Filter media and Beneficial bacteria myth

[Slaphppy7]

Surely you have that wrong way around..?
Washing media in unconditioned tap water WILL kill ALL bacteria...that's the whole purpose of chlorine/chloramine in our drinking water!
Washing media in tank water will do no such thing.

True, but some members here will tell you that once a tank is cycled, established, and has been running for some time (not quite sure how long on that), that the majority of the BB colony will colonize in the substrate, and other areas of the tank, rather than in just the filter (media) itself.

So theoretically, one could wash their media in chlorinated tap water, with no ill effect on the cycle.

I suppose that is up to debate, but I tend to err on the side of caution, and only rinse my media in old tank water.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Rinsing media in old removed aquarium water once a week and only replace when it falls to bits, works for me and the fish...keep it nice and simple

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

That actually isn't true... especially with pond media. I blast my pond rings with the hose and I can take those same rings and bring them inside and they still hold enough beneficial bacteria to instantly cycle a tank. I've done this several times so I know I am correct. Maybe TANK media will not hold its beneficial bacteria but never had an issue with my pond media.

So you count your bacteria?

Every time, without fail, we recommend the use of water conditioners, not because of a fad, or misinformation, but simply because if we don't, then the tank bacteria would be killed.

The chlorine will dissipate of its own accord over time and, if the water is markedly agitated whilst it's being poured into the bucket, this dissipation will be quicker, but not total.
That'd be the chlorine dealt with and this would be consistent with your 'blasting with a hose', which isn't particularly practical for indoor aquariums.

All that said, if your water supply is blessed with chloramine, then water conditioner IS required, as this will NOT dissipate over time, nor through agitation.

 

[Avel1896]

Washing media in tank water will do no such thing.

Or better in RO water that is free of anything.

 

[Guest14017]

So you count your bacteria?

Every time, without fail, we recommend the use of water conditioners, not because of a fad, or misinformation, but simply because if we don't, then the tank bacteria would be killed.

The chlorine will dissipate of its own accord over time and, if the water is markedly agitated whilst it's being poured into the bucket, this dissipation will be quicker, but not total.
That'd be the chlorine dealt with and this would be consistent with your 'blasting with a hose', which isn't particularly practical for indoor aquariums.

All that said, if your water supply is blessed with chloramine, then water conditioner IS required, as this will NOT dissipate over time, nor through agitation.

I am not saying anything about using water conditioners for water changes. I'm just saying I can blast ceramic pond media with the hose and obviously not kill ALL the bacteria as you claim because the same media can go into a tank and still be used as cycled media without any cycle bumps.

As for the rest of what you are saying - I agree! Also my tap often measures .50 of ammonia so my city definitely DOES use chloramines.

 

[Myraan]

I've long suspected that the bacteria are much more robust than received wisdom suggests, but it's not worth the small risk of killing your filter bacteria imo.

That said, if you genuinely find using old water is insufficient, which in the case of ceramic media I'm certain it will be, your filter don't need to be sparkling, my advice would be be to not blast all of your media with the cold tap or the hose at the same time, you know, just in case.

 

[Guest14017]

I have done many experiments along the years just to test things. You don't learn if you don't at least test theories. Beneficial bacteria IS much more robust than given credit for. I learned this from Koi keepers. I have not tried rinsing INDOOR media with tap water but it isn't a problem for outdoor media. I wasn't recommending it or anything so it's all grand.

 

[Ch4rlie]

The beneficial bacterias in ones tank and filter is actually quite a bit stronger than most think they are.

What one has to remember is that all these beneficial bacteria have is a strong clear protective coating that acts like a barrier as well as something that keeps these bacteria in postion, much like a good clear glue.

For years I had rinsed my sponge media under the taps and squeezing a couple times to get rid of gunk has proven to have no harm on the cycle of the tank.

Chlorine will not kill all healthy beneficial bacteria mainly due to the protective coating that they have. It’s only when one scrubs or prolongs the tap rinsing that the bacteria may be in danger of being washed away.

Also beneficial bacteria is found on pretty much ALL the surfaces that’s in well established aquaria, filter, substrate, plants, wood, rocks and decor are all covered in these beneficial bacterias. It would take quite a bit of cleaning and scrubbing to kill all your bacteria in one go.

If you did that then chances are you will have a mini cycle / spike and a bacterial bloom while the bacteria restablishes and recolonises the tank and filter.

Am not saying or recommending that we should do this but merely pointing out that the beneficial bacteria on sponge media should be fine being rinsed under taps quickly with a squeeze or two to get rid of most of the gunk and debris that collects on the sponge media.

Of course being cautious and rinsing filter media in old tank water is good practice to carry out nonetheless.

 

[Slaphppy7]

The beneficial bacterias in ones tank and filter is actually quite a bit stronger than most think they are.

