Cleaning Filters

[mnmama]

I have read that when cleaning your filter-- I have a 10gal that came with the tank-- are you not to clean the actual filter? What if there is algea on it... I think I have made an opps as I have cleaned the whole thing! And what if I had a sick fish, shouldn't the filter be cleaned with clean water, not tank water?

 

[greenscooby]

ALWAYS rinse your media in TANK WATER, if you wash it under tap water you are washing out your beneficial bacteria, if you do that your stats will go sky high and you'll start to loose fish and end up in a fish-in cycle, and you don't want to be there, trust me i've just done a fish-in cycle, bloody hard work it was, but well worth all the effort tho.

 

[stang1]

As Greenscooby said, always clean your media in tank water to ensure you don't lose any beneficial bacteria. A couple of good squeezes is usually enough and you don't want it to be really "clean".
As for the filter casing, it's perfectly fine to clean that in tap water.

 

[mnmama]

I just took a sick beta out of there and put him in a bowl.... I am going to put him out of his misery tonight.. ? is I realize that I need to clean the tank really good, but are you suggesting I clean the filter in that water?? How often do you have to clean it, how long should I cycle it before adding new fish?

 

[greenscooby]

If your gonna start from scratch then i'd suggest you read the fishless cycling thread in the begginers resource centre on the new to the hobby page.

As for cleaning the media i squeeze mine once a fortnight, but i do a 30% water change once a week.

I also check my water stats three times a week - a bit over the top i know but i like to keep on top of it as i don't want to do another fish-in cycle.

 

[paulbr1]

Hi, I always wash my filter in tank water plus with my smaller tanks filter I strip it down and get a rotary brush inside to make sure it is spotless while rinsing in hot water

Then when I am done I use tank water to rinse the filter housing before placing the (tank water) rinsed media back in.

I think that may sound confusing but Tank Water is the magic ingredient every time.

 

[OldMan47]

If you know what killed the betta, try finding out what the disease organism needs to live. For many parasites, running the tank with no fish for a week or two would make the tank completely safe, but parasites are not all that you might have had. In an extreme case, you would be completely correct to clean everything thoroughly, dry everything completely and then do a fishless cycle to get the tank back to being ready for fish. I usually do not deal with diseases in my fish so my diagnostic skills are terrible but I would much rather be safe than sorry when it comes to my fish.

I seriously doubt that you had a beta in any tank, software just doesn't work well in water. (One of my pet peeves and it bothers me when people say the word as if it were software too)