Good bacteria

Wanted to run this by someone else...Went to LFS today. Asked about sponge filters...When I do a water change I put new sponges in and then clean the old ones for the next change out 9they dry). I am thinking that this would kill any good bacteria in the sponge. I was told to rinse repeatedly in a container of RODI water then place the sponge back in the HOB filter. Does everyone agree?

Reason asking is I just recently had an ammonia spike from adding phytoplankton and reef roids too close together-@ least I think that is what caused it.

I've done the H2O change and everything is down cept for the ammonia, going to give it a bit more time before considering another (It's @ .5).

Thanks for you replies!

 

When you say "sponge filter", do you mean the air-driven ones or do you mean a sponge insert that say a HOB or canister filter might have? If it's the latter, I'd lose the sponges altogether.

FW will indeed kill the nitrifying bacteria. It's best to lightly rinse them in used tankwater from your WC's. You'll still lose some bacteria, but at least you won't be starting from scratch.

Quality live phyto should not cause a NH3 spike...in fact, live phyto will use the NH3 as food. However, some phyto brands ship their product with some of the "fertilizer" in the bottle, and if you add too much, the spike will be from the residual fertilizer. There may also be dead cells or FW phyto in the bottles to boost the "cell count" in the product.

 

Sorry it's been so long but wanted to clarify-you say get rid of the sponges? They ARE the sponges you put in the back of a HOB filter.

Anyone have an opinion on this matter...apparently not

 

They are not needed and become a detritus trap. As long as you have enough Live rock/sand (ie. places for bacteria to grow other than sponges) in the tank you will be fine without them.

 

Oddly enough, given instructions are to rinse periodically in freshwater if used for salt. This, indeed, will kill the bacteria. If you do use them, it's best to rinse in old tank water after a water change. However, you'll most likely find them to be fairly high-maintenance, and as mentioned, unnecessary.

 

have i been doing it all wrong for the past 3 years? i chuck my tunze mechanical filter (floss) in the bin and just pop in a new one every two weeks. the purpose of this filter for me is not to house bacteria (though clearly a plus) but to trap particulate matter and it does a fine job at it.

i regularly look at it before chucking it and you can find all sorts of little critters in the muck (amphipods, asterina, sometimes little bristle worms too) ......that i try and save

 

No. We're referring to the bio-sponge that comes with certain HOBs and canisters, not the mechanical filter.

 

ah...

 

I use some of the tank water I have removed for a water change to rinse the detritus out without killing the beneficial bacteria then place it back in the filter. If I am going to be starting a new system or quarantining some new inhabitants I keep a couple HOB filters around and keep a fresh new sponge in my sump for them so I can have it charged with bacteria when I need it. I do not reuse the QT or hospital tank sponges for fear of introudcing something bad into my systems so I replace it with new each time, they are cheap.