Question: How often do you change your filter pads, if at all?

I ask because I've heard that you don't actually need to change them. That all you have to do is rinse them in a bucket of water from the tank (like when you do a water change) to get extra gunk off, and then plop them back in.

It's getting around the time that the box *suggests* I change the filter, so I'd like to know what you guys do. Do I need to spend that money?
I've been rinsing it when I do my weekly water changes and it is BROWN. But I do get a lot of gunk off.

As long as it is not physically falling apart i dont see why you need to change it mine have worked fine in my tropical aquarium for 4 years with a wash about every 2-3 weeks.
Could be wrong this is just my personal opinion.

hey! I don't think you need to change the filter pads at all in an axie tank.

The filter box probably assumes you are going to use it for fish, not axolotls. A healthy environment for fish is quite different from a helthy environment needed for axolotls. While proper cycling in nececary for both, i think it is much more nececary for an axolotl tank to have 0 ammonia because their skin is much more sensitive, being only a slimy membrane (it's so sensitive you are not ment to touch it, but it's hard not to sometimes with cleaning and feeding... I LOVE IT, IT FEELS SO SLIMY AND GOOD... without being too wierd. I definatley don't handle them)

the green/brown gunk that builds up in a cycled filter every few weeks is actually the good bacteria, the toxins in the tank are invisible and pass through the filter and get destroyed without notice. Cleaning should only be needed when blobs of poo or food get stuck in the filter media. Like you said, tank water should be used to clean it, and will not break the cycle, and replacing it all together will destroy the cycle. You do not need to spend the extra money, and even then, you do not need to fill it with specific pads designed for that filter and sold by the filter brand (rip off), you can buy a bag of filter wool, some filter sponge and some activated carbon and put it all in yourself! the only difference is it doesn't come in a little plastic cartridge. I find the cartridges leave a lot of empty space in the filter, when you could be stuffing it with more medium for bacteria to grow in. Don't pack it too tightly though, there needs to be room for water flow!

Wow.

Normally I would not berate anyone, but really folks?

You MUST change your filter pads (or clean them depending on the type of pad) monthly at the bare minimum. I will not go into the details of water chemistry here, as this is a topic that has been beat to death a thousand times here on the forums.

With axolotls in particular it is critical to do so regularly. Just like doing actual water changes and testing ammonia and pH. Axolotls, as a neotenic species are significantly prone to death and illness as a result of poor water chemistry and lack-luster maintenance. Just take a look at the daily posts on these forums and you will see many, many, many sick, dying, and dead axolotls as it seems most keepers do not bother in even trying to learn that to keep axolotls you must also keep water.

I clean my filter pads in tank water if there is any gunk on them once a month and change one filter pad every 2-3 months as i have three filter pads in mine so i just change one at a time so as not to damage the cycle. I hope this is ok? I did so much research on here before getting an axolotl as i had never kept anything aquatic before and found learning about cycling a tank and water chemistry a lot to take in to begin with but very interesting.

unless they are falling apart just clean them once a week or twice or however much you change the water.

I disagree with sludge monkey you do not need to change your filter pads at all, if you get carbon type ones to help with water quality, again im not going to go into water quality as my boyfriend is an aquatic specialist who works with all sorts of animals!

If you have issues with ammonia or whatever changing them can help, but water changes and bacteria can do this as well like nite out bacteria, CHANGING the filter pads when you dont need to is ridiculous because your chucking away loads of bacteria that aids in the breakdown of ammonia and nitrite.

As well as it being costly its a waste of time getting new ones unless your going through hell with water quality, just wash once a week or every 2 weeks or when you do your changes in your water .

It seems quite offensive you suggest to keep an axolotl you must also keep water as that was what the question was, were all aloud to ask questions!

And a sick axolotl will be regularly replacing the filter pads or sponges because your chucking away the bacteria that break down ammonia and nitrite. So for a healthy axolotl = not changing filter pads that much, they act as housing for bacteria, just clean them regulary in tank water and youll be fine, dont get flobbed off with any rubbish that you need to spend lots of money to help reduce your filters efficiency, if you want to buy anything for your filter to keep water quality up buy some bacteria like nite out works wonders in reducing nitrite and ammonia, and safe with axies!!

Hope this helped and if you dont want to read the above basically dont change your filter pads just wash them unless they are falling to bits x

BTW carbon and zeolite filter pads only work for a certain amount of time, so if you have problems with water quality nummy bacteria !!

See loads of sick axolotls everyday on here sludge monkey? People arent ignorant towards water quality some simply arent told by shops such things are required, its the pet shops that need to be educated on this **** so they can tell the axolotl buyer!- they are the ignorant ones.

Im really upset by your post as i have an axolotl fighting for her life and its not to do with stupid FILTER PADS!

Dont have your rant on here sludge monkey were all here to learn about axies, so dont say people dont BOTHER or they wouldnt be on here!

Haceleupes was right in what he was doing carry on with it mate xx

Wow, this is a much more polarized thread than I expected.

