I have a 55g that is on the over crowded side or fully stocked, and using a Rena filstar xp4. How does one change/clean the filter so u dont wash away all the good bacteria, just as they say to use aquarium water,but does using tap water really matter. I just clean and put back in,but it seems the more i read that this is wrong and can cause water to turn acidic fast if nitrates are already high ect... Any thoughts or ideas would be great, thanks again guys & gals
How to properly clean filter?
- Thread starter Deadsea
- Start date
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stingrays4
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Hi i always use water from the aquarium,as its very important to keep the friendly bacteria in the filter,also this means i do a water change at the same time so it works for me
How often are you cleaning out your filter? If too often perhaps it could be worth getting an extra filter,a small internal will help out, this is what i do
How often are you cleaning out your filter? If too often perhaps it could be worth getting an extra filter,a small internal will help out, this is what i do
Nubster
Aquarium Advice Activist
Is your tank planted? If so, how heavy? I ask because if your tank is heavily planted I'd say there is no problem washing the media under the tap. It won't wash away the bacteria but the chlorine can/will kill some of it, assuming you have chlorinated water. Then maybe give it a dunk in water that has conditioner in it and you are good to go. If you have a bunch of plants in the tank then killing bacteria on the media won't really hurt because there will be enough bacteria in the tank plus the plants will use up ammonia and nitrates, ect.
If nothing else, just dunk it in a bucket that has old tank water and squeeze it several times while under the water and wring it out and stick back in the filter. The bacteria isn't going anywhere.
If nothing else, just dunk it in a bucket that has old tank water and squeeze it several times while under the water and wring it out and stick back in the filter. The bacteria isn't going anywhere.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have to disagree here- you should never 'wash' your filter media under running tap water. It will kill off all the benefical bacteria. Its always best to swish your filters in a bucket/bowl/whatever filled with old tank water when you do pwcs. I would not squish or wring out the filters because you are disturbing the bacteria and shortening the life of the filter media by prematurely wearing it out. The object in cleaning your filter media is keep as much bacteria as possible & keep your filter media as intact as possible. Even a planted tank will go through a mini-cycle if you kill off all of your bacteria in your filter media. Why stress your fish if it can be simply prevented?
Nubster
Aquarium Advice Activist
I always squeeze and wring out my sponges. Been using the same sponge for 5 years. It has also never effected my tank. Like I said, there is more bacteria in your tank in the substrate, on the plants, and on the hardscape than there is in your filter. Loosing some off your media isn't going to hurt anything.
I know people that do rinse theirs off under the tap. They have heavily planted tanks, that's why they can get away with it and they do, never an issue. Remember, there's more than one way to skin a cat
I know people that do rinse theirs off under the tap. They have heavily planted tanks, that's why they can get away with it and they do, never an issue. Remember, there's more than one way to skin a cat
stingrays4
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Hi i personally would still advise to use old tank water,as although there is allot of friendly bacteria in your tank,planted or otherwise the main colony will be in your filter as its designed to house as many as possible in a small a space as possible, especially if you use sintered glass media.I always squeeze and wring out my sponges. Been using the same sponge for 5 years. It has also never effected my tank. Like I said, there is more bacteria in your tank in the substrate, on the plants, and on the hardscape than there is in your filter. Loosing some off your media isn't going to hurt anything.
I know people that do rinse theirs off under the tap. They have heavily planted tanks, that's why they can get away with it and they do, never an issue. Remember, there's more than one way to skin a cat
Retired_AF
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I would use your old aquarium water to swish out the filter. Also, you can do half the media at one cleaning and the other half the next if you have that capability. If you dont, try putting the media in bags. Then you can clean half each time. My Fluval canister filter has the baskets that are divided in half. I clean the left side at one cleaning, the right side the next. That way I know I still have the BB in the filter.
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