Washed My Filter....WITH SOAP >_<

[pentagon]

...then realized it was a BAD idea. any better
way to clean / neutralize it??

(washed with mama dishwashing liquid)

[bclee]

Rinse it thoroughly... should be alright.

BC

[Shadow]

salt water, boiled water, bleach but I usually just use water and give a good scrap with filter wool.

[EddyTing]

Hi, i have a canister filter which i'm planning to run for a day on bleach, later another day with anti-chlorine. Any chemical reaction on the eheim tubes with the chlorine?

[beetlejuice403]

Hi bro,

I guess you may try to rinse & soak the filter thoroughly with tap water for a day or two to get rid of any excess stuborn detergent remnants... If still don't feel it's safe enough, maybe you can let it run in an empty tank or container with water to ensure nothing hides inside the unreachable parts of the filter components...

Next time just used the water from your tank to give the filter a good scrub will do... We all learn from mistakes... Hope it helps.

Regards & Happy New Year.

...then realized it was a BAD idea. any better
way to clean / neutralize it??

(washed with mama dishwashing liquid)

[Shadow]

Any chemical reaction on the eheim tubes with the chlorine?

I was told that the hose will harden if soak with bleach repeatly. I don't know how true is this. I'm still doing it and so far nothing happen.

[pentagon]

thanks for the advices, i will rinse it and run it in an empty tank, hopefully it will be ok.
Happy New Year to you all!

[newtank]

Hi bro,

I guess you may try to rinse & soak the filter thoroughly with tap water for a day or two to get rid of any excess stuborn detergent remnants... If still don't feel it's safe enough, maybe you can let it run in an empty tank or container with water to ensure nothing hides inside the unreachable parts of the filter components...

Next time just used the water from your tank to give the filter a good scrub will do... We all learn from mistakes... Hope it helps.

Regards & Happy New Year.

Dirty filter is a good filter

[pentagon]

found this one, i'll use some vinegar and then rinse it.
we put vinegar in food so i guess it's much safer than soap.

"White vinegar mixed with water to rinse off the dishes after washing
them to take the soap off and leave them squeaky clean. This also
takes the soap residue off of your hands at the same time."

http://www.natural-healthy-home-clea...th_vinegar.htm

[winq]

for me i only wash my filter with tank water. cos i scare to kill the bb.

[pentagon]

yes, that should be the way to go.

for me i only wash my filter with tank water. cos i scare to kill the bb.

[EddyTing]

I was told that the hose will harden if soak with bleach repeatly. I don't know how true is this. I'm still doing it and so far nothing happen.

Thanks Shadow for the advice. I'll just go along with you then...haha...

[mozaqua]

I see no reason to use any kind of soap on a filter. I like to save the little bacteria that might make the surfaces their home. If I am doing maintenance on a filter, (or even a tank for that matter) I use a sponge that is only for my fish. This never touches soap of any kind.
Also keep the lower filter material, and change out half of the top pre-filter.

Don't use bleach either, the residual chlorine remains long after you rinse it, also all the beneficial bacteria and zoo-plankton will die.
Oh vinegar is good to clean empty tanks, but will also hurt the bacteria potentially. Good for calcium deposits, but so is a razor.

[Biotopeshop]

Hi, we always do this:
White filter wool -discard, don't wash,
Black/Blue bio sponge - wash, don't discard (wash using the water drained from the aquarium)

For the filter housing - use a clean white filter wool to clean internally.
Hoses: Rinse with tap water
Impeller: rinse with tap water
Filter Media: rinse with aquarium water

If you have concerns about having to strip the cannister filter each time, you can install a pre-filter, fill it with filter media/ wool and this lessens the frequency to wash your cannister filter.

If we are using other types of filter such internal or bio filter, we will just rinse the media in the water drained from the aquarium.

Best regards

Thio

[StanChung]

Soap is alkaline so to neutralise it, use some vinegar or acid like fresh lemon juice. The rinse with tap water. reseed filter as necessary.

I try to reuse the white filter wool for as long as I can till it goes seriously out of shape. It's the last stage of the filtration in the my canister.

[Shadow]

By the way is this new (just bought new/second hand) filter or just monthly filter maintenance?

[pentagon]

this is a 2nd hand filter, trying to clean up.

[StanChung]

In future, use a mild solution of bleach. Preferbly not with the media unless you want to disinfect/burn off some organic material as well. I use 2:10 bleach/water, soak for a few hours and then pour away, neutralise with anti chlorine for an hour. Test the water with some chlorine tester just in case. You should be able to smell residue chlorine if there is residue. Smells like swimming pool water.

Instead of bleach, you can use PP[potassium permanganate] 1/8 teaspoon, dissolve it in the filter together with the media for an hour or two. Rinse thoroughly and add some anti chlorine to soak for 10 minutes.

You have to reseed the filter after this process.

[mozaqua]

I have use Hydrogen peroxide or Potassium permanate for washing old gravel. I don't recommend reusing gravel or filter media after it has dried out though.

I still believe it is best not to use bleach to clean parts of the filter or tank. It is better to use a strong salt water solution, or peroxide (PP needs to be washed throughly) Also peroxide is safer on the environment since it breaks down completely into pure water and oxygen when spent. Bleach has chlorine which is difficult to break down, and pp can only be diluted( it is a poisonous salt).
But for normal mainetence, no need for any chemicals.

[StanChung]

Bleach is chlorine based and get evaporated into the air like from our tap water. Anti chlorine binds it.

We[aquascapers] use bleach all the time to clean our CO2 diffusers and other filter inlet outlets. Even on rocks to melt BBA and GSA. Not really a big issues unless you have very sensitive shrimps like CRS.

PP is oxidised once it's brown and is commonly used for treatment of external bacteria/parasites for fishes.

These are the common chemicals used for equipment disinfection like nets, aquariums etc. IMHO not really an issue. No more damaging to the environment than detergent/soaps that we use more IMHO.