Today is the day I am supposed to wash off my filter sponge and replace the carbon. Do I need to take out my fish and cycle it or something or do I just replace the stuff and plug it back in with fish still inside?
2007-03-26 06:37:17 · 5 answers · asked by Kyle 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Just rinse and change the carbon and pop it back in. No need to do anything else. Rinse the sponge carefully though, in tank water or dechlorinated water of a very similar temperature, this will help preserve the bacteria. I also would suggest you not try to get the sponge too clean. Just rinse out the major stuff and leave the rest as it holds much of your bacteria.
MM
2007-03-26 07:12:49 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Depends on what type of filter you have. Mine has three seperate elements: the sponge, the bag of activated charcoal and a bag of ceramic "bio balls" where the beneficial bacteria builds up(in addition to the sponge). This way I rinse my sponge once a month in the water I vacuum from the tank during a water change. I can rinse it pretty thoroughly because the bio balls host plenty of the bacteria the tank needs for the nitrogen cycle. I also replace the charcoal once a month, but stagger it two weeks later than rinsing the filter sponge. Make sure you rinse it thoroughly first as lots of times it has charcoal dust in it. I may rinse the pickup tube if it looks slimy and unattractive, otherwise I leave the rest alone.
2007-03-26 09:27:51 · answer #2 · answered by meathookcook 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fish stay in the tank...just make sure you rinse the filter out with water before you put it in the tank...the only time you worry about the cycle is when the tank is first started or started over...other than that, just rinse the new filter out in water then put it in...hope it helps
2007-03-26 06:54:59 · answer #3 · answered by KaylaByrd 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dont do that, it'll shock the fish.
Just unplug the filter, take it off or out of the tank, clean the element, clean the plastic around all moving parts, put it all back together and refill the carbon area and plug it back in while back on or in the tank.
2007-03-26 07:20:57 · answer #4 · answered by Jimmy K 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just replace the "stuff" and plug it back in. Be sure to rinse the carbon before you place it in your filter and rinse the filter box itself. Ahh the joy of fish ownership!! ><>:)
2007-03-26 07:11:27 · answer #5 · answered by PaPa Norm 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