Clean Or Replace Prefilter?

[Winterlily]

I have a piece of filter floss (the sheets, not the stringy fine stuff) wrapped once around the intake tube to keep my betta's fins from getting mangled. Serves nicely as a pre-filter, too. It gets discolored and gets lots of stuff (plant bits mostly) on it very quickly. What do I do here? Just pull it off and replace it weekly or pull it off and rinse in tank water? I'm concerned I've got part of the bacteria colony on there and if I toss it, I'm doing the "wrong" thing. What's best? If I should be cleaning it instead of tossing it, how do you best do it - gentle swishing, or gentle wringing to get the color out, or...?

Thanks!

 

[Curiosity101]

I'd always rinse, literally until it falls apart. And then eventually replace

I see your point though. It is a good media for bacteria and also is getting a high flow through it. Perhaps you could pop it into the actual canister for a week or so when you put a new one on? Allow the new piece of floss to get seeded and then completely remove it?

Though just for the record, I wouldn't be too worried. I'd have thought that the bacteria in the main compartment could quickly make up any difference after removing the old floss to replace with new stuff.

Or...better idea. *doh*
Rinse it in tapwater when you rinse it. That way bacteria will have a hard time trying to colonise on it and therefore you main filter media would hold pretty much all of the N-bacs. So it wont be a problem when you swap it for a new one.

 

[Winterlily]

Thanks!!

One question: If I rinse in tap water - won't the chlorine kill the bacteria on it anyhow?

 

[Curiosity101]

Yeah but that's what you want to do.

Try and think of it this way. The waste created by the fish supports 'X' Amount of bacteria. They may settle in equal amounts on each pad, or more on one pad than on another.
But you want as much as possible to settle on the main filter pads and not the prefilter as it needs changing/washing regularly and you don't want your water quality upset each time you wash or replace that pad.

Whilever you're rinsing the pre-filter in tap water then the bacteria has to grow on the main filter media. So when you come to remove the pre-filter/replace it. You wont see any water quality issues.

 

[Winterlily]

Ahh okay. I was still thinking more in terms of saving the bacteria already ON it currently. I gotcha, okay. So, either toss this one, or put it in the filter for some days - put a new one on that's been rinsed in tap water and start from there. Got it! Thank you!

(Quick one: Aside from cost, any reason just not to replace the thing each time, then, rather than rinsing in tap water?)

 

[Curiosity101]

Nope, no real reason I can think of.
How often are you thinking of replacing it?

 

[Winterlily]

I dunno? Right now it seems to get gunked up with plant matter mostly. I vac'ed in there today and vac'ed the pre-filter too. Worked nicely. Horridly discolored, though, and ugly to look at. So I'm thinking like every 2-4 weeks? Want to make really sure that water flow in there isn't being impeded. When I change it next, I'm going to use filter foam rather than floss - might make a difference. Ya think?

 

[Curiosity101]

If it were me I'd go for foam over floss. Have you seen the attachments you can get for filters on shrimp tanks? I'd do something like that.

 

[Winterlily]

Haven't seen this? Do you have a link by any chance? I've been just basically making my own!

 

[Curiosity101]

Search for 'filter guard' on ebay.

 

[Winterlily]

Thanks!!

 

[Curiosity101]

Is that the kinda thing you're after?
Don't know what'll work out cheapest in the long run. I personally would try to find some green foam and attach it via tie wraps or something. Then just take it out as part of the actual filter and swish it around in some water to remove debris.

 

[Winterlily]

Yeah - just looked at them. That's pretty much it, though I wonder why on earth they chose bright yellow! This morning, I took a piece of foam meant for canisters, and with a scissor, gently cut a hole through it long ways, making a crude one of those, basically. Lets me keep the very bottom of the intake covered too. Any idea if anyone makes black foam? (Blend it much better with my black backgrounds!)

 

[Curiosity101]

Active carbon foam is black. You could use some of that. Eventually it loses it's active property and just becomes normal sponge. But it wont hurt to have 'active carbon' in the tank for awhile until it becomes normal.

 

[Winterlily]

Especially when getting rid of tannins from the Mopani wood! I will get some of that - thank you so much!