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I was wondering if these really need replacing. A couple of places I looked about said to replace only about half every 3 months. Others said never to replace unless broken, or of malfunction. So whats really necessary? Can I just clean them every 3 months?

Hi,
According to theory you should never have to replace them.
Being made of ceramics, they will not break or fall apart
unless mishandled. Because they are the last stage of
the filtration system, they should not become clogged with
detritus. Their sole use is to become homes for the
bacterial colonies that comprise the Nitrogen Cycle.

Practically speaking, they will require cleaning at some
interval should algae, or detritus build up on them.
When cleaning I would just flush them with clean water,
perhaps using the sprayer attached to your sink faucet,
near tank temperature, and replace them.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I would treat it like any filtration material I would wash it in the old tank water at every filter cleaning ( I do mine monthly) by doing that it should never require a very heavy cleaning.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
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Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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Yeah, don't buy new ones .

Foam and floss can be rinsed clean, but they may wear out over time. Rings, like Frank mentioned, should never really need replacing.

Since we're not on town water and have no chlorine in our water we will use the hose outside to spray the rings off. If you have chlorine in your water I don't really suggest doing that, I've never seen them get all that gunked up though, so a simple rinse through used tank water should loosen most particles.


^_^