Have you ever let an aquarium filter get this bad? To see the last time I had an issue with a canister filter, watch here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ad2PoMeeqJulhHU.html INTO THE AM t-shirts discount link: intotheam.com/tazawa Link to fish foods, plants, and aquarium supplies www.aquariumcoop.com

I’ve been putting off cleaning my canister filter since I planned to do it in February. The ironic thing is that I plan to “just get it DONE” this weekend and your video came out! Thanks for the inspiration and keeping it real! Very much appreciated! I enjoy all your content. Thank you!

Your honesty is awesome. Shows people what you are doing is not staged. 👍

Thanks for bringing up the Prime Time Aquatics video re: chlorine and BB. There's some really great science communication in that video and I think the community should be talking about it more. PS- the editing on this video is great! Really enjoyed this one for the transparency and humor.

I use a pitcher under the hose connector once it's disconnected from the filter. Quickly open and close the valve and let the dirty water run into the pitcher. Then no gunk and cloudiness when I restart. I hated doing all that work and watching that crud go back into the tank.

Everyone with house plants watching all that fertilizer 👁👄👁

Oh my goodness, I can only imagine the smell... 😂

I greatly appreciate your transparency! I believe the hobby is far better served by your commitment to truth and reality. Thank you!

I've NEVER had a filter that bad. Then I've never gone a year without cleaning my FX. I've never had the outside sponges get clogged. It was a testimony to the FX brand how clean the tank still was.

Gave me flashbacks of my bachelor days when I'd rediscover a long forgotten mystery casserole tucked back in the less explored sector of my refrigerator.

I appreciate that you show the reality of managing a large number of tanks while also having a busy life. Canister filters are great for removing and storing waste Cleaning them is a process. I can see how it would be easy to skip it for a while. Interesting video. Thanks for sharing

I don't think I've gone a whole year without cleaning a filter, but it's not uncommon for me to let my filter go months without cleaning. all my filters are just mechanical filters for water clarity. There is plenty of beneficial bacteria within the tank to process all the waste produced in the tank. I do bi weekly water changes. all my fish are healthy and breeding. great video Zenzo.

I truely always enjoy your honesty about what it takes in the hobby. This was great entertainment...lol. That muck was insane.

Love the Saturday videos! Also love when you show that even the most seasoned and expert fish keepers aren’t perfect. We just do the best we can!

That some good fertilizer for your houseplants

I like watching videos like this; they're 'real'. Other fish keeping videos can either have a 'clinical' or 'sanctimonious' feel to them. I think that videos like this one reflects the vast majority of 'real life' domestic fish keepers. I don't think it is necessary to change your filter 'on the 1st of each month' (purchasing brand new media each time) with an 80% water change regardless (I think it can potentially be a waste of time and money). Some 'filterless' tanks still look good after several months (obviously with fish-keeper intervention). I think that with 'filtered' tanks, the filters ARE the (primary) intervention and that Fish-keeper intervention comes in when necessary (e.g. filter efficiency drops). Essentially, when you see a degradation in water quality / flow, then, 'it's time' (be it 1, 2 or 3+ months depending on on the set up of your tank). Good video.

First i been in the hobby 40 plus years and totally agree with prime time Aquatics about rinsing with tap water is ok I've never had a issue. Also when i clean my cannister filter before i turn it on i put one of my large nets over the out put tube so it catches all that debrie that get pushed back into the tank when you turn it on again. Just food for thought. Later Z

I have ball valve and quick connect set up on the water change outlet on my fx6. When I do water changes, I hook up my python hose, turn off the output, and drain the tank like that. In effect it is flushing the filter by running the water through it, and extends time between services. If I am doing a substrate cleaning, I hook my python syphon to the same hose, and turn the intake off, along the same lines as the fluval branded vaccum.

Better to forget to clean it than over clean the filters. When I got back into the hobby right after Christmas I was a clean freak and it hurt every fish I had/got. I really didn't know anything about the cycle ECT of a aquarium until I started watching you and aquarium co-op along with a couple others affiliated with the co-op. Thanks for making great content for us to learn from and have some entertainment.

I have a challenge for you Zenzo! In one month. Make this video again. I think as a hobbyist I want to know what it looks like normally on that tank to understand what the timeframe is for that filter. Second challenge.... Find a filter that alerts you in some way when flow is reduced or bypass is happening. Some use your phone, I'm sure there are other ways. The challenge being, compare that to a sponge filter keeping experience and how much does a system like that nag you. What if you ignored it and just did the cleanouts weekly or monthly. What is the true "user experience" and which method do you prefer based on those two solutions?

