How often and how do I clean a canister filter?

[Icingdeath82]

Afternoon fine folks of R2R! I have a 10 gallon nano reef tank. And I’m running the Oasé 100 Filtosmart. How often should that be cleaned, and how? Can I use tap water to clean all the media and inside the filter?

 

[zoaprince]

I have the same filter.
I clean it every 3 weeks.
Squeeze out the sponges, rinse the media, and clean the pipes.
I use the dirty water from the water change to clean the filter.
If you need to use tap water, use a water conditioner like Seachem Prime first, as tap water has chlorine in it.

 

[rungusdungus123]

when cleaning these canister filters do I just fill the filter back up with RODI water or should I use saltwater? I've had my tank running for almost a month now and have yet to clean the filter

 

[Andamaite]

Refill with salt water. Adding that much fresh will throw your salinity off.