best way to clean filter sponge?

[Masha]

I have a Fluval sponge filter - Every now and then the flow is severely reduced due to the sponge being clogged up. I deal with this by squeezing the sponge in old tank water -- sometimes I have to squeeze it out quite a bit.

Is there a danger I could damage the bacteria colony by doing this?

Should I get rid of the squeezed out gunk? What would happen if I poured it back into the tank? (Thinking about all that bacteria in there going to waste...)

 

[brunettebaby4571]

That is how you are supposed to clean your filter media. Just rinsing it in old tank water that way you don't kill all the good bacteria. Also I would not suggest pouring the dirty used water that you just used to clean the sponge unless you want a nice big mess and a cloudy tank. I know after I clean my filter media the water that I used to rinse it with is pretty gross and dirty lol so I definitely would not pour it back into the tank! Unless I didn't want to see my fish for a few weeks from it being so dirty

 

[Masha]

Yep! That's what I thought. Thanks for putting me at ease. I'm setting up a new tank, (still cycling) and poured the dirty water from cleaning my old tank filter into that and it clouded up pretty bad! But the filter sucked it all up quite quickly. I'm hoping that will help the new tank cycle.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Well you could always take a piece of the older sponge filter and put it with the new filter and it will help seed the new tank to cycle a decent bit quicker.

 

[Cactuspixie]

If its not your only biological media, I give it a few good shakes- I find squeezing gets very little muck out. I find dipping it in treated water and then banging it against the inside of a deep bucket gets a LOT of stuff out. I repeat the procedure as long as needed (more with the internal sponge filters as the sponge is fine and very dense. They can hold an incredible amount if muck). I finish by swishing in fresh treated water before replacing it in the filter. If however, you are only running a single HOB and the sponge is a good proportion of the media in it, I would settle for less vigorous cleansing more often.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Should I get rid of the squeezed out gunk? What would happen if I poured it back into the tank? (Thinking about all that bacteria in there going to waste...)

The gunk needs to be removed. The bacteria (I believe) don't need the gunk as there is a continual supply of ammonia from your fishies. Bacteria reproduce very quickly, so you're unlikely to harm your ecosystem by cleaning the sponge.

 

[Masha]

Thanks Cactuspixie!

The filter I was cleaning is an internal one - and my new tank has a HOB so I still have to learn how to maintain that properly.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

You can maintain the HOB filter the same. Just take the media out when it gets really dirty and clean it in old tank water. A lot of pet stores will tell you to replace it every month or however long but don't. Just keep rinsing it til it literally falls apart.

 

[molliwopp]

Ive used the gunk to instantly cycle tanks, its completely loaded with bacteria. I have an internal with prefilter that ive left the flow to reduce and the filter to block before i pull out 1 of the sponges and completely rinsed it out into another tank which then cycled in days.

 

[Masha]

I always thought the slimy stuff is where the BB hangs out

 

[Cactuspixie]

I always thought the slimy stuff is where the BB hangs out

There is bb in the slimy stuff, but you still need to get rid of it. The bb live on all surfaces of filtration media, and in the case of porous biomedia, they mostly live inside the media.
By keeping the gunk in your filter, you are keeping the gunk in your 'tank'.
You want the bb munching on the ammonia and nitrite as those toxins are produced. You don't need them to keep busy breaking down organic matter that you can rinse away yourself