I just got a canister filter a little less than a month ago. I cleaned it today for the first time and put some additional media in. For three weeks, I must say the water and some of the media was pretty bad. However not like what you just had, but it took a little time to get it all washed out and cleaned up. The entire process took about a half hour.

I like your advice to wait 4-6 months to clean the canister. Some people do it monthly, but it doesn’t hurt to wait as long as there is good flow. Too many people use polyfil or pads that clog up too quickly, they aren’t needed at all in a canister.

I run an Oase Biotherm 250 and a 350 on a 65 gallon heavily planted and stocked tank cleaning pre filters weekly on both. Both have all Matrix media with Chemi Pure Green and Purigen. Full filter clean every four months. I always expect to see what you saw, but everything is always relatively clean. I think Oase are the best canister filters made.

Cool to show this , it’s a reminder for clean my Eheim3 Pro it’s been half a year since I’ve cleaned it

Yep I also did the same thing not wanting to clean my fx6 after many months. When I decided to finally clean it the canister looked similar but not as bad as this.

You’ve inspired me to clean my HOB filter I’ve been neglecting for a few months.

Ohhh. Thats a good one. I once forgot about my old reef tank protein skimmer collection cup....

Appreciate the transparency…and as you stated, remember to clean your filter!

I love the way canister filters make your tank look but the process of cleaning them in comparison to a sponge is the biggest negative. Thanks for sharing.

I find your transparency very refreshing.

Once I opened my FX 4 and it was full of gelatinous gunk . It'd only been set up about 8 months, so I have no idea what that weird stuff was. I'd just noticed a marked difference in outflow. BTW, I noticed that You didn't drain your FX4 before putting it in your sink - I think this may have made the job twice as difficult - that filter holds about 3 gallons of water! Also, fun video !

Actually seeing the gunk come out of the sponges is the most satisfying part! Can't believe you cut it out :(

I cleaned one of mine today first time four years ago it makes yours look clean

I have cleaned my filters for years and years and years in the sink with tap water and have never had a system crash.

It looked so satifying to see that filter reborn, all nice and clean!

Dude thanks for this transparency. That looked like my fluval 407 canisters (I have two) on a 125g for my fancy goldfish. I have to do that every 3 months they 💩 A LOT. Algae cleaners, canister cleanings and weekly 80% WC is the only way to keep my water clean. Gosh keeping is a messy yet fun hobby. Very rewarding

Thanks for sharing as always, nice to see behind the curtain. 🙃🙃

Reading through the comments someone mentioned cleaning filters once a month. Never clean filters once a month. It takes a month for a filter to biologically recover from the last cleaning. In other words it never recovers. This is my thing with canister filters especially if you only have one or two tanks. If cleaning your filter every six months is a hassle. This is the wrong hobby for you. I realize people forget and that's fine I get it. I just don't understand how it's a problem to twice a year clean a canister. I have fifteen tanks and have multiple canisters on some of them due to the load on the tank. I don't wait six months or keep track of the last time I cleaned a filter. When I do water changes I leave the canisters on till the water level drops below the outlet. When I notice the water flow is reduced I clean the filter and usually it's just the floss that needs to be cleaned. The sponge is still good to go. As far as cleaning filter material in tap water goes. It doesn't hurt at all unless you let the filter material sit in tap water for over an hour and a half. That's how long it takes for the amount of chlorine in tap water to kill the bacteria in your filter. The couple of minutes it takes to rinse all the sponge does nothing. Whether you use tap or tank water the squeezing/rinsing the sponges gets rid of more bacteria than anything. All that brown nasty stuff is bio film. Literally a film made of bacteria. If tap water had enough chlorine in it to kill the bacteria in your filter by rinsing it. It would kill all the bacteria in your gut every time you drank water out the tap. This is why there is a specific amount of chlorine in your water.

I do the same thing. I keep a bucket near by with primed water to put the biological filtration in so the bacteria doesn't die while I'm cleaning the mechanical filtration.

Amazing the filter still works at that point

I don't think its bad to leave it for a year so long as there is not much reduction in flow. To me, a filter ages like wine. Just put an intake sponge so it won't get clogged as often. Though its just the polishing pad to worry about, that could actually clog pretty easy.

It's helpful to use the port om the bottom to let out some of that water before opening the top. Makes it way easier to clean and less spillage etc.

