I do weekly 5 gallon water changes, use clear fx pro lasts 3 months per $13 bag. Have a fuge in one chamber with cheato, one overflow chamber has a koralia nano skimmer, and one overflow has the media basket with the top yellow sponge I rinse every few days then the carbon sponge and phosphate sponge I leave alone and switch out the phosphate every couple months. I also have about 15-20 Astraea snails and two matrix crabs. My water is always really clear running this filter setup. I also feed frozen only which I believe really its back on all sorts of waste and algae buildup. If I am in a hurry I will throw in some flake.