# huge mistake



## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

Hi guys,

I have heavy planted 29 dirted gallon tank. Today I decided to do unscheduled filter cleaning. I forgot to add prime to water and I rinsed my bio media and sponge in that water. I know everything in that filter died. How screwed up am i? Can my plants take care of the nitrogen cycle? I have things like amazon sword, vals, dwarf hairgrass, java moss and lot of stem plants.

I'm freaking out here guys.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

You're probably fine unless youve got a crazy bioload. If anything maybe feed a bit less for the next little while until your filter repopulates.

Also, in a planted tank, the plants will take care of a great deal of the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, so you'd be covered there I'd expect.


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

Also, remember that the bacteria covers not just your filter, but every other surface in your aquarium. So as long as you dont do anything like add a large increase to the bio-load, you will be fine, the bacteria will re-infiltrate/colonize your filter media quickly enough.

I really do think people under estimate just how tough and persistant these bacteria are. Yes washing out your media will reduce the count, but its not like you are starting from scratch.

If you are still really worried, check your ammonia and nitrite levels, and water change accordinly.


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

GAT said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I have heavy planted 29 dirted gallon tank. Today I decided to do unscheduled filter cleaning. I forgot to add prime to water and I rinsed my bio media and sponge in that water. I know everything in that filter died. How screwed up am i? Can my plants take care of the nitrogen cycle? I have things like amazon sword, vals, dwarf hairgrass, java moss and lot of stem plants.
> 
> I'm freaking out here guys.


If that was your only filter you will most probably have a problem. Make sure about your NO3,2 and ammonia by testing daily for a couple of days. If you see No2 and ammonia rising then find cycled media from someone right away.

Also, the problem is not that you forgot to add prime. if I understood correctly you clean your filter media with tap water? If yes, then you should know that the only proper way to clean filter media is with the water from your tank.


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

I would stop worrying as I have done the same thing on many occations and have not had a problem, I just kept an eye on the ammonia, nitrates and nitrites if you have a spike do a water change. Everything will be good.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

If it was just a normal rinsing, don't worry about it too much, test daily for a couple days, if levels are perfect after 2 or 3 days, you are totally safe.

I had the opposite thing recently, moved all my fish and stuff from a 75 to a 90, used the same canister filter from the 75, but was all new water in the 90 and I had problems with the cycle.

This just shows how much of the bacteria is in the water and decor. The filter isn't everything.

If you see any levels of ammonia or nitrites after about 12 hours, try to seed the bacteria from another tank after doing a water change. But I am sure you are fine.


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

I hope I will be alright. I put a another smaller filter back that was also rinsed before I rinsed the large filter. Luckily I did add prime to the water before I rinsed that media so hopefully I will not have any deaths.

A week should be enough to get the bacteria back in the media right?


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

GAT said:


> I hope I will be alright. I put a another smaller filter back that was also rinsed before I rinsed the large filter. Luckily I did add prime to the water before I rinsed that media so hopefully I will not have any deaths.
> 
> A week should be enough to get the bacteria back in the media right?


the prime has nothing to do with the damage you did with the tap water. The damage happens even if you add prime to tap water. you need TANK water to rinse the media


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

why is that? I am curious because once you add prime you are removing chlorine and other stuff in the water. Am i missing something here? I add tap water + prime to my tank so what is this any different?


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

GAT said:


> why is that? I am curious because once you add prime you are removing chlorine and other stuff in the water. Am i missing something here? I add tap water + prime to my tank so what is this any different?


first of all prime does not remove all the nasty chemicals of the tap water (that is why you need to prepare your new water in a bucket and leave it for some hours before you introduce it to the tank).

secondly, by rinsing with tap water (even with prime) you wash out all the bacteria on the media. If you do it with tank water then you wash out a lot less.

Actually rinsing our media is ONLY in order to clean any gigantic and unnecessary dirt that will create problems in the filter. You still need to leave as much bacteria on it as possible.

Don't forget that media only need a very light rinse and not rubbing, scrubbing, letting it sit in water for time etc etc. fill a bucket with tank water, introduce the media into it, wait 5 seconds, take the media out. that's all


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*cleaning*

the cleaning of your filter media must be done in the removed water not the fresh tap water . the prime is only to remove the clorine from the water


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

Vangelis21 said:


> first of all prime does not remove all the nasty chemicals of the tap water (that is why you need to prepare your new water in a bucket and leave it for some hours before you introduce it to the tank).


Please explain to me how letting water sit for some hours removes "nasty chemicals" as you imply? What other "nasty chemicals" other than the chlorine/chloramine are you concerned about with your water? The chlorine will off-gas over 24hrs, the chloramine on the other hand will not.

Using any of the water-treatment products bind to the chlorine/chloramine happens almost instantly, its not like the reaction that takes place requires hours to complete.



> secondly, by rinsing with tap water (even with prime) you wash out all the bacteria on the media. If you do it with tank water then you wash out a lot less.


This makes NO sense. If the water is treated with prime, the chlorine/chloramine are bound. period. they are no longer harmful. How does that water then wash out all the bacteria?

The more vigorously you rinse out the media, the more bacteria biomass you'll lose, the only way using new water would have a significant negative effect is if the temperature was significantly different, or it was untreated.

