Did I Clean My Filter Too Much?

[Pipe Dream]

i was away for two weeks, when i came home i did a bigger than usual water change. as a part of it, i throughly cleaned my internal filter sponge. obviously, in the water from the tank, however i squeezed it quite hard in 5 separate buckets of water, to get all the crap out.

most of the fish looks fine, however the bottom dwelling corries have been looking kinda drowsy for the past couple of days (i cleaned it on sunday). they are usually quite active, now they just don§t seem themselves, lying around the tank. by the way i lost two pandas during my absence, they disappeared without a trace.

anyway, is it possible i cleaned and rinsed the sponge too much? to the point of flushing the beneficial bacteria out? is that possible?

by the way i've heard that the filter sponge shouldn't be cleaned too often, however mine contains so much feces that i have to clean it every week. i think leaving it there would be too dangerous.

i just never cleaned it as hard as i did this time.

 

[aly_starh]

Ideally a filter should not be cleaned unless there is a problem;-ie. The water outlet is blocked.

What are the water stats atm?

 

[Assaye]

It is possible, but you'll only know by doing ammonia and nitrite tests on the tank.

If in doubt, do another water change.

 

[Pipe Dream]

well if i knew the waters stats i wouldn't be posting the question. so to answer your question, i don't know, don't have a kit.

however i just really find it hard to believe that the filter should be left alone for so long as you suggest. when i rinse it, the water in the bucket gets so dirty that there's got to be a brutal amount of feces in there.

 

[Pipe Dream]

...although i should mention the main source of crap in my tank was my little BN pleco, less than 2 inches long, however it was a major poop machine. on several occasions i watched him and his poop frequency on average was 3x per minute.

i gave away the beast on monday, i hope i'll have less crap lying around and in the filter. although that much more algae probably, as that crap machine was really keeping the tank spotless. what an irony.

 

[drobbyb]

well if i knew the waters stats i wouldn't be posting the question. so to answer your question, i don't know, don't have a kit.

Well, you answered your own question. How are we supposed to tell what your water stats are? Get a test kit and see.

 

[Assaye]

How on earth can we give you a definite answer?

You need a test kit unless you want to be doing lots of precautionary water changes every time you add new fish/clean your filter too much/etc. Don't get snappy with us because we can't give you the answer you want when you are the one who is doing things in a less than ideal fashion.

It doesn't matter how much gunk you have in your filter. The only thing that matters is that your filter works and has a good flowrate. If those two things are not being impared, don't worry about cleaning the filter. The poop is detoxified by the filter anyway and most of the stuff in the filter is probably mulm and other debris, not poop. Poop is why you do gravel cleans.

 

[Pipe Dream]

not looking for a definite answer (although a 'big water change' seems to be your answer to most questions assaye no offense)

i'm asking if it's physically possible to flush out the filter bacteria by rinsing the foam. it's a simple question.

 

[Jonty]

not looking for a definite answer (although a 'big water change' seems to be your answer to most questions assaye no offense)

Could that be because a 'big water change' is the answer to most problems?

 

[Pipe Dream]

not looking for a definite answer (although a 'big water change' seems to be your answer to most questions assaye no offense)

Could that be because a 'big water change' is the answer to most problems?

well that's what's so funny, because it isn't

 

[Jonty]

not looking for a definite answer (although a 'big water change' seems to be your answer to most questions assaye no offense)

Could that be because a 'big water change' is the answer to most problems?

well that's what's so funny, because it isn't

do explain

 

[bitteraspects]

well if i knew the waters stats i wouldn't be posting the question. so to answer your question, i don't know, don't have a kit.

Well, there's your first problem. You need to go get a liquid test kit ASAP.

however i just really find it hard to believe that the filter should be left alone for so long as you suggest. when i rinse it, the water in the bucket gets so dirty that there's got to be a brutal amount of feces in there.

That is correct. It should be cleaned weekly with your WC.
Does this filter rely on the sponge as the only means of filtration? Or is there a bio media seciin (holding ceramics or gravel usually).

If its just the sponge, you could have lost some bacteria in the mechanical transfer while cleaning the sponge, however, with Wc and a couple of days, this will correct itself. If the water was not dechlorinted (ie. Tap water) then theres a chance a signjfucant ammount was lost. But you said it was tank water, so I doubt it.

Is this your only filter on the tank?

 

[Pipe Dream]

That is correct. It should be cleaned weekly with your WC.
Does this filter rely on the sponge as the only means of filtration? Or is there a bio media seciin (holding ceramics or gravel usually).

If its just the sponge, you could have lost some bacteria in the mechanical transfer while cleaning the sponge, however, with Wc and a couple of days, this will correct itself. If the water was not dechlorinted (ie. Tap water) then theres a chance a signjfucant ammount was lost. But you said it was tank water, so I doubt it.

Is this your only filter on the tank?

thank you bitteraspects.
it's a simple fluval sponge filter, no other media.
no chance of contact with chlorinated water.
yes, the only filter in the tank.

i guess what i'm curious about is the extent of adherence of the bacteria to the sponge. you gave a solid opinion. thanks.

though i would like to point out the obviously contradicting opinions on filter cleaning.
clean every week vs. don't touch it.....i mean someone's got it all wrong.

that does make me question the usefulness and reliability of the advise dispensed in these forums, no offense to anyone particular. but what is a newbie supposed to make of it?

 

[always4lora]

I Clean my filter's about every 6 months and have never had any problems so far with water stats
What filter are using ?

 

[Assaye]

not looking for a definite answer (although a 'big water change' seems to be your answer to most questions assaye no offense)

i'm asking if it's physically possible to flush out the filter bacteria by rinsing the foam. it's a simple question.

Big water change is the answer to most problems.

It:

+ Lowers quantities of harmful organics such as parasites, bacteria and fungal spores
+ Lowers quantity of algal spores
+ Dilutes ammonia, nitrites and nitrates
+ Replensishes minerals
+ Re-balances pH and hardness

Among many other things. Water changes = good.

And yes, it is physically possible to disturb the bacteria in the filter foam enough to kill/remove them.