I'll try to remind you when I do mine. Just set up a brand new FX6 2 weeks ago, I planned on october/April schedule because I don't have a large sink like that so I will likely be doing mine outside.. need decent weather where I live to do it so those two months work

Consider a pre-filter on that FX-6. I know where you can get them 😉🤣. It’s a game changer. Jay Wilson once described the inside of a neglected canister, “Like a hippo took a dump in it!” 🤣🤣🤣 That being said, I’m right in the middle of adding amps and sockets. Simple air filtration would make that unnecessary and be easier to back up in the event of a power outage. Also, I agree on the BB. Plus there’s a lot of BB in the substrate. Thanks for sharing this.

Time wise, that’s not bad, if you only clean it every six months, or so. I would add it to my phone calendar and send myself a reminder. I have to that with a pill I need to take once a week.

I drain my Fluval 407 before starting and water my plants with it. Plants love it. Also use the water change water for my plants. I clean the filters average every couple of months, but I let the hoses go too long without a wash, and now that's a problem. I ordered a scrub bottle washer type thing for them and will clean them again when that comes in, which will be the second time in 3 YEARS. I'm a slob, poor fish, but tank looks pristine, water tests good and the fish are thriving. :)

👍😎 Been there, done that. Your idea of getting us to remind you to do it again, brilliant. ✌️

Thanks for your honesty Zenzo, you're an inspiration to me. Cheers!

Idk why is this funny to me but i cant stop laughing when you open it

When you changed I was half expecting a hazmat suit lol wow crazy to see just how bad it can get. Very therapeutic though once it’s cleaned. Great vid!

I leave my fluval 407 and 406 go until the flow is barely coming out. When I open them they look a lot like your filter did. I've had my 406 for years, so long I actually can't remember, but I never cleaned the sponges with tank water always tap. I do have the same issue with those corrugated hoses fluval use. I wish they would put out regular smooth hoses for their filters.

I clean my fx6's annually, I have a pre-filter, never seen so dirty filter like this one in the video. Mine are totally fine, not much dirt in them at all, could run for 2 years :)

New fishkeeper here-I love your vids, and your honesty! Also ew that filter was grody to the max! 😂

On my KZfaq channel I have done some canister filter cleaning that was over nine months or more between cleaning. I have two FX-6 canister, marineland canister, 407 fluval. Along with HOB filter.

I just put a canister filter on a tank a month ago, and pulled the prefilter, there was hardly anything. I'm hoping to go a year or so before opening and cleaning it. As far as using chlorinated tap water,I worked in a LFS several year ago, and we would clean our sponge filters monthly in tap water that was chlorinated and never had issues. I'm lucky that I have well water and clean my sponges in tap water all the time.

I once waited over a year to clean my fluval 304, I didn’t it was so clogged up there was literally only drops of water coming out of the filter, not gonna let that happen again, but somehow the motor didn’t burn up so she’s still pumping to this day.

Hey I have a canister and if you don't already get and intake sponge for your intake on the canister filter. Not only do you get extra mechanical an biological filtration but you save so much gunk from getting into your tank! Btw it's time to clean your canister@

Wow man! That was overdue for sure 😆 Props to Fluval for building a battleship of a canister filter to handle all that. I run about 3 month intervals on my FX4s for my 180G display tank, however I'm leaning towards I could go 6 months with no issue. I'll shoot you a reminder in October 😎

My fish room consists of ten, 75 gallon tanks. 8 of which use FX4 cans. I clean the FX4s every 6 months. It takes me about 30 minutes per can. So I spend roughly half a day every 6 months on filter cleaning. I write the "date last cleaned" on a piece of tape on each can so I know when it's time.

Lol...bruh I did a fish rescue where I got the tanks and all the equipment, the guy told me the fx4 and fx6 hadn't been cleaned in about a year. You just gave me a case of Deja Vu, I absolutely feel your pain. I swore 6 months max for me, except the Fx6 where I keep my Delhizi Bichir I'm not going past 4. Great content as always, thanks for sharing and don't worry I'm so going to remind you.

8:18 best video ever!!!

My friend waited to do both of his canister filters for over a year an he even said he would never do that again it was so bad an gunky. Now I got a canister filter an him an you both have now pushed me more towards doing it every 4 or 6 months. Maybe sooner cause I have alot of fancy goldfish.

For me, anything over 55 gallons,a fluidized bed sump is the only way to go !

