ceramic cylinders in fluval

[chrismunn]

ive got these ceramic type bead things in my can filter that have gotten pretty dirty. i was just wondering if they should be cleaned or not. or, if i should even have them in use? the instruction manual for the fluval says that they are created with a large surface area for the culture of the nitrifying bacteria.

do you think the could do more harm than good if not cleand on the regular?:confused:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/fcf172bc.jpg

[artful-dodger]

I would try to avoid cleaning them...especially if this is your primary biological filter (i.e., you don't have live rock, sand) Those don't look bad. Keep them in moving saltwater and just replace or clean the filter material that water passes through before it hits these.

[Johnsteph10]

Hopefully you aren't depending on those for your denitrification needsw (ie: you have LR, sand, etc.). They are basically just like bioballs - not really all that useful in a reef tank. For a fish only tank, they may be ok.

If you really have to have them, I would rinse them well in a bucket of tank water regularly to remove all the crap (literally) that accumulates in/on them.

[phatstanley02]

I use those for frag plugs :)

[chrismunn]

hey phatstanley02, thats a freakin' great idea! and no, thier not my main filtration unit! ive run my system for over 2 years without them. i have plenty of live rock. i just wanted to see if they were good for anything. recently ive been doing a crack down on anythnig that could possibly be contributing to the unwated growth of nuisance algae. when i was cleaning my fluval, i realized that they were still in there from a few months back. i actuall took them out. the only reason im running the fluval is for a return pump ....lol