Hi, my filter seems to have come from a bad tank with some film of Algae in it, and possibly from diseased fish (I got it from my friend). Can someone here guide me on how to disinfect the filter before using it? So far it's gotten my fish sick and I have taken it out of the water.
How to disinfect an aquarium filter?
- Thread starter daveman12345
- Start date
Let it dry out and you can rub it down with some hot water. Other than that, I really dont know. Change the media in it though.
use normal bleach to clean everything including the media, then let it dry completely, once its dried its safe to use again.
What kind of filter?
For a HOB, I would soak it in a 50% bleach solution for 1/2 an hour after discarding the media. A soak in warm fresh water with two changes for 1/2 an hour each will make it safe to set up with new media. Remove the prime mover and soak the impellor assembly as well, submerging it completly in the solution.
For a cannister I would discard the media and run the filter for 1/2 an hour with all the baskets put back in and the suction and discharge hoses in a bucket with the bleach solution. Rinse again as above changing the bucket water for warm fresh water twice at 1/2 hour intervals.
Reassemble your filter with new media and run it in a healthy cycled tank for a few days to establish your bio bugs. After that it should be good to go!
Hope this helps...
For a HOB, I would soak it in a 50% bleach solution for 1/2 an hour after discarding the media. A soak in warm fresh water with two changes for 1/2 an hour each will make it safe to set up with new media. Remove the prime mover and soak the impellor assembly as well, submerging it completly in the solution.
For a cannister I would discard the media and run the filter for 1/2 an hour with all the baskets put back in and the suction and discharge hoses in a bucket with the bleach solution. Rinse again as above changing the bucket water for warm fresh water twice at 1/2 hour intervals.
Reassemble your filter with new media and run it in a healthy cycled tank for a few days to establish your bio bugs. After that it should be good to go!
Hope this helps...
An alternate to bleach is clear ammonia (do not cut it and do it outside). If it is a wet/dry or wet sump, pour the ammonia over all of the surfaces and then fill the sump with water to let it soak. You can re-use the bio-media, but it will need to be cycled again.
Do not use both ammonia and bleach.
Do not use both ammonia and bleach.
Thanks for the tips. It seems like a logical answer would be to soak the HOB for about 30 minutes in bleach, and then scrub it down. Also, let it run with bleach, and then scrub it down again. Then, cycle it for about a week so the good bacteria can build.
Chompers what do you mean do not cut it and do it outside? I was planning to let the filter run with bleach in the bathroom, is this a safety hazard?
Chompers what do you mean do not cut it and do it outside? I was planning to let the filter run with bleach in the bathroom, is this a safety hazard?
Straight ammonia will gas the room. It produces pretty strong fumes.
By not cutting it, I meant not to dilute it.
By not cutting it, I meant not to dilute it.
daveman12345;2237220; said:
If you use diluted bleach to soak the filter you can do it in the bathroom without too many fumes. Just leave the fan on. If you scrub the filter (and you most likely won't have to after soaking) wear goggles. You dont want any in your eyes!
DO NOT MIX BLEACH AND AMMONIA CLEANSER. I believe the two mixed together will explosively create chlorine gas which can damge your lungs permanently.