Washing Filter Elements

[guppydad]

I have seen much on how to wash a filter element. The general consenus is to use old tank water. But, this stuff gets to stinking after a while rotflmao Here is how I do it. I clean my filter element at water change time. I have an old hermit crab home (a rectangle that holds about 1/2 gal of water) I use it to do water changes. First bucket to come out of the aquarium, I use to clean off the filter element that way it is cleaned with tank water then out it goes and in with the new and finish the water change. This way you don't kill off your good bacteria

Hope this helps.

 

[rvm]

I might be missing something here, but that sounds like you are rinsing the filter in old tank water; exactly what you said gets too stinking!!!
I think this is the way most people rinse filter media, I do it like that anyway.
Do a water change and rinse the media in the water before you tip it down the sink!!!

 

[gale]

Are you saying that you save old tank water for a long time and use that? Because yeah, that would stink after a while. I do it the way rvm mentioned-I rinse it in the first bucket of tank water that I siphon off (and I don't even do it very often, actually).

 

[Lateral Line]

The advice to "rinse in old tank water" does not mean keep a bucket of old tank water handy. You rinse your filter media in freshly siphoned tank water at water change time. You then water your plants with the old tank water - lots of nitrates and other good stuff.

There is a good reason for holding onto your gravel cleaning water for a week or so actually - depending on the circumstances. If you keep freely spawning egg scattering fish like Danios for example- Whilst most of the eggs get found and eaten, invariable a few will lodge in the gravel out of reach. A bucket of gravel cleanings left in a warm enough place will often have fry swimming about in it after a week or so. But that is a completely different issue of course!!!

 

[yvez9]

That's the way to go

Archiving old tank water is kind of useless and will most likely stink as everything in there will start to rot and promote the multiplication of... living things in there after a few days and it can get in the way (you really don't want this to be accidnetaly tipped over).

Definetaly, aged tank water is not like wine....

Just use "fresh" tank water that's been syphoned out and rinse off anything that needs rinsing off...

I rinse new plants like this too!

 

[guppydad]

NO No No that was a little tongue in cheek (see the lol ). If you kept it around a long time it would really stink.

The first scoop of water out of my tank during a water change is what I rince in as that is going to be replaced anyway. I'm only rinsing of particulates not doing a deep wash.

Also I don't do it until I get water flowing back out around the intake tube.