Is my filter media too dirty?

Hello all, I know that the good bacterial is supposed to build up on the filter media, I haven't changed the filter cartridge in about 3 months. I have a ton of brown algae that is appearing in my tank all of a sudden, so I thought to look at the filter..is it supposed to be this black?! I mean, I know they're supposed to collect the good stuff but this almost seems like too much, should I just swish it in some tank water in a separate container or change it out?

 

You actually shouldn't change filter media unless theres charcoal/carbon in it. Filter cartridges are a scam and every time you change them you typically end up crashing your cycle. Assuming this doesn't have any charcoal in it you can just kind of swish it around in the bucket of dirty tank water during your next water change.
If it does have charcoal in it then you might want to slice it out. Not saying that having it in a filter is harmful- it certainly isn't! It can be very helpful when trying to get things like medications out of the water but other than that it doesn't really have too much of a use. When left in a filter for longer than a month or so at a time it begins to just leech out everything it has sucked in. If you haven't used any medications this isn't really a big deal but it isn't really great.

If you have any available to you you can use polyfil or any other 100% polyester stuffing (like used in stuffed animals or pillows) and jam that into your filter. It's the same as filter floss and will fold the beneficial bacteria really well.

 

OMG that looks amazing!! I LOVE seeing healthy filter media.

Yes, it’s supposed to be black, and will never be white again in its life. Don’t replace it. If water flow begins to slow, just lightly swish/rinse it in tank water. That will remove larger debris and excess detritus

 

You actually shouldn't change filter media unless theres charcoal/carbon in it. Filter cartridges are a scam and every time you change them you typically end up crashing your cycle. Assuming this doesn't have any charcoal in it you can just kind of swish it around in the bucket of dirty tank water during your next water change.
If it does have charcoal in it then you might want to slice it out. Not saying that having it in a filter is harmful- it certainly isn't! It can be very helpful when trying to get things like medications out of the water but other than that it doesn't really have too much of a use. When left in a filter for longer than a month or so at a time it begins to just leech out everything it has sucked in. If you haven't used any medications this isn't really a big deal but it isn't really great.

If you have any available to you you can use polyfil or any other 100% polyester stuffing (like used in stuffed animals or pillows) and jam that into your filter. It's the same as filter floss and will fold the beneficial bacteria really well.

Oh I will definitely get some polyfil then! It does have charcoal in it, and at one point I had to use 2-3 medicines for some issues I was having at the time with a fish that eventually got dropsy and passed, so I'm wondering now if that's what caused it.

OMG that looks amazing!! I LOVE seeing healthy filter media.

Yes, it’s supposed to be black, and will never be white again in its life. Don’t replace it. If water flow begins to slow, just lightly swish/rinse it in tank water. That will remove larger debris and excess detritus

Thanks! When I took it out I was shocked by how black it was!

 

Thanks! When I took it out I was shocked by how black it was!

Don’t be. They only get better It’s actually quite amazing to see how they age.

 

Oh I will definitely get some polyfil then! It does have charcoal in it, and at one point I had to use 2-3 medicines for some issues I was having at the time with a fish that eventually got dropsy and passed, so I'm wondering now if that's what caused it.

I would cut the carbon out and just use the floss in the cartrige. But personally I have a thin layer of floss and the rest is a media bag of ceramic. I seriously never change the ceramic and or stays pretty clean (of muck) in the media bag. The floss also lasts forever and I just clean it in a bucket of old tank water. If it's really mucky, I just rinse in tap water (because changing it out will kill all the beneficial bacteria as well and the floss is still in tact).

Side note: I don't believe tap water kills BB as I once thought. I use lukewarm water bc I feel temperature would kill BB faster than a bit of chlorine. Not saying it's a safe to rinse all your media in tap! Just saying it's not as harmful to BB as I once thought.

 

That's fecal matter not beneficial bacteria.

 

I would cut the carbon out and just use the floss in the cartrige. But personally I have a thin layer of floss and the rest is a media bag of ceramic. I seriously never change the ceramic and or stays pretty clean (of muck) in the media bag. The floss also lasts forever and I just clean it in a bucket of old tank water. If it's really mucky, I just rinse in tap water (because changing it out will kill all the beneficial bacteria as well and the floss is still in tact).

Side note: I don't believe tap water kills BB as I once thought. I use lukewarm water bc I feel temperature would kill BB faster than a bit of chlorine. Not saying it's a safe to rinse all your media in tap! Just saying it's not as harmful to BB as I once thought.

I think this would depend on tap tho. Some tap water will have more chlorine than others

 

The only time it is too dirty is if it impede flow. This can happen in two ways depending on your filter design:

First the water flows around it because it is too dirty for the water to flow through it.
Second the water flows very slowly because it is too dirty for the water to flow through it (and it might backup).
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In both those cases you should rinse it out in tank water (not tap water); put some in a bucket and rinse it and squeeze it until it is no longer black
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Otherwise don't touch !

 

I think this would depend on tap tho. Some tap water will have more chlorine than others

Bacterial Nitrification in Chloraminated Water Supplies

 

But anaerobic bacteria will grow in it.

That's fecal matter not beneficial bacteria.

 

But anaerobic bacteria will grow in it.

Its in a filter where water regularly passes thorough carrying oxygen. Anerobic bacteria can't grow in those conditions.
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Also for carbon I'm fairly sure it doesn't leach back unless it meets certain conditions not found in aquariums, and as far as I know unless a bacteria colony directly attacks the activated carbon it should not leach back into the water-