Rinse and reuse until it's a pain to use what's left. Wrap that around the new media to seed the new material. Discard it next time.
I like to use two different types of media in my filters. One gets a cursory rinse while the other gets a through rinse. It helps - not always perfectly - to keep enough bacteria alive.
On smaller tanks, I use a sponge filter and either an HOB or canister. The sponge can run for a LONg time before needing a cleaning that is dirty enough to consider just tossing the sponge.
Hi sunyang~ I reuse the same media over and over (same media in my auqaclear for about a year now) and rinse out the media in the water taken out during a water change. I sometimes add filter floss to my HOB and in that case I do often toss it out (once a month or so) and replace it but still keep the sponges/other media.
I just rinse it. Even if it gets bad, I will hose it down before I replace it, even though I am killing off any bacteria, it's still cheaper than replacing and takes less time than going to the store. I have had the same media for almost 3 years now and it's not going to need replacing any time soon. I do recommend using tank water (in a bucket) and do it every water change or so to keep them from getting bad enough to need be hosed down but I personally get lazy.
I reuse the same filter media forever. Also be sure not to rinse it out under the tap, the chlorine will kill all the beneficial bacteria. Only use the old tank water during water changes to rinse the goop off the filter media.
Thanks for the input, this question have been with me for a long time! LOL, I was thinking of just rinsing it but didn't know if it will be better to replace a new one. The suggestion from aquaclear says to replace the carbon once every 2 weeks. I was like, that is alot of money there! LOL. I guess it will be cool to rinse it with tank water. Thank you!
Ditto:
Sponges: Gently squeeze them out.
Floss: Slosh it around, and replace it when it starts to matt up and cannot be reshaped.
Carbon: Don't use it
Peat Moss: replace monthly
Coral sand or oyster shell grit: keep it in its nylon stocking and slosh it around
Ceramic bio-noodles: slosh them around
The nitrifying bacteria grows on surfaces in a pretty strong biofilm that will tolerate reasonable amount of cleaning action. The sponges eventually start to break down.
I have been reusing filter media for many years. Floss (quilt batting) is the one that really does not hold up very well.
I have restacked all my HOB filters to use media in the way it is in the Aquaclear filters: A thick stack of media way out performs a thin cartridge for trapping and holding the debris.
Here is one that you can find in walmart, or any hobby store that sells fabrics. This particular link is for a smaller size (crib), but that only refers to the amount of batting you are purchasing. Any of them should do the trick. You could even just get the poly-fil that is used for pillows and such
Yes, I use quilt batting. I have a lifetime supply, with enough for just one blanket! I got the thicker material, and usually just use a single layer, rarely a double layer.
For filters that don't use cartridges it is easy: squeeze the sponges a couple of times and rinse the pouch with bio-media a couple of times. The media in such filters lasts forever.
If you are using a cartridge-based HOB, washing is a rather difficult thing to do. Cartridges are almost impossible to wash properly. You can't squeeze a cartridge. In fact, they are intentionally designed to make you buy a new cartridge instead of attempting to wash and reuse the old one.
For this reason, I'd avoid cartridge-based filters.
You might also look into using a pre-filter sponge that fits around your intake pipe. It collects debris before it enters the main filter and doubles as another surface for beneficial bacteria to grow on. Just rinse it in tank water when you do water changes to keep it from getting clogged.
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