# Swapping Filters



## cgskipper (Nov 15, 2010)

I just upgraded my filter setup on my 55 gal f/w planted community. I used to have two Penguin Bio-Wheel 350's and decided to upgrade to an Eheim Pro 3 2073 canister filter and a Coralife Turbo-Twist 18w UV sterilizer. After installing the new setup, I left one Bio-Wheel 350 running in conjunction with the new stuff in order to let the new stuff build up some good bacteria. My question is, how long should I leave the old filters running with the new one?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

It should take 2 to 3 weeks to seed the new filter.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Not recommended, but when I upgraded my larger tanks to Eheim I just removed the old and replaced with the new. These were well established tanks with medium stock levels. I tested every couple of days for about a week. Never saw anything.


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## cgskipper (Nov 15, 2010)

Another question....should I keep the UV sterilizer off while I go through this filter swap?


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## verdifer (Sep 8, 2010)

UV should only be used when needed to polish your water, have Ich (if you can get the flow slow enough) or have an Algae problem.

why don't you take the filter media from the first filter and put it in your new 1, use a mixture of old and new to get it setup.


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## cgskipper (Nov 15, 2010)

verdifer said:


> UV should only be used when needed to polish your water, have Ich (if you can get the flow slow enough) or have an Algae problem.
> 
> why don't you take the filter media from the first filter and put it in your new 1, use a mixture of old and new to get it setup.


The old filters are Bio-Wheels and the new one is a canister. I think I'll leave them overlapped for about a week and then get rid of the Bio-Wheels.


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## verdifer (Sep 8, 2010)

My bad I was thinking they were both cannisters.

You could overlap them or use both unless you have an issue with bio-wheel filter.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

verdifer said:


> UV should only be used when needed to polish your water, have Ich (if you can get the flow slow enough) or have an Algae problem.
> 
> why don't you take the filter media from the first filter and put it in your new 1, use a mixture of old and new to get it setup.


A UV doesn't filter water, so it couldn't polish water. They should remain on 24/7. The purpose is to kill free-floating algae and parasites.


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