any amount of liverock in your tank, you don't need to run dedicated biomedia in a filter. It's redundant. Carbon can be passively run in a filter bag in your sump

Coachb9 · 05/14/2016, 09:10 PM

I am not doing a reef tank, but do have a decent amount of love rock in the tank.

Bpb · 05/14/2016, 09:25 PM

The live rock should be providing all the filtration necessary.

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plecoco · 05/15/2016, 12:51 AM

Are they microbubbles, or do they stick to each other like foam?

OllieNZ · 05/15/2016, 03:19 AM

It's probably trapped air, pick the canister up and tilt it about and give it a shake. What type of canister are you using?

05/14/2016, 06:25 PM	#1
Coachb9 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 90	So I cleaned my canister filter for the first time.... It has only been operational for 4 weeks. I only cleaned it because I needed to take carbon out to treat for ich. Well after u made a huge mess by not taking the tubes out of the water first, I took it outside and rinsed the media balls in salt water and all the pads in saltwater. I put it back the way I took it out (I think) and got it back up and running. I didnt clean the tubes however, mostly because I didn't think about it. For the past 3 hours, it has been spitting a cloudy substance out every minute or so. Sometimes it's a decent amount and sometimes it's a very little bit. It all pushes to the top and sits in the surface which is where I assume a protein skimmer would come in handy. My question is what is this spitting of cloudy stuff and is there something wrong?

05/15/2016, 12:51 AM	#5
plecoco Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Location: California Posts: 78	Are they microbubbles, or do they stick to each other like foam? __________________ Get deals > cuddledeals.com Skimmer FAQ > skimmergeek.com Current Tank Info: 10g tank looking for stocking ideas

05/15/2016, 03:19 AM	#6
OllieNZ Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: UK Posts: 569	It's probably trapped air, pick the canister up and tilt it about and give it a shake. What type of canister are you using? __________________ "Perhaps it is boredom, not intelligence, that has propelled humans up the evolutionary ladder." _________ Reefed out

05/14/2016, 08:43 PM	#2
Bpb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 3,148	Not much help here. Most people don't run canister filters on their reef tanks. It's just a sinkhole for detritus, and an unnecessarily tedious piece of gear that needs frequent cleaning. If you have any amount of liverock in your tank, you don't need to run dedicated biomedia in a filter. It's redundant. Carbon can be passively run in a filter bag in your sump

05/14/2016, 09:10 PM	#3
Coachb9 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 90	I am not doing a reef tank, but do have a decent amount of love rock in the tank.

05/14/2016, 09:25 PM	#4
Bpb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 3,148	The live rock should be providing all the filtration necessary. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk