Tank Maintenance

[Fishman02]

Just wondering how much maintenance (aside from water changes) should I make to my tank, please help me answer the following questions:

1) Removal and cleaning of rocks (help clean areas rocks cover and you can't get to)?

2) HOB and cannister filter maintenance? I have Emp 400 + Eheim 2215, (aside from changing carbon once a month) do I have to take apart and clean these guys? How long will the wheels and impellers last?

3) Anything else of particular importance?

[Dolphin Junior]

1) I only tend to clean rocks if there is any algae on them, in which case I boil them and give them a scrub with a pot-scrub. Otherwise I let my "groundsmen" do the cleaning - 2x algae eaters, 2x peppered catfish, 2x bristlenose catfish in my various tanks

2) I don't know much about the models you quote, but on my cannister ones I clean them out thoroughly once every three to four months, but do this in a bowl of tank water (from the tank I took the canister from). I read through the service manual on my tank which also had things on cannister filters in it, and they say that the wheels and impellers should be replaced about yearly. Now this could be to garnish more sales, and they could infact last longer, but if you start noticing that the pressure at which the canister is pushing the water back into the tank is somewhat less than new, then I'd would be a good time to change them.

3) Humans can not breathe under water, hence, we live outside of the aquariums :)