Mellie101 wrote:
Hi, in future i will ask people here rather than my LFS. They told me,
when I bought the filter, that I change the foam and charcoal once a
month and and the media every 6 months. So I made an order of the
charcoal and foam to now realise that the foam last for a very long
time. They did tell me that you rinse the media in the tank and put it
back in the filter. Don't worry I was going to research all this
before doing any of it. :-)

I have a fluval 404. Does seem to go through spurts where it kicks
lots of bubbles out but all in all very happy with it.

So, another question, should I rinse one foam sponge one week and then
the other the following week so as not to go through a mini-cycle?
Beginners are very scary, aren't they?

Cheers
Mellie

Fluval 404, a big grey canister filter? I have one of those and also a
15-year old big Fluval canister (304? 403?). Both are on the same 90
gallon aquarium.

I alternate servicing the Fluvals, cleaning one each month so they go
about 2 months. I do have to clean the intake screens at every water
change due to clogging by plant bits.

The 404 has two big flat sponges doesn't it? Your idea of alternating
sponge cleaning is probably a good idea at first, and you will want to
service the filter more frequently than I do, until you figure out your
aquarium. Requirements depend on fish load and other factors.

The 404 also uses some "bio" ceramic noodles, and those can be rinsed.
Also the carbon is not really needed and you can use those baskets for
whatever media you like - I use some crushed coral. Good luck!
Steve