How to clean...

[Marcus Fox]

.... the media in an EHEIM 2208, without nuking the biofilter? It has only
one sponge. Can I take it out, leave it under the filter, insert new sponge,
wait two days for bacteria to transfer to new sponge, remove and wash, then
when time comes to clean filter again, switch them around in the same way?

Can I cut my own filter sponges from household sponges and layer them, then
replace only one layer at a time? The sponges in question have a thick
spongy pad, then a dense scouring surface on one side. they are cuboid,
approx 10 x 6 x 3 cms, come in different colours in a multipack, are
extremely cheap. They do not appear to have any detergents in them.

Any non-standard ways that other people use that work?

Marcus

[WD]

"Marcus Fox" > wrote in message
...
> ... the media in an EHEIM 2208, without nuking the biofilter? It has only


When you do your water change, rinse the sponge out in the old water.

[NetMax]

"Marcus Fox" > wrote in message
...
> ... the media in an EHEIM 2208, without nuking the biofilter? It has
only
> one sponge. Can I take it out, leave it under the filter, insert new
sponge,
> wait two days for bacteria to transfer to new sponge, remove and wash,
then
> when time comes to clean filter again, switch them around in the same
way?
>
> Can I cut my own filter sponges from household sponges and layer them,
then
> replace only one layer at a time? The sponges in question have a thick
> spongy pad, then a dense scouring surface on one side. they are cuboid,
> approx 10 x 6 x 3 cms, come in different colours in a multipack, are
> extremely cheap. They do not appear to have any detergents in them.
>
> Any non-standard ways that other people use that work?
>
> Marcus

Sometimes I slice the sponge in half (top & bottom halves). This makes
cleaning a little easier, and I only clean the first sponge in the water
flow really well. The 2nd sponge gets the token double squeeze in
de-chlorinated water. If you clean your filter sponges regularly, they
will last for years. I'm still using the original sponge which came with
a Fluval 201 canister, and it's over 20 years old. I wouldn't mess with
non-aquarium sponges, as the savings/risk ratio is just not worth it
(especially considering you can get years of service from these sponges,
and they give better performance due to a more uniform pattern). If you
want to do DIY sponges, buy the generic pads from the LFS and cut them to
size with scissors.

NetMax