What one has to remember is that all these beneficial bacteria have is a strong clear protective coating that acts like a barrier as well as something that keeps these bacteria in postion, much like a good clear glue.

For years I had rinsed my sponge media under the taps and squeezing a couple times to get rid of gunk has proven to have no harm on the cycle of the tank.

Chlorine will not kill all healthy beneficial bacteria mainly due to the protective coating that they have. It’s only when one scrubs or prolongs the tap rinsing that the bacteria may be in danger of being washed away.

Also beneficial bacteria is found on pretty much ALL the surfaces that’s in well established aquaria, filter, substrate, plants, wood, rocks and decor are all covered in these beneficial bacterias. It would take quite a bit of cleaning and scrubbing to kill all your bacteria in one go.

If you did that then chances are you will have a mini cycle / spike and a bacterial bloom while the bacteria restablishes and recolonises the tank and filter.

Am not saying or recommending that we should do this but merely pointing out that the beneficial bacteria on sponge media should be fine being rinsed under taps quickly with a squeeze or two to get rid of most of the gunk and debris that collects on the sponge media.

Of course being cautious and rinsing filter media in old tank water is good practice to carry out nonetheless.

"Of course being cautious and rinsing filter media in old tank water is good practice to carry out nonetheless."

And takes minimum effort

 

[AbbeysDad]

I've tried mostly sponges and mostly hard media. Sponges just got filthy quicker and cycles bumped way easier when changing tanks or when there was any type of hiccup such as a power outage.

Each to his/her own. Perhaps I should have pointed out that very fine sponges plug easily and more quickly than coarser sponge material. It also deserves mention that many large entire fishrooms are managed with air driven sponge filters... perhaps these are not the greatest at mechanical filtration, but excellent at biological filtration.
(I use only coarse and medium sponge material in my filters).

 

[itiwhetu]

As you know I don't use any conditioners, so when I water change I bring the garden hose in and blast the surface of the tank. I only do 25% water changes and my tanks are heavily planted.
But I never clean my filter pads in tap water, I always clean them in water from the tank. The main reason for this is that in cleaning the filter pads you only want to reduce the amount of muck in them and not clean them completely. I always say reduce the muck by about 50%. If you clean them in a sink they become to clean.

 

[jimwg]

That actually isn't true... especially with pond media. I blast my pond rings with the hose and I can take those same rings and bring them inside and they still hold enough beneficial bacteria to instantly cycle a tank. I've done this several times so I know I am correct. Maybe TANK media will not hold its beneficial bacteria but never had an issue with my pond media.

The bacteria reconstitute pretty quickly. I still squeeze my sponges out only in expended tank water.

 

[jimwg]

Long ago I bought into the marketing hype for bio-medias be they pumice, ceramics, plastics or whatever. However, in time I came to realize that these were all just cash cows for manufacturers that offer no more surface area than bio-sponge material. Newer hobbyists are all but brain washed by a profit motivated industry that convinces them the beneficial biology only lives in their specialized media. Some even go so far as to claim that there are internal areas that support anoxic/anaerobic bacteria to convert nitrates. There is no objective evidence, merely anecdotal claims. In reality, as mentioned, culturing anoxic/anaerobic bacteria is very difficult in the highly oxygenated aquarium.
ALL of my filters are COMPLETELY filled with sponge material and I only clean when the output flow is noticeably reduced, and then I clean only enough to restore flow. The method to my madness is that beneficial bacteria and microbes establish bio-film in the filter that improves water quality. Excessive cleaning merely upsets the 'bio-cleansing machine'. Now in addition I have a 2-3" sand substrate and leverage fast growing floating plants - all to enhance water quality (see The Very Best Aquarium Filter). But none of the above negates the need for routine partial water changes as "there's no such thing as too much fresh, clean water"!

I'm sure a lot of these fancy pants biomedia products are gimmicks. But I have had a lot of success with API's BioStars.

 

[itiwhetu]

So you count your bacteria?

Every time, without fail, we recommend the use of water conditioners, not because of a fad, or misinformation, but simply because if we don't, then the tank bacteria would be killed.

The chlorine will dissipate of its own accord over time and, if the water is markedly agitated whilst it's being poured into the bucket, this dissipation will be quicker, but not total.
That'd be the chlorine dealt with and this would be consistent with your 'blasting with a hose', which isn't particularly practical for indoor aquariums.

All that said, if your water supply is blessed with chloramine, then water conditioner IS required, as this will NOT dissipate over time, nor through agitation.

Why can't Chloramine be removed naturally, why can't an acid tank with enough plant disssipate the Chloramine, considering most dechlorinators are just acids.

 

[Essjay]

What acid is in dechlorinator?
Mine contains sodium thiosulphate (which splits chloramine into chlorine and ammonia, then turns the chlorine into chloride) and tetra sodium EDTA (which binds metals)