How often should I change my aquarium filter?
by Aquaboy on Friday, March 26th, 2010 | 6 Comments
I clean out my filter once a week and a few days later, my tank has tons of algae growin in the filter and all over the tank. Does that mean I need a new filter and should i buy an algae eater?
buy an algea eater or a snail
I would definitely buy some snails, they’re amazing at cleaning, and an algea eater.
You should buy algae snails and you should clean you fish tank once a weekif it is a big tank if not clean it twice a week
You shouldn’t have to clean it out that often. You definitely need a new filter. How big is your tank and how many fish are in it? Also, is your tank exposed to a lot of sunlight? Sunlight is like caffeine for algae. 0.o You probably need to do at least a 50% water change at this point, if it is really bad. And you should be wiping down your tank regularly. Don’t buy any more fish until the problem is fixed. Algae eaters should be viewed as regulators, not cures.
Your filter is not the problem actually.You need to buy a filter cartridge to put in the filter system itself not just cleaning it will work.Also buying snails and an algae eater my help but, that’s not the true case of beating the algae process.I have algae and it won’t go away no matter what the hell you do.If you want to lessen the algae in your tank and the hair algae too by,API’s algae destroyer it works well and your filter system won’t be clogged as bad either and when you buy filter cartridges change it every 2-4 weeks and clean your filter system every month to bi monthly don’t do it all the time or you could ruin you biological processes for you fish and tank water
A few things could be happening. Algae grows with the help of phosphates, so if you have not been doing regular water changes (25% once per week), you could be having a buildup of phosphates in the water from one source or another.
A lot of people thing regular plant fertilizer is a suitable fertilizer for aquarium plants, but this is loaded with phosphates and will cause an algae bloom like you can’t believe.
Assuming you have plants, if you have been using a light that is too weak, you are begging for algae growth, not plant growth.
I also wonder if you are confusing green scum/junk in the filter for algae. This is often not algae, but a buildup of fish waste, old fish food, and some algae. Its often brownish too.
Basically, I advise doing regular water changes. If you have plants and are using light, switch to a brighter light. If you do not have plants, limit the amount of time that your light is on to keep the algae from growing.
Get some snails (I favor trumpet snails) that will not only eat the algae, but also go through the gravel and eat any uneaten fish food. Keep in mind these are not going to completely clear the glass, but help keep the algae growth in general down. To clean the glass, you need to get an algae cleaning pad that will not scratch the glass and clean all glass surfaces once a day for a while to discourage growth.
Also, once a week seems fairly often to change a filter. The most I have heard of it done is once every two weeks, and I only change mine once a week. Of course, I am religious about water changes.