nano filter questions

I have the sponges in my filter chambers. I am out and need to do a water change. Can I rinse them and re use them? And just change my Carbon? Just wondering. Thanks.

 

Yes it is probably better to rinse them IMO. They house some benificial bacteria. When you take some water out rinse them in the waste water you take out so you dont kill off any of the bacteria. Most mechanical filter media doesnt need to be replaced until it starts clogging up and cant be rinsed reasonably clean anymore.

 

Will rinsing with tap water cause me issues? I guess that was my other question.

 

Yes that will kill off any good bacteria that is built up in them. If you replace it everytime you clean the filter than every time you are taking a bit of your bio filtration away from the tank suddenly which could in turn cause a mini cycle. If there is more than one sponge in there I would advise only replacing one at a time so the other can colonize from the older one you didnt replace that time.

 

Hmmm Ok. I have 3 sponges in there. 2 in the first chamber and 1 in the 2nd where teh carbon sits. I had a bit of a nitrite spike today and my salinity has been climbing. I want to try and get things back on track. My corals are starting to react a bit. Fish look ok not stressed but corals are looking a bit stressed. I made a fresh batch of water tonight and have been doing weekly water changes but I also have been changing the sponge filter things with new ones. All 3. I thought it was not right but never posted about it. Thanks for the help. I will just swap out one tomorrow and replace teh carbon and check water parameters in a week to see if there is a change.

 

The spike could be from replacing them and taking out that much bacteria, filter sponges getting clogged with gunk and making nitrates or it could be completely unrelated. Your salinity shouldnt be climbing though. Do you top off with fresh water often enough. With a nano probably every day.

 

I top off with RODI water and about every 3 days. I don't think I top off enough. Ithink I have been letting the water level get to low.

 

Sounds like you just need to top off more often to keep the salinity down.