The point of using existing tank water is that you keep the media in the same environment, so that you don't inadvertantly kill the bacteria you want to leave behind due to differing conditions.

I'm all for sharing information, but please, do get it right.


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

Vangelis21 said:


> sorry but you don't seem like the person that want's to learn. I shared my experience and knowledge, you are free to follow it or avoid it. No one can tell you what to do. We can only show you the way. have fun


With all due respect, you've got that wrong, Its because I want to learn, and want OTHERS to be able to learn correctly, that I pointed out my concerns in your remarks.

If you're presenting information that isn't accurate to someone who's asking for help/advice/re-assurance you're doing everyone a disservice.

The last thing I would want is someone to read a post containing bad information, and then believe it to be fact, at a minimum wasting time and energy, I don't want to think about worst case...


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

this got out of hand fast

prime removes chlorine from tap water, doesnt help the bacteria directly, all it does is remove the chemicals that can hurt the bacteria.

It is recommended you rinse media in used tank water, this is for two reasons, the water won't kill any bacteria and its free water that you are going to dump anyways. You could just get a bucket of tap water, add prime or whatever you use and rinse it that way but its just a waste of water and prime or whatever you use. Normally when we are rinsing media we are doing a wc at the same time so we just use that water for convenience.

untreated tap water will kill some bacteria, not all. When you rinse media in used water, you do not kill bacteria, but some will be rinsed off, so rinse it as little as possible if it is the main bio media. This isn't a problem in a healthy tank as it grows back fast enough that you don't even notice it.

If you don't want to use prime, stress coat or some other thing to remove chlorine, you can just fill a bucket and let it sit for a while, general rule is 24 hours I believe.

If you have read the whole thread, you will see that the majority of people said there shouldn't be any problems regarding the orginal post of rinsing media in tap water. Just be sure to test for a few days to make sure all is good. If levels are off, do a water change and try to seed it if you can.

On my large tanks, I put tap water into the tank directly with a hose, I add a little stress coat at the beginning, middle and when im done. It is also recommended to turn off filters while doing this though.

I hope this settles any questions you may have.


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Just a last piece of notice/ information. There seems to be a big difference of opinions regarding many tank related issues depending on the culture. If someone even suggested rinsing with tap water the media in europe, he would make enemies fast! Same goes for not letting the water settle for some hours before change. In eurasia now people would be more open to suggestions as the knowledge there is mostly theoretical. Here i see different ways of doing stuff and caring for the fish. I cannot take sides as i only have my european experience which worked great. I like the diversity of opinions and i am looking forward analyzing the pros and cons and finding the best way for everything.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

nobody recommends rinsing media with tap water. It is a bad idea. What we are saying is it's not the end of the world, as in killing off all the bacteria and causing a whole new cycle. It will kill some bacteria and there is a risk of a mini cycle. This is why we said to test for a few days to make sure everything is fine and why we gave directions to do a water change and seed if there are problems.

The original poster knew that using tap water was not good, but they were concerned that it was a huge mistake. We let them know it was not as bad as they originally thought and to put their mind at ease.

Using tap water is bad but not that bad, not like they cleaned the media with bleach or something.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

pyrrolin said:


> nobody recommends rinsing media with tap water.


Actually, I think it very much depends on where you are and whats' in your tap water. Most urban places have chlorinated treated tap water, but not everywhere works like that. If you're off a well, you're fine just filling up straight from the tap - similarly, you could wash any media you want and be fine.

But for most of Southern Ontario, it's common knowledge: don't use tap water to rinse your biological media.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I wish I had a well, would save a fortune on stress coat


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

thanks for the reply guys. I do know that i shouldn't rinse the filter in tap water. I usually clean the sponge and bio media lightly to loosen up the dead leaves and other crap that get in there. I do this when i change the water but for no reason reason I decided to do another rinse on Sunday.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Vangelis21 said:


> Just a last piece of notice/ information. There seems to be a big difference of opinions regarding many tank related issues depending on the culture. If someone even suggested rinsing with tap water the media in europe, he would make enemies fast! Same goes for not letting the water settle for some hours before change. In eurasia now people would be more open to suggestions as the knowledge there is mostly theoretical. Here i see different ways of doing stuff and caring for the fish. I cannot take sides as i only have my european experience which worked great. I like the diversity of opinions and i am looking forward analyzing the pros and cons and finding the best way for everything.


Most likely this comes from the different qualities of tap water from all those different regions. It's important to note that not all tap water is the same. Far from it in fact!

However, since this forum deals with GTA aquarists, we often make the assumption that we have the same kind of tap water.

As for the OP's concern, it really depends on your bioload and your plant load. As noted, bacteria colonizes every surface area in your tank, not just on your filter. It's just that filters are designed to have huge surface areas compared to smooth glass panels.

As an example, my 20-gallon moss tank only uses a sponge pre-filter on a HOB . The HOB doesn't even have any filter media in it, just a bunch of lucky bamboo stalks.

I also happen to routinely wash that pre-filter in running tap water, to no ill effect. I'm not worried because I have a good plant-to-bioload ratio.

So if you're worried, just do some ammonia and nitrate tests. If they come out at 0ppm, then there's nothing to worry about. If they show measurable levels, then you need to take remedial action.


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