eheim substrate change?

Question

i have a tropical tank with an external eheim filter system, how often should i swop the substrate and the top white and bottom blue coloured filter pads, also if the substrate is changed does it not affect the balance of the bacteria system

Answer 1

I agree, the ehaim substrate pretty much never needs to be changed unless it's disintegrating before your eyes.

Changing the media in a filter will certainly affect the balance of bacteria - it gets rid of it entirely!

The good news is that bacteria grows on all the media, not just the substrate. It grows on the blue foam and the white foam. If you do find a need to switch out the substrate, then do so in two separate portions, allowing a week in between, and don't change any of the foam until the new substrate has been in the filter for at least a week.

As for replacing the foam, there is no time I can give you, as every tank is different, but typically once per month is a good schedule for emptying the filter of waste and cleaning out the foam (because you don't need to buy new foam every time, the blue foam can be re-used many times, the white foam a few times).

Tip: Clean out the foam in conditioned water, that way no chlorine will kill the bacteria on it.

Answer 2

I agree with these posts. I change the foam in stages, one at a time only when necessary. I do swap out the "cotton" fine filter every change, and give the filter and hoses a good rinsing and scrubbing about once a month or so. You don't want to kill the active bacteria so be careful when rinsing the blue and white media. As for the ehfimech and strat, just give it a good rinsing once in a while and it'll last a really long time.

Answer 3

I never change the filter media in my canister filters unless they look like they're falling apart. The biological system lives in there, and I hate the idea of chucking all those beneficial bacteria. The only thing I replace is the chemical filtration, and that, only once every 3-4 months. My tank has suffered no ill effects :)