Tank maintenance and keeping BB happy....

[Malawi Monster]

A few things that I have thought about but I dont really have the answer....I always assumed a few things but figured I would ask the MFK world.

During my cleaing days....when I remove my (2) XP3's for cleaning...I general just pull the bio basket out....dip it in a bucket filled with tank water to remove debris then just set it off to the side to clean the sponges. Am I hurting any BB by just letting the bio basket just sit in the air for up to 20 mins? I know they stay moist....never dry out...but is this something I should be concerened about?

Also....when I remove my rocks for cleaning of the sand bed...I just pull them out and place them in a container for however long it takes me to clean...then put them back in....could be up to 30 minutes....would this kill whatever BB that is attached to them?

Thanks in advance....

 

[RustyHook]

Yea I always keep them all in the bucket filled with old water till I'm done

 

[bob965]

I do it the same way you do, I don't think it's a problem, unless you're taