Water change and filter sponge/media wash

[Negseven]

Hi thinking about doing a 50% water change soon (did 30% a week ago) to clear out tannins and freshen water. Should I clean the sponges/media in filter at same time or will that cause the tank to crash? (Fluval filter U3 now been in for one month) thanks….

 

[Slaphppy7]

Hi thinking about doing a 50% water change soon (did 30% a week ago) to clear out tannins and freshen water. Should I clean the sponges/media in filter at same time or will that cause the tank to crash? (Fluval filter U3 now been in for one month) thanks….

Clean your filter media in old tank water, fill a clean bowl with tank water and "swish" the media in that.

 

[Negseven]

Thanks Slaphppy7 I was going to use the old water to clean the filter, the issue was shall I do the filter clean at same time as big water change? Thanks

 

[Slaphppy7]

Thanks Slaphppy7 I was going to use the old water to clean the filter, the issue was shall I do the filter clean at same time as big water change? Thanks

Best practice is weekly water changes, monthly filter cleanings, generally...the filter itself can be cleaned in hot tap water (no soaps or detergents, obviously)...but always use old tank water to rinse your media...and keep the media wet (submerged) at all times during water changes/filter cleanings

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I would suggest you clean your media when you notice that the return flow from the filter has slowed. But how often one needs to do this may be better to match to ones fish and plant loading in a tank than a random regular schedule. The more stocked a tank is, the sooner it will need for the media to be rinsed. I have been rinsing mine weekly for 22+ years without problems, I have over 20 tanks I do this in these days. I should also mention that when it comes to filters I only clean my canister filters twice a year unless they have issues. I have one of these, because of the media I use, that it took about 3.5 years before I needed to clean it. I have not yet cleaned it since but maybe this year.

Hot water, much over 104F will kill the bacteria whereas their biofilms will protect them from residual chlorine or chloramine in tap water. Then consider if you rimse them media and do a water change at the same time, the dechlor you add to the tank will further protect the bacteria. It take chlorine a day to fully penetrate the biofilm in which the bacteria live. Chloramine is less harmful as any ammonia present will keep the bacteria alive in it.

As long as the bio-media is not out of water for much time, it is safe not being submerged. Basically it should not be allowed to dry out but damp is fine.



Lee WH, Wahman DG, Bishop PL, Pressman JG. Free chlorine and monochloramine application to nitrifying biofilm: comparison of biofilm penetration, activity, and viability. Environ Sci Technol. 2011 Feb 15;45(4):1412-9. doi: 10.1021/es1035305. Epub 2011 Jan 12. PMID: 21226531.

Abstract​

Biofilm in drinking water systems is undesirable. Free chlorine and monochloramine are commonly used as secondary drinking water disinfectants, but monochloramine is perceived to penetrate biofilm better than free chlorine. However, this hypothesis remains unconfirmed by direct biofilm monochloramine measurement. This study compared free chlorine and monochloramine biofilm penetration into an undefined mixed-culture nitrifying biofilm by use of microelectrodes and assessed the subsequent effect on biofilm activity and viability by use of dissolved oxygen (DO) microelectrodes and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) with LIVE/DEAD BacLight. For equivalent chlorine concentrations, monochloramine initially penetrated biofilm 170 times faster than free chlorine, and even after subsequent application to a monochloramine penetrated biofilm, free chlorine penetration was limited. DO profiles paralleled monochloramine profiles, providing evidence that either the biofilm was inactivated with monochloramine's penetration or its persistence reduced available substrate (free ammonia). While this research clearly demonstrated monochloramine's greater penetration, this penetration did not necessarily translate to immediate viability loss. Even though free chlorine's penetration was limited compared to that of monochloramine, it more effectively (on a cell membrane integrity basis) inactivated microorganisms near the biofilm surface. Limited free chlorine penetration has implications when converting to free chlorine in full-scale chloraminated systems in response to nitrification episodes.

from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21226531/