Filter related to whitespot?

[Luke_e]

Hey, just realised that the filter sponges have to be changed, and i was wondering if the filter sponges being dirty (non cleaned) could of caused whitespot in my tank? I can see what appears to be little specs floating in the tank, at first i thought it was oxygen caused by the airpump, but i think it could be the white spots floating in the water.
The tank has been treated with WS3 solution twice, and i'll keep medicating the tank, i was just wondering if you could let me know if the filter is what caused the white spot problem.
Thanks.

 

[Lateral Line]

Depending on the filter, sponges only need to be changed when they start to fall apart. What you should do is squeeze them out in a bucket of tank water to get the worst of the crud out of them. Chucking them out chucks out your beneficial bacteria and in extreme circumstances, can start your tank cycling again. Definitely not a good idea.

The white spot parasites are too small to see. The spot you see is in part a cyst developed by the fishes own immune system to try to combat the parasite. You are most likely seeing small bubbles produced by the filter.

In short, good filtration and optimum water quality will allow the fish to cure the white spot themselves. Poor filtration and poor water quality will give the parasites a better chance of finding a host with a lowered immune response.

 

[Luke_e]

Thanks for that, i can relax slightly.
I read that the white one needs chaning every week, and the black one needs changing every 6 weeks, and the others just need rinsing, is this correct? I have a jewel filter system if that helps (not sure on specific one).

Thanks for all the info, but if you or someone else could answer my above question i would appreciate it.