Cleaning Nitrate Factories

[jcook54]

My nitrates have been getting lower by using the usual methods of maintainence and water changes. The only nitrate "factory" that I may have is in my Fluval 205. I don't have any bio-balls and I change my filter sock regularly. I use it as a media chamber mostly but do have the 4 sponges on the intake side of the canister. I just want to make sure that I clean them appropriatly so here's what I do.

Whenever I do a water change I pull the sponges and "scrub" them in the old tank water. When that's finished I'll rinse them in some of the leftover "new" saltwater that I didn't need for the water change. Is this the best way to go about cleaning them? I know that they have the potential to put off a bunch of nitrates and don't want to chase my tail by having them constantly adding new nitrates. How does everyone else clean sponges of this type? Should I get rid of them all together? They do filter out a good bit of stuff but are they worth it? In the end I guess I'm just wondering if my regular maintainence on the canister filter is enough to keep it from contributing to higher nitrate levels.

 

[ichthyoid]

I would give them a good squeezing and rinse a couple of times a week. I don't know how often you do water changes, but rinsing in tank water leaves all nitrifying bacteria intact.-JMHO

 

[ricksconnected]

i know several folks that run canister filters. i have a friend that cleans his ever 4 months. his water tests are very clean. you can run lots of different types of media in them remember. you can even use nitrate
killing stuff in media bags sandwiched between two pads. theres tons of ways to use canister filters to your advantage.

 

[jcook54]

I just don't know how to prevent the sponges from contributing to the tanks nitrate levels. At this point when I clean them I do leave behind the nitrifying bacteria so I'm looking to make a change. I do swap them out with one's that I've cleaned and let dry for a little while. Is that a better method? Does anyone run a canister filter on their system? If so, what's a good way to clean these mechanical filters. I suppose that they will always produce some nitrates but should I scrap the sponges all together? I really do like it and want to make it work somehow. I can live with some nitrate contribution but whenever someone mentions high nitrates they are always advised that canister filters can be nitrate "factories." Or they are advised to do proper maintainence on them but what does that mean? Buy new sponges every couple of weeks? I think I've made the assumption that I understand what proper maintiainence on a canister filter is but really don't. I suppose it's just a hold over from the freshwater days

 

[ricksconnected]

ok yes they can be a nitrate factory, but to what degree with proper cleaning? nitrates can be caused from many different things.
keep working your filters rinsing them in RO/DI. trade them out if you feel its better for you. like i said, my one buddy cleans his every 4 months or so. his water is almost as perfect as you can get. his fish are very happy and his corals as beautiful as you can dream of.
what size tank is this on by the way? whats in the tank?
keep up your canister cleaning and look at OTHER areas you might be causing nitrates. some tanks nitrates are just gonna be there to some degree no matter what you do. just do your very best to keep them low.
dont remember where, but i have read that some nitrates to a degree can help coral growth.