Rinsing Canister Sponges

Does everyone here use only tank water or dechlorinated water to rinse their filter sponges or floss in your canister filters? Normally I only use dechlorinated water for any filter maintenance but I'm wondering if it does me any good to bother using dechlorinated water for my filter sponges. I rinse those more frequently and when I clean the bio media I just swirl it in a bucket of dirty tank water. I'm just thinking I could get the sponges a lot cleaner if I run them under the faucet but I don't know how much damage it would do to my biofilter. I could always swish them in some tank water before I put them back in the filter just to make sure I don't get any chlorine in there. They just don't get that clean it seems like a waste.

 

I clean all my sponges under the tap. The canister one I dip in Prime treated water. The hob sponges I squeeze all the water out of them. Minimal chlorine left if any. Hope this helps.

 

I clean mine under the tap with no de-chlorinator

 

There is still a decent amount of BB on coarse sponges. I usually just rinse them in a 5 gallon bucket of tank water. They don't need to be sparking clean.

 

I clean mine under the tap with no de-chlorinator

Thank you for not worrying too much and just doing the work like you're supposed to. It's refreshing. I've been procrastinating for an hour decidingwhich water to rinse the thing with. I should just rinse it.

 

Can you lose your cycle if you rinse your sponges in tap water?

 

I've used both tank water and treated tap water. I would at least dechlorinate first, if using the latter.

 

I basically just want to be able to see if water still runs through them well and the only way I can see to do that is running them under the tap. I've tried pouring water through the sponge into a bucket but it still doesn't really give me a good idea of whether or not I've cleaned the sponge thoroughly. I never expect them to look good if they've been used at all. I have bio specific media in my canister filter so I don't know if I should be bothering to save the beneficial bacteria in the sponges or not.

 

Most of the bacteria resides in the specific bio media, ceramic or other. There is very little bacteria in the sponges and that's why I rinse them under the tap.

 

I've used both tank water and treated tap water. I would at least dechlorinate first, if using the latter.

I didn't do that but I probably will next time. I don't think it did much good running them under the tap. Honestly I think it just put more wear & tear on my already cheap SunSun filter sponges. I did add prime to the water I used to refill the filter, so I figured that did the same thing as dipping the sponges after I rinsed them. Thanks for everyone's info & advice as usual! I always double check here before I try something I read somewhere that's for sure!