Je55*e

I just received a 30 gallon aqua clear filter that had been used by someone before she gave it to me. It's a bit grimy, so I want to clean it before I set it up. What is the best way to do this? Soaking it in bleach after scrubbing it with soap? I've known people to do that, but I'm not sure of it's safety for the fish.
Thanks.

Lucy

That's pretty cool that someone gave you a filter!

Using soap can leave a residue and possible kill your fish.

Soak it in the bleach, rinse until you can no longer smell bleach then soak it in water that's been od'd with a good water conditioner.

Je55*e

Well, I actually got it from freecycle (this awesome mailing list from yahoo where you advertise free stuff).
Od'd=overdosed? haha
And thanks =)

Lucy

Your welcome

I love free cycle! I'm in a rural area and fish stuff doesn't get listed often.
When it does, it goes quickly.

Edit: I forgot to mention, I think it's 19 parts water to 1 part bleach. Not straight bleach.

Je55*e

^Thank you, that's very helpful!

JCV

Bleach

You really should do it no matter what other people say about bleach.

That's only when you want to kill your fish.

I rinse mine out with tank water, sometimes tap water, and then dry everything.

After that I just put it in the tank and take a small cup to fill up the filter so then it can suck up tank water. Then the filter can start running again

It's important to rinse out the filter every week or so to prevent too much gunk build up, and also the filter sponge or cartridge what ever you have in your filter, it should be rinsed out every week, because the water pushes the dirty stuff down and then comes up going through the sponge, charcoal, and bio beads.. but that's just an Aqua clear filter.

If you have one of those penguin filters, they are said to be much better they have a bio wheel that helps reduce more waste and so on.. and the cartridge is really good.

You just have to rinse it out every week as well.

Lucy

Je55*e asked about cleaning a used filter that she got for free. Not one that's currently being used in a tank with fish.
It's best to sterilize it since she doesn't know the history of the tank.

Allie

Exactly. Many illness can linger around, even long after the fish are gone from the tank.

Beeker

Bleach is great. You definitely want to kill anything that may be lingering on that filter from it's previous owner. Deal with it as if you were getting it from the worst conditions, then you won't have any bad surprises. Just make sure you rinse it well and soak it in over-conditioned water.

fishlover78

this is all good to know!

Je55*e

Right now, it's soaking in over-conditioned water after having sat in water with some bleach for 3 or so days. There is still some grime in the connector tubes (I'm terrible with terminology sometimes), which I'm going to try to get out by getting something small enough to fit in there and scrub it out. (Of course I can't think of the name of that either, but I can see it in my head. Oy.)

Lucy

You can try bottle brushes, they come in different sizes.

Je55*e

^Aha! I think that's the word I meant to use. ^^;; Where can I find those, at the grocery store?

Lucy

Probably or a department store. Perhaps in the baby dept.
I remember that's where I got mine.

Red1313

Yeah. Vinegar is a nice rinse to use as well. That's what i usually use b/c I'm a bit paranoid about bleach.
Though if I recall correctly you shouldn't mix the two of them...

Je55*e

^Perhaps next time I'll try vinegar. Thanks!

^^I'll check Target's for those, then. Thanks to you, too! =)

Lucy

Vinegar is a good thing to use for hard water spots but it won't sterilize.

That's bleach and ammonia.

Red1313

It does sterilize to a degree, it is acidic so it will kill of anything that isn't used to that level of pH. <bacteria in my 8+ pH tanks would likely not respond well to vinegar as they've adapted to a different pH >
It's not a kill all and if you're cleaning up after a really bad bug then bleach would be the way to go. However if the stuff has been sitting dry for weeks then vinegar "should" take care of most of it.