Equipment Review and Discussion :: do we need to clean the bio ball in aquarium filter?

[jameshermanto]

i always clean the sponge and clean the ceramic ring when i do changes water, 1 weeks 1 times.
but.... do we need to clean and rinse those bio balls and how to clean it. Its full of brown thing. and eeeqq (hooekkk..) i cant just think of it. stop it.
how to clean it? how much do we need to clean it. thx for helping btw.

[mikee]

jam-anto - You should not clean your ceramic rings or bio- balls. They are covered with the bacteria that you need to keep your water clean. Save some of the water and the media in a container together, to keep them alive. Clean your sponge and replace your carbon and put back together. m.

[jozzep]

I just give the canister with the biorings a little rinse with water and put it back in.

[untsmurf]

That's what I do. And it's never on purpose. I pull everything out and start cleaning, then once I start rinsing the bio stuff, I remember to not clean it. So, I stop and put it back,

[Azfar]

Untsmurf - We're same~! Hihihi.. I always clean everything even the filter itself.. once I remember the bio stuff.. I just put aside.. huhu..

[papoopeepoo]

Rinse the bio media with water that you take out of your turtle tank during a water change. Try not to let it sit for too long, if the media dries out all the bacteria will be lost.

I think it's recommended that bio media is replaced every 6 months in increments. Make sure to keep some of the old media to help cycle the tank faster.

[BullDog]

I put some tank water in a bucket, and give the biomedia a swish around in it to give them a clean. While I'm cleaning the rest of the filter, I let the biomedia sit in the bucket of tank water, and when I'm ready to put it all back together, I give the biomedia a stir and then put it back in the filter.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Technically the bio media like the BioStars and bio balls and ceramic rings are supposed to be replaced every 6-12 months, at least that's what Rena says. I'm not saying you are supposed to, but they suggest it. I'd imagine if it is plastic, it could start to break down over time. As for cleaning them, if you really want to, you can. But if you do actually clean them, as others said, you'll kill the bacteria and you'll need to wait for them to recolonize.