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Filter media cleaning

3K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  sik80 
#1 ·
Hi i have a 2 month old 55 gallon aquarium i currently have a aqueon 55 power filter and a 350 magnum marineland canister filter, my lfs tells me that i have to buy new media every month like cartridges and sponges but i also read on the internet that you can clean them in aquarium water as well if there not ripped, which one is true and if i can clean them how do i do it exactly?

I also have another question when i fill my tank after doing a 50 percent water change every week (i have mean messy SA cichlids) i first add the appropriate ammount of water conditioner than i just fill it straight from the tap (temp is ok in tap) is this ok to do what i mean is the water conditioner doing its job when i do this or do i need to put my water in a buket first?
 
#2 ·
How much conditioner do you use (ie for the amount to be added, or for the whole tank)? I put my conditioner in and fill from the hose. I dose for the whole tank, which is what the bottle of Prime says to do. I've never had a problem doing it that way.

As for the filter media, I was told to retain the wool and sponges until they fall apart or get too clogged to be any use and just to rinse them in aquarium water. I swish them around in the bucket of aquarium water and replace them turned over. I do replace the filter material periodically, but I always only do one layer of one filter box at a time (I've got 2 layers and 2 filter boxes in my internal filter, I haven't had to change anything in my new canister filter yet). I've had no issues doing it this way.
 
#3 ·
There's no need to replace biological filter media until it disintegrates. The bacteria which convert harmful ammonia into safer nitrites and nitrates live in the biological media, so cleaning it will get rid of them. The main reason to clean biological filter media is to stop it from becoming clogged, which will decrease the flow rate and therefore efficiency of your filter.

I add water conditioner to buckets of water before I put it in the tank. Whether tthis makes any difference is dependant on how quickly the water conditioner actually makes the water safe, which I don't know...
 
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