This will restore good flow without compromising the beneficial bacteria. To clean a cartridge simply brush the accumulated brown gunk off the surface of the cartridge with a small brush. This media brown gunk is good for your fish and needs to be preserved. The brown gunk which builds up in the media is beneficial bacteria, not fish poop. If you must keep the cartridges do nothing to the media inside the cartridge (typically activated carbon). When they are cleaned the beneficial bacteria can easily be removed and what little biofiltration capacity the HOB has goes down the drain with the rinse water. They just have too little of biomedia and they require frequent cleaning. HOB filters are far less of a biofilter than any under-gravel filter or sponge filter and cost more. Nimbochromis Venustus Downsides to Hang-on-back Filters They will not give crystal clear, healthy water. So hang-on-back filters will give good ammonia oxidation. Note that only very small amounts of biofiltration are needed to do ammonia removal while much larger amounts of biofiltration (ten to twenty time more!) are needed for crystal clear water, bacteria free water and healthy fish. Such a filter should be supplemented with another filter with a large volume of biomedia. That just not enough to do good biofiltration. The flow from back-to-front HOB filters just can’t hold a lot of biomedia in their cartridges and bags, maybe half an ounce at most. Since there is no need for chemical filtration in most aquariums (carbon only removes colored materials such as the tannins which come from some woods) the activated carbon should just be left in place undisturbed to act as a biofiltration media, a place where beneficial bacteria can grow. The activated carbon in the cartridge functions as a chemical filtration media for all of about two weeks. If you want to keep the cartridges in a cartridge filter use a brush to remove the brown gunk from the face of the cartridge to clean. These “back-to-front” flow HOB filters do an excellent job of mechanical filtration and it is easy to remove the mechanical filter cartridge and clean it when it plugs. Carbon should just be left in place to act as a biomedia. Chemical Filtration: there is no chemical filtration needed in ANY aquarium, so replacing this or even using it is pretty pointless.The activated carbon in most cartridges will act as a decent biofilter after a few weeks of operation. Biological filtration: This is done with bioballs and ceramic rings in some, it is absent in others.Both the polyester bag and the foam will last for years and only need rinsing when they plug up. Mechanical: this is typically a polyester bag but it is a foam in one HOB (Aqua-Clear).There are three types of cartridge media: Fossorochromis rostratus, Malawi Sand Diver One MUST replace these cartridges with foam or pot scrubbers per the directions below. The white polyester covers of their cartridges literally start falling apart after only a month or two in water. Note that we have become aware that some cartridge manufacturers like Top Fin have started using what is called a “biodegradable binder” in the manufacture of their cartridges. Never put the cartridge under running water. Use a small brush to do this in a tub of water. Just clean the brown gunk off the outside of the cartridge when the flow noticeably slows down. Cartridges and media last for many years and shouldn’t be replaced till they start falling apart. Replacing cartridges makes obscene profits for the filter manufacturer and removes virtually all the beneficial bacteria which are needed for ammonia oxidation. Replacing cartridges every month is a huge rip-off which creates very bad conditions for the fish. The manufacturer (Marineland Penguin, Aqueon Quietflow, Top Fin, Tetra Whisper, etc.) recommends changing these out with new ones every month or so. Most hang-on-back (HOB) filters typically come with “cartridges”, plastic frames covered in polyester floss and filled with activated carbon. There are also some in-tank cartridge filters that come with small ten gallon aquarium kits which work exactly the same as hang-on-back cartridge filters. This is a “back-to-front” flow HOB cartridge filter. Most HOB filters move the water from one side (the side away from the aquarium) of the hanging box to the other side (the side closest to the aquarium) of the HOB through a “cartridge”. They are probably the most common filter. These are called hang-on-back, HOB or cartridge filters. There are many types of filters which use a box hung off the back of the aquarium to mechanically filter the waste.
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