Agree with Back from the Dead on the Aquaclears. I run two sponges in mine and each week take the bottom one out to clean and put the clean one back in on top. There is never a shock of destroying the filter bacteria.
Think about this: canister filters are full of aerobic bacteria because of the high flow of oxygenated tank water through them. When you shut the filter down for more than five minutes, they begin to die (thus one of the advantages of trickle filters where the bacteria still have oxygen, even if the filter is stopped). For this reason, I keep the canister filter running during water changes unless I go below the intake pipe.
The longer a canister filter is shut down, the higher percent of the bacteria die, creating a problem when making a large water change or cleaning the canister out.
Many years ago, when HOB filters were much more common in the U.S., I heard that the reason Europeans used canister filters was due to safety regulations requiring electric motors be removed from open water, and not because they were better filters, and certainly not easier to clean! Americans, respecting the advanced status of many European hobbyists, got on the band wagon and purchased the "top of the line" European canisters (Fluval and Eheim at the time), even though the canisters at that time weren't much larger than a HOB, and certainly had more problems, including leaking, siphoning onto the floor when cleaning, and difficulties with re-assembling and hoses kinking.
I currently have a Fluval FX5, and the engineering on it is fantastic--so much better than the early ones. I'd buy another one if they weren't so expensive, but they are still a pain in behind to clean!
Think about this: canister filters are full of aerobic bacteria because of the high flow of oxygenated tank water through them. When you shut the filter down for more than five minutes, they begin to die (thus one of the advantages of trickle filters where the bacteria still have oxygen, even if the filter is stopped). For this reason, I keep the canister filter running during water changes unless I go below the intake pipe.
The longer a canister filter is shut down, the higher percent of the bacteria die, creating a problem when making a large water change or cleaning the canister out.
Many years ago, when HOB filters were much more common in the U.S., I heard that the reason Europeans used canister filters was due to safety regulations requiring electric motors be removed from open water, and not because they were better filters, and certainly not easier to clean! Americans, respecting the advanced status of many European hobbyists, got on the band wagon and purchased the "top of the line" European canisters (Fluval and Eheim at the time), even though the canisters at that time weren't much larger than a HOB, and certainly had more problems, including leaking, siphoning onto the floor when cleaning, and difficulties with re-assembling and hoses kinking.
I currently have a Fluval FX5, and the engineering on it is fantastic--so much better than the early ones. I'd buy another one if they weren't so expensive, but they are still a pain in behind to clean!
