sunstrip

Was just wondering...read many posts here about removing your foam filter media now and again and giving it a rinse in tank water...is it OK to give it a couple of squeezes while it's in the water...or will that remove too much of the bacteria ? Sounds stupid I know...but the one time I did that...the rinse water got super dirty...got worried that I rinsed out the good stuff.

Tavel

I do that all the time to my turtle's filter sponges and it seems just fine.

If anything, I'd think you're doing the population some good by removing the dying or dead bacteria, and any sludge that's built up (healthy bacteria will be able to cling to surfaces better). Bacteria reproduces exponentially, and you're providing the remaining bacteria with better access to resources so it should really only take a few hours to get back up to the optimal population.

I know it's a little different because the turtle is hardly sensitive to ammonia and nitrates, but the water still clouds up when the bacteria population gets knocked down too much...just like any other aquarium.

The only time it clouds up is when I change the filter pad in the whisper filter, or if I sterilize the sponges with hot water or alcohol (which I only did once...lol).

sunstrip

Well...I was informed by a well respected member of the site here...that squeezing the sponge is a bad idea...in a fish tank that is...just thought I would add that for any of the newbs that read this...thanks for the answer tavel...but it seems that things are a little different in a fish tank as opposed to a turtle tank.

Trpimp147

i do that with my fish tank. i clean the sludge out of the filter pads, i also have a larger tank with 2 filters on it so i do one at a time when cleaning.... it also has bio wheels so if i do the filter pads im only loseing a small portion of it any way.

Tavel

fair enough. as i said, turtles are very insensitive to ammonia compared to fish. high levels can cause eye irritation, but those levels would probably kill a fish outright.

I always clean my turtle's tank and filters very aggressively. Everything sludges up so much that cleaning gently is like throwing pebbles at a battle tank.

Drea

I have a aqua clear 200...I squeeze my sponge filter in water removed for a water change. I don't go crazy at it...just a few easy squeezes. My tanks been running a good long while, I've not had any probs

sjlchgo

I would say not to do this in the tank. As the above post states, "do it in the water you've removed". This is better than tap water which would kill everything off. A couple of good swishes and you should be good to go.

sirdarksol

Should be fine to squeeze them lightly in a bucket of tank water.

These bacteria don't just get caught on the filter floss. They actually colonize it. Bacteria can cling to the tiniest crevices in an object. Particularly if you have two sponges in your filter, and only do one at a time, you won't de-cycle your tank by removing the excess gunk.

Remember that, no matter how long a person has been around, or how respected they are, each and every one of us is susceptible to making mistakes, believing false information, etc... There is still information that is being tainted by mistaken concepts of past generations of aquarists (see the recent thread on goldfish's memory). Especially when it comes to nitrifying bacteria, where most of us can only judge the size/health of the colony based on the nitrogen levels in the tank, and can't tell if it's been harmed until the damage has been done to the tank, it usually seems better to be extra cautious.
This does not mean that I'm positive that anyone else is wrong about the bacteria thing. Rather, I'm just reminding people that "senior member" doesn't mean "always right," so don't feel bad about questioning anything you hear. If anyone gets upset because they're the senior member and you're not listening to them, they don't belong in Mike's forum. He's said that this kind of attitude is what he tried to get away from. (And don't get me started on post count. I've seen people go through the entire "Intro" section of a forum and welcome everyone, even people who were there longer. Higher post count means nothing. If it meant something, people would take CoBettaCouple seriously. I now have to go hide somewhere for an entirely unrelated reason)

sunstrip

LOL...cool...point taken sirdarksol....thanks everyone.