Once I opened my FX 4 and it was full of gelatinous gunk . It'd only been set up about 8 months, so I have no idea what that weird stuff was. I'd just noticed a marked difference in outflow. BTW, I noticed that You didn't drain your FX4 before putting it in your sink - I think this may have made the job twice as difficult - that filter holds about 3 gallons of water! Also, fun video - its fun seeing the experts not do perfection

Bro that's liquid gold for gardeners. Its because your tank is chock full of cichlids lol. Not my favorite job but always good to get it done! Thanks for Videos!

i think you more proved why canisters are impressive than not. No other type of filtration would allow for such neglect without huge water quaility implications or pure failure.

Great Video Zenzo !!!! Love the effort you put in to it keep it up 👍🏾

Love your honesty! Suns out guns out!!

Use the drain valve to do water changes and it wont get like that. I have an fx6 that I did my first cleaning after 6 months and it hardly had anything in it. I just do weekly water changes via the filter (and gravel vac) and change the top pad every month or so.

This makes me feel better about mine lol. I haven’t cleaned it since October and I have the extra bio load of two turtles... will definitely try to remind you next time I clean mine

Looks like perfect timing to me

The fact that your FX4 was even still functioning, after being so nasty, says alot for the FX- Series.

Makes me glad I ditched canisters and sumps long ago. All air driven filters except a few that have hob and sponge/ ugf combo

I had canister filters for a year. They take too long to clean when the hoses need cleaning too. Years ago I made my own trickle filters on top of the tank. So easy to maintain. I clean sponges once a month, change the floss when it is dirty. So So easy.I clean the tubes once every 2 months. So easy

i clean my Acuaclear 110 every 2 weeks , my tank is overstocked though and i use filter floss that clogs up more. although now i change water weekly and my floss wasnt that dirty so i might make it 3 weeks

I feel your pain... But I had to put a clothespin on my nose just to watch 😂

Mines been over 6 months. It happens. Don't beat yourself up!

Sometimes I actually find small live fish in my canister filter that’s on my 125 African Cichlid tank.

Holy cow. That’s insane. Was the flow still sting coming out of the out take tubes?

That’s the only thing with canister filters, people generally forget The last time they done them or leave them go for to long. I’ve got three of them running. After watching this video I’m going clan one of them today.

it's been a year and my fx6 on a 75 gallon tank didn't look that bad. live plants and 40 fish over fed.

👀 Thanks For Sharing ✍

That was one crazy dirty filter lol. Zenzo If you wanted you could set a date in your phone calendar when you want to clean it and it will give you a notification.

I had to giggle. But things happen in life! Your fish don't seem any worse for the wear! I love your little mud skippers and always enjoy seeing them, by the way. They look comical. But at the same time, are so cute..

Add a tiny bit of salt to insure no columnaris if you wait too long.

hey it’s october. don’t forget to clean it!

As soon as I saw which tank it was attached to I knew it was going to be impressive! 🤣 I had mbuna and loved them, but they were some serious waste producers (don't get me started on the oscars!).

Love the vid ... All the best from the UK ....

once a quarter..or every 3 months is a good schedule for a heavy stocked tank

sponge prefilter on my 2 fx.

Dude you don't let it go for more then 3 months, I hope that you remembered to clean the moter I'm sure it was a mess

I’m running two FX6’s on a 125 S.American cichlid tank and clean them when the flow starts to slow down, it’s mainly the polishing pads that are full of muck that slow the flow. I didn’t see you replace the polishing pad, do you use them and if not, do you have a problem with fine particles in the tank?

Put the bio balls in bottom tray. It's time to clean when output is noticeably slow.

Loved this Video I'll be cleaning my canister filters tomorrow on my day off Glad I'm not suffering alone hehe Thanks Zenzo for making me laugh 😁 and Shouting Out Prime Time they are awesome 😎

Nice video.

Pure sludge! I think we have all been there! 😃

What do you have to replace ?

I have a one year old setup 32.5 fluval flex all in one. I substituted the standard carbon bags with Matrix and added optional second light and a small UV-c light that I run once in a while. Substrate is fluorite red avg 3” some stones, about 33% (visual impression) planted, a bubble wall run by usb pump. The load is high in my opinion but it’s nano fish, amano shrimp and mystery snails all told about 130-5 creatures. Water parameters nominal and clear. Now to the point…I’ve “cleaned” the two foam filter twice and found almost no solid waste each time. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I never clean my mechanical filter media in tank water i always use a hose for that.

Why don’t you add the filter clean to your calendar?