When I changed the filters my tank went into bacterial bloom. How often should I change the filters?

You should never change all of the media at the same time. Always stagger your replacements. Also, you should rinse the media in some tank water every couple of weeks or as it becomes dirty/clogged. Only replace the media when it becomes totally degraded. This shouldn't happen often. I've had the same media in my filter for over 2 years!!When I changed the filters my tank went into bacterial bloom. How often should I change the filters?
HI Ludie, When you put in a new filter pad it starts to get colonised by the good bugs which eat the toxins. After about 6 to 8 weeks the colony is large %26amp; established enough to keep your tank in perfect eco balance. this is called a cycled tank. If you are continually replacing your old filter pads with new ones you are constantly killing your good bugs so your tank remains in a constant state of cycle-the bacterial bloom is proof of this %26amp; your fish remain in a constant state of stress because the water quality is continually poor even with regular partial water changes.





Manufacturers tell us to replace the filter media regularly simply to keep their profits up %26amp; your bank balance low! The ideal situation is to gently rinse the media in old tank water each time you do a partial water change, this is to remove the loose debris while preserving the good bugs to do their job. Only replace media when it is almost falling to bits %26amp; then make sure to only replace parts of it at any one time to ensure the remaining good bugs have time to colonise the new material. If your pads are single units try cutting them in half so you never replace all at once. If you have a canister filter %26amp; media is ceramic chip they are virtually indestructible so all they need is a rise when the filter is cleaned.





Bear in mind you can do large, up to 50% partial water changes daily to keep your toxins down because the good bugs live in the filters %26amp; gravel, NOT in the water.





EDIT: excellent point above to have 2 filters %26amp; stagger the cleaning time on each.When I changed the filters my tank went into bacterial bloom. How often should I change the filters?
Just rinse the media out in old tank water and use it again, it can generally be used for years.





When it cant be cleaned any more, or falls apart, then just replace one element at a time. If you replace all the filter pads you are throwing out most of your cycle bacteria and forcing a mini-cycle to occur in your tank.





Ian
I clean mine out when the water flow decreases. What you have observed is the reason that I keep 2 filters on all of my tanks - that lets me clean one out and not lose the bio filter.