I see what he's saying only in the fact that his tank surely holds lots of bacteria but why use a canister filter if your just gonna kill what's in it when you clean it, plus all the ppl in his comments agreeing with him, frustrating.
This guy preaching not using tank water to clean media
- Thread starter jason longboard
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However he's a nice guy, I just worry about noobs because 35-40 years ago my friends and I crashed our tanks pry 5 times each till we learned.
PS. pretty cool though to find the crayfish in it lmao
PS. pretty cool though to find the crayfish in it lmao
To be honest, I rarely, if ever, use tank water to clean media in all my time keeping aquariums. One of the reasons being that when I remove tank water into a bucket, it is usually full of everything I do not want in my tank. So washing my sponges in dirty water means I replace the dirt. Makes no sense. To me.
Having said that, my tanks are well established, mature and not overstocked.
A well set up tank with substrate, hardscape with/out plants has more than enough bacteria and what not to reseed that sponge (effectively) immediately. Rinsing filter media, such as ceramic rings/balls, in tap water may affect the outer most layer of bacteria but the ones in the pores should be fine unless you are soaking media in highly chlorinated tap water.
The only time I see this becoming an issue is when stock in tanks are bordering on the filtration being undersized. Beyond that, I do not think it matters much.
Having said that, my tanks are well established, mature and not overstocked.
A well set up tank with substrate, hardscape with/out plants has more than enough bacteria and what not to reseed that sponge (effectively) immediately. Rinsing filter media, such as ceramic rings/balls, in tap water may affect the outer most layer of bacteria but the ones in the pores should be fine unless you are soaking media in highly chlorinated tap water.
The only time I see this becoming an issue is when stock in tanks are bordering on the filtration being undersized. Beyond that, I do not think it matters much.
It's a matter of experience and fish keeping expertise, not a blanket rule.
For example, I use chlorinated tap water for hatching substrate fish eggs - angels, oscars, peacock bass etc. Not something that you would think works well but it does.
Cleaning a filter with chlorinated tap water removes lots of biofilm and sludge which is fine if there is sufficient biological filtration elsewhere.
For example, I use chlorinated tap water for hatching substrate fish eggs - angels, oscars, peacock bass etc. Not something that you would think works well but it does.
Cleaning a filter with chlorinated tap water removes lots of biofilm and sludge which is fine if there is sufficient biological filtration elsewhere.
Ive noticed better results using tank water to rinse media, sponge filters in particular. I never had any catastrophic tank crashes or anything, but using tap water seems to invite bacterial blooms/mini cycling.
I don't like rinsing in buckets though, I just use a python in the sink, then use the flow from the tank draining to rinse the media, squeeze the sponges and I'm done, no muck back onto the media.
right but lots of noobs may only have one filter and an amateur set up, just worry about them more than anything.
Yeah, definitely not a one-size-fits-all hard and fast rule. Lots of variables come into play, especially the amount of surface area in the tank on substrate, decor, etc. which would affect how much of the tank's bacterial population would actually be in and on the biomedia. There's also a big difference in the amount of chlorination in municipal water as it comes from the tap, not only from one location to another but even in the same place on different days. Another factor would be how strenuous and how long the rinsing of the biomedia is done; is it a quick rinse and squeeze, or a prolonged soak and repeated squeezing until the water runs completely clear?
I wouldn't really worry about it too much in most cases, and frankly pay more attention to the temperature of the rinse water than I would to the chlorination. If I didn't have a slop sink nearby to my tanks, I'd likely do the rinse in a bucket of tank water simply because it would be very convenient to do so, not because I felt it was significantly safer. I think that I likely remove 75% of the sludge and biofilm in the first 15 seconds or so of rinsing and squeezing; I feel it's neither nor desirable to beat the biomedia like a rented mule until the water comes out looking gin clear.
I wouldn't really worry about it too much in most cases, and frankly pay more attention to the temperature of the rinse water than I would to the chlorination. If I didn't have a slop sink nearby to my tanks, I'd likely do the rinse in a bucket of tank water simply because it would be very convenient to do so, not because I felt it was significantly safer. I think that I likely remove 75% of the sludge and biofilm in the first 15 seconds or so of rinsing and squeezing; I feel it's neither nor desirable to beat the biomedia like a rented mule until the water comes out looking gin clear.
One of the top "rules" in fish keeping is that you should never clean your media in tap water. It's probably the first most important thing that a newbie will learn when starting out.
And because this is what they've been told, that is exactly what they do, and in turn, on forums such as ours, they'll inform other newbies that it is good practice. And so it goes on, until it just becomes the norm that tap water and filter media must never come into contact with one another.
But there are too many variables involved to just throw a blanket over the whole topic and claim it's bad practice. Some of the variables are mentioned in this thread but I'd say the main one is how mature the tank is, closely followed by how thorough your actual rinsing process is.
A mature tank with a light media rinse in tap water may be fine.
On the other hand, a younger tank where the media is regularly subjected to an all out lengthy blitz in tap water, maybe not.
One thing's for certain though. You need to know what you're doing and know your system inside out.
And because this is what they've been told, that is exactly what they do, and in turn, on forums such as ours, they'll inform other newbies that it is good practice. And so it goes on, until it just becomes the norm that tap water and filter media must never come into contact with one another.
But there are too many variables involved to just throw a blanket over the whole topic and claim it's bad practice. Some of the variables are mentioned in this thread but I'd say the main one is how mature the tank is, closely followed by how thorough your actual rinsing process is.
A mature tank with a light media rinse in tap water may be fine.
On the other hand, a younger tank where the media is regularly subjected to an all out lengthy blitz in tap water, maybe not.
One thing's for certain though. You need to know what you're doing and know your system inside out.