I do sometimes rinse and reuse filter pads. I don't see anything wrong with doing this, to some extent. The pads do eventually become hopelessly clogged and/or begin to deteriorate, so I think they should generally be replaced at least every 1-3 months, depending on the type of filter and how densely stocked the tank is. It's really a judgement call. Sometimes I just change the pad because it's a quicker and more complete way to remove crud from the tank. I buy my filter pads in bulk so I'm not concerned about cost.

Regarding carbon and zeolite, these things are not particularly important after a tank is cycled. In fact, I've even heard the argument that carbon is slightly detrimental in a well-established tank. Personally, I think they don't do any harm or any good.

This is the bottom line: we put nutrients into the aquarium in the form of axolotl food. Somehow those nutrients must come back out. One way to get them out is to remove the particles of crud that accumulate in the filter (or elsewhere in the tank). Another way is by partial water changes. Both are very important. Whether or not the filter pad is changed to a fresh one every time isn't very important, as long as the filter is still doing its job.

Thinking about it while i dont replace the main filters very often i do have a layer of filter wool on top which is biffed whenever it becomes gruesome, and zeolite is replaced often, i dont know if it is the same in other countries but here all the cheap kittylitter is untreated zeolite,lets see if that gets everybody up in arms.
Have you ever noticed how people can say things on forums and have it completely blown out of proportion just because its hard to to read the emotion behind the message, just thought it was worth pointing out:happy:.

sheena22 said:

People arent ignorant towards water quality some simply arent told by shops such things are required, its the pet shops that need to be educated on this **** so they can tell the axolotl buyer!- they are the ignorant ones.

Click to expand...

Although it really would help if pet stores had the right knowledge and was able to educate people, it is the pet owner who in the end is responsible. I would never get a pet without finding out information about it first (thus why I waited a year before looking to get one!). I also wouldn't just listen to one person's opinion either, unless that person had qualifications that I knew were credible.

bichogrilo said:

Thinking about it while i dont replace the main filters very often i do have a layer of filter wool on top which is biffed whenever it becomes gruesome, and zeolite is replaced often, i dont know if it is the same in other countries but here all the cheap kittylitter is untreated zeolite,lets see if that gets everybody up in arms.

Click to expand...

I won't get up in arms but I would say to use it with an understanding of what it does (and doesn't) do. The simplistic advice is that zeolite absorbs ammonia. But some types of zeolite actually absorb calcium more readily than ammonia. Depleting calcium is not beneficial. Because of the calcium absorption, zeolites won't absorb ammonia in hard water (too busy absorbing calcium instead). The other problem with it is that it may give some aquarists a false sense of security. Having a bit of zeolite in the filter won't prevent an ammonia disaster. Zeolite might be useful in emergency situations, but personally I wouldn't bother using it as a routine filter additive.
Zeolite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have never needed to replace any in a decent canister filter, some of which are over 10years old. If using filter wool (good cheap disposable media) then that does get chucked out after a few months as it gets a bit shabby as time prevails.

I, generally, only ever clean filters when flow is reduced. And even then only need to hose off quickly, or squeeze in a bucket of tank water; if you have bad tap water. Key is NOT to clean the filter completely because you actually want some muck to stay in there. Its alive with good bacteria :bowl:

Canister filters are great, give them a brief clean 2-3times a year and she's all good :smile:

wait... the filter pad is just they spongy part you buy to fill the middle of the filter rite?

yep, they come in many shapes and sizes

then i am confused... wouldn't changing them mean you hae to completley re-cycle the tank?

I just rinse my big sponge every now and then, but i replace the wool/carbon pad once a month. Fishkeepers say never change filter media when doing a water change as it can crash the tank.

I stick to filter wool and open-cell foam, and I don't use chemical filter media like charcoal or zeolite, which adsorb a limited amount of various chemicals onto their surfaces and have to be replaced once they reach an equilibrium between adsorption/desorption, or mechanical/biological filtration media with microscopic pore spaces that become irreversibly clogged, so I don't have to regularly replace anything.

I just wash out the mulm from the filter wool or foam when I'm doing a water change, and sometimes between water changes if the media has clogged and reduced the water flow through the filter. The filter wool and foam will undergo mechanical, chemical and in some cases photochemical degradation, but it should last for many years before it becomes unusable.

Wow kitty litter in the tank not heard of that one yet if it works why not lol, would never of even thought of that how strange lol x

With me where i was quite young when i started all of the fishy stuff up i really trusted the shops as a main source of information on how to look after them, i thought they keep them right so i can get help off of them. Turns out the majority of shops just have normal un qualified people working in there , which i think personally is completely wrong, but i suppose it means cheaper wages for them or something??

Silly really but now i just go on the internet and get books before i get anything lol. Like before i was going to start my marine tank i got loads of books, but i never set it up in the end as it was way too expensive and confusing lol

Im sure your all pointing to me when saying 'blowing out of proportion' but i hate people telling others they are wrong and miscaring when they are right, nothing wrong with not changing filter pads unless they are broken! x

Its sometimes good to speak your mind you know? Look at all the people who have come on here asking questions now, and everyone jumping in with their answers, better than a book if you ask me, knowledge and experience on this forum is the power to succesful animal keeping x