filter cleaning

[emi-chan]

is it safe to clean sponge pads ect in tap water treated for amonia ect? or can you only use water from the tank??

[Mad Duff]

Its always better to use a little tank water to clean sponges

[emi-chan]

could i mix the 2? its just that i never seem to have enough tank water to get them clean enough!!

[FishyLady]

Yes you can, sometimes one of my filters needs rinsing when I don't need to do a water change, so I just treat the water with dechlorinator (the same as I would for a water change ) and rinse my sponges in that.

Val

[emi-chan]

that's great! my filter sponges need another rinsing! they're quite yucky

[plaalye]

Using pre-filter sponges on the intakes makes it easier. I rinse my pre-filters with each water change. They catch a lot of the detritus etc. before it gets in the filter.

[emi-chan]

see that would be a good idea especially when i feed the fishies tubifex and the goldfish send them flying round the tank in one bite!.... thanks for the advice!

[Francois van Brederode]

Using a second filter is perfect (if you have the space an funding)

You can really clean 1 of the filters very well under a running tap.
The other filter will still have all the good bacteria in it so the tank does not suffer a lot (if at all) from the bacteria you just killed under the tap.

A second filter has a lot of advantages anyways.
If 1 breaks down for example...

[emi-chan]

i did have a spare filter until my brother decided to steal it from me!!

[Francois van Brederode]

Nice siblings you've got then

[emi-chan]

well to be honest, his filter was a pile of junk so for the benefit of his fish, i'm willing to part with it...(mostly)

[IanS]

could i mix the 2? its just that i never seem to have enough tank water to get them clean enough!!

Hi,

You don't want those sponges looking as new as the day you bought them. All that brown stuff is healthy bacteria. So just rinse the sludge ( and dead neon tetras) off it. Tank water is best, or the water you're replacing in the tank - no point using tank water to rinse if you're replacing with untreated tap water anyway.

[Diana]

When I am rushed I just work the filter media under some water until they wring out fairly clear, though the water may still be colored. Just no more bits falling off them. However, they then continue to rinse in the tank, so a little cloud comes out of the filter when I put them back.
The water in the bucket is often black when I am done, especially if I really did not want to do much of a water change, and just take out enough for the filters.

When I am doing a larger water change I will work harder at getting the filter media much cleaner, even to the point of running the used water into a couple of buckets and rinsing the media in several buckets, each a little cleaner than the previous one.

The beneficial organisms are attached quite well to the filter media in a sort of slimy layer of stuff they create. It takes more than gentle cleaning to knock it all off.

Yes, I have used dechlorinated water, ready for a water change to clean the filter media. However, I figure if I have to go to the trouble of making dechlorinated water I might as well do a bit of a water change. Used water works just fine for cleaning filters, and even if it is a small water change, it is helpful.

[emi-chan]

since i've got my bigger tank, the larger water changes mean my filter pads have alot more water to be cleaned in! yay! no more sludgyness although every time i try to clean them out my cat bothers me...must smell good to him...