rinsing out filter media

ryanmr

ryanmr

AC Members
Dec 31, 2008
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Hey everyone. I have a question concerning rinsing or cleaning filter media. I noticed after I gravel vacuumed my new tank for the first time that my HOB power filter (Aqueon 30) was pushing water over the bypass. I assumed this meant that my filter media was finally getting plugged-up and needed to be rinsed out. I read somewhere that you are supposed to rinse it out in a bucket of tank water as opposed to under the sink faucet. I rinsed it in a bucket of tank water and re-installed it. The flow was much better, but I could tell that I could have probably cleaned it better as it looks like it might start to spill over the bypass again sometime soon. Is this the proper way to do this? Why can't I rinse it under some fresh tap water? Will I kill off beneficial bacteria colonies? As I understand it, The bacteria are primarily located on another section of the filter called the bio-holster located just after the filter media. Or should I just buy a new filter?
 
I just give my cartridge a good cleaning in tank water from a Water change

If you clean your cartridge in Tap water you'd be getting all sorts of bad bacteria onto your cartridge.
You could fill a bucket with tap water, de-chlorinate it, and then clean your cartridge
 
I rarely buy new cartridges, just wash off the junk in tank water and reuse it again. Saves the bacteria colony that way as tap water usually has some fore of chlorine that will kill the bacteria almost instantly.
 
ryanmr said:
Why can't I rinse it under some fresh tap water? Will I kill off beneficial bacteria colonies? As I understand it, The bacteria are primarily located on another section of the filter called the bio-holster located just after the filter media. Or should I just buy a new filter?
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The chlorine in tap water will indeed kill off your bacteria. If you want to rinse the cartridge in "clean" water, then just dechlorinate it first.
However, bacteria are not picky about where they live. They colonize all surfaces inside your filter.
Filter manufacturers label some kinds of media as "biological" (like bio-holsters, bio-balls, and bio-wheels) and other kinds as "mechanical" (like sponges and filter floss). But the bacteria don't pay attention to this distinction. Some people stuff their filters with cheap kitchen scrubby sponges. The point is just to have something with a large surface area, so the bacteria can come into contact with as much water flowing through the filter as possible.
If your filter cartridge is really so clogged that you can't get it clean enough to allow the water to flow freely, then throw it out and replace it with a fresh one. As long as you leave some of the media untouched (in this case, your bio-holster) then you should not experience a mini-cycle (although, it'd be good to test the water for a few days to be safe).
The important thing is not to replace (or aggressively clean) all of your filter media at once.
 
I rinsed it a second time in tank water and that seemed to do the trick. It's not going over the bypass anymore. thanks to all who replied=) I've read that the carbon contained in the filter pad isn't usually very effective after a couple weeks. Does this matter? I read an article here by Goldlenny that suggested removing the carbon from the pad to improve the flow rate. That makes sense if the carbon is no longer useful. Does anyone else do that? There is an initial chamber of water at the beginning of the filter, before the filter media, can I add some carbon to that chamber? Or is the carbon important at all and can I do without it?
 
I rinse mine under warm tap water as I have a well
 
I have a couple of filters that came with a bit of carbon inside the filter bag. The first time I rinsed them out, I dumped the carbon in the trash. By that time the carbon had been exhausted anyway so I really lost nothing by doing that.
 
Since I make my own I just scramble them in my tank water bucket ...... some times the water turns to muck so I make more declorinated water and give them another rinse. I always do only 1 filter at a time, keeping the other one for the next tank cleaning. when my home made filters are pretty clogged I throw them out and do a new one ( only one filter at a time) today was the day I did this. when I throw the filter away in my 10 gallon tanks I cut the filter in a strip, add it to the new filter media. I save a ton though, I buy my media in a roll :lol:
 
Carbon is a complicated subject. I personally believe it's a waste of money unless you are trying to remove something specifically such as medicine after treatment. Seeing as it needs to be replaced every couple of weeks, it gets expensive.
 
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