Re-seeding some dead biomedia

[DaveB]

I had an FX5 whose media got sterilized and boiled. But then I got distracted and left it in a bucket for a while and it developed that dead-stuff stinky grossness to it.

I rinsed it out a little at a time and re-filled the filter, which I now have running just to keep water moving through it on an empty tank.

I want to re-seed it with some stability. Do I need to change the water on the empty tank and/or wait a while to make sure it's clean and ready? Or is the stink just ammonia that'll help with the seeding and I should just get started right now?

 

[KaiserSousay]

If it were me, I`d bleach bath the whole show.
Why start with questionable materials.
Once all is fresh, I would start adding ammonia to 2-4ppm.
Fishless cycle the rig.
Never used stability, so no opinion on it.

 

[Clay]

agree 100%

 

[DaveB]

I thought bleaching bio media would be too dangerous given the surface area and exposure. Seems like it be impossible to rinse.

Or in this case is there a light bleach + time + de-chlorinator overdose technique that is tried and true?

I am quite willing to do that. But only if I can be 100% sure it is clear. I lost three fish last week in a mystery toxin incident and while unlikely, it may have been bleach remnants.

 

[KaiserSousay]

I run filters that take micron rated cartridges.
Even the maker advises bleach for cleaning the cartridge.
Overnight, the cartridge sits in a 25% bleach bath.
I give it a rinse from the tap.
After 3 days of sitting all residual bleach is gone.
It`s chlorine.
Sodium Hypochlorite.
What you buy at the store is usually a 6% solution to start with.
Then you cut it some more with water.
No matter the strength of the bleach solution, it will “air” out.
That`s why most municipalities have switched over to Chloramines for water treatment, it dosen`t “air” out.
At any percentage, after a bath, you would rinse well.
Give it a few days. It will be good to go.
If you are at all nervous about the process, a soak and rinse with water treated with a quality dechlorinator, like Prime, can have you ready to roll sooner.

 

[DaveB]

No matter the strength of the bleach solution, it will “air” out.

Yeah, that's why I don't believe it's possible that bleach was the toxin that got my orangeheads last week. It had been over a week since any bleach residue had been in that tank. And even then it was simply tank plants that had been bleached and rinsed that were sitting inside it. No way it was still a problem.

If you are at all nervous about the process, a soak and rinse with water treated with a quality dechlorinator, like Prime, can have you ready to roll sooner.

I was nervous about using bleach on anything a few weeks ago and started a thread here where Pharoah and others eased my fears. Thiings went smoothly and I even got the mildew out of a 50ft python. It was great. I just assumed with media things would be different since it doesn't really ever fully air or dry out, as evidenced by how nasty this stuff got sitting around. I guess in theory if I had space I could spread it all out...

Anyway, so do you think maybe the 25% then some rinsing then a few days of circulating in the empty tank would be sufficient?

25% solution right in the FX5 itself or should I spread it out some into a few buckets?


(On an unrelated note, speaking of rinsing and FX5s... I rinsed my other one while draining a different tank last night and man what a mess. All my scrubbies were filthy and the mech pads on the edges were basically clean. What the heck is the point of them if they're not going to keep my biomedia clean? I might as well hack the trays and just stuff the whole thing full of bio like an Eheim. Which is kind of pointless, because with this much flow it's useful for mech...)

 

[KaiserSousay]

Anyway, so do you think maybe the 25% then some rinsing then a few days of circulating in the empty tank would be sufficient?

25% solution right in the FX5 itself or should I spread it out some into a few buckets?

If it were me. I would run the filter with the bleach water in the tank.
Kill em all at one time.
12-18 hours of this going should kill off anything short of weapon grade Ebola.
From there, if your in a rush, treat everything to a nice Prime laced bath, otherwise, let it all "air" for no less than 3 days.

 

[DaveB]

No rush. I'll add the bleach now. WC it tomorrow night, then do some prime AND three days of air.

Then I'll test it with mollies or feeders, just to be safe. Then I'll bomb it with ammonia and stability.

Edit: Crap. 25% of 30 gallons is more bleach than I have. Gonna have to run to the store. This is the smallest tank that my FX5 return won't overflow, splash, or flop its way out of.

 

[KaiserSousay]

Then I'll test it with mollies or feeders, just to be safe.

I wouldn`t do that.
Feeder fish, bought at a LFS, are notorious carriers of disease.
Mollies can bring bad things into the fresh tank as well.
I would use fish I intended to keep, if I was not going to do a fishless cycle.
Test kit, WC supplies, a small number of keepers, and a close eye on water parameters would be my method.
I really prefer a fishless cycle.
The only 100% certain way to cycle with no disease worries or harm to the fish.
When cycle is done, you can fully stock a fresh tank.
Maybe you can completely trust the stock in your LFS.
If that`s the case, Roll on.

 

[DaveB]

The mollies would be from one of the tanks in my house. I agree about the feeders. Not sure why I even said that.

It's funny... this is the first filter I'll have cycled on its own in at least five years. Discus paranoia has gotten to me... before I would simply have set it up and started it up on a tank with other established filters and let it seed that way. But now I'm too scared to.

Even though I'm sure there's something I've overlooked that is crossing all my tanks and water anyway, rendering the separation meaningless...