How often should you rinse/change filter media and wash off sponge filters?

[angeltc]

The title says it all.
Some people say that you shouldn't because you lose your beneficial bacteria. If you change the filter media, you obviously lose the beneficial bacteria. If you rinse the filter media off, will you still lose the beneficial bacteria living in the filter media? Same question goes for the sponge filters.

 

[apolarbear]

i wash my fiber filters every 2 weeks and change them every mouth you can wash your filters off as long as the water isn't too hot and keep all the bacteria .the bacteria are used to flowing water so they'll be fine

 

[Stump]

Do not rinse your filter media with regular water (tap water)... Hot or cold. It will kill the bacteria you are trying to keep.

Either use tank water or conditioned water, it will preserve the bacteria and still rinse the "gunk" off.

I fill a bucket with water, and as it's filling I add water conditioner so it mixes. I then use that water to rinse my media.


HTH

 

[angeltc]

Do not rinse your filter media with regular water (tap water)... Hot or cold. It will kill the bacteria you are trying to keep.

Either use tank water or conditioned water, it will preserve the bacteria and still rinse the "gunk" off.

I fill a bucket with water, and as it's filling I add water conditioner so it mixes. I then use that water to rinse my media.


HTH

When you say conditioned water you mean dechlorinated right?
Can you wash sponge filters the same way?

 

[Austin]

i just siphon off a bucket of tank water and use it to clean the sponges while the tank is draining and refilling....

 

[Cartel]

Same as above. When Im doing my water changes i just clean them off in the tank water I just drained in a bucket.

 

[timeneverfreezes]

As for changing media just don't change it all at once. Change a small portion as often as you need too. The only things I really change though, are polishing pads.

 

[Stump]

When you say conditioned water you mean dechlorinated right?

Yes. Water that has been treated, I use Aqua Safe personally.

Can you wash sponge filters the same way?

While I haven't used sponge filters in the past, IME i'd say yes.

 

[packer43064]

I use two HOB filters for pretty much every tank, So I personally just wash one really well each week, the sponge part that is(cartridges). I just syphon some old water from a tank and put it on a 6 gallon bucket, and swish the hell out of the cartridges works for me. Nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia have never sky rocketed, so that much BB haven't died this way.

 

[Tilapia Buttikoferi]

Do not rinse your filter media with regular water (tap water)... Hot or cold. It will kill the bacteria you are trying to keep.

Either use tank water or conditioned water, it will preserve the bacteria and still rinse the "gunk" off.

I fill a bucket with water, and as it's filling I add water conditioner so it mixes. I then use that water to rinse my media.


HTH

wow you are wasting alot of time and money..

I rinse my floss filters off on average once a month, or whenever I notice that the media is saturated in a nasty brown gunk due to detritus that the fliter accumulates throughout time. You don't wan't this to build up, number one, it restricts flow and number two, it leads to advancing nitrate numbers that can stress your fish. Just pull out your sponge, floss etc. and rinse out all of the brown crap with medium warm water similar to your aquarium and then just simply put it back in the filter for improved flow. Ive used this method for almost a decade with no hickups in nitrate or nitrite numbers whatsoever. Your BB will be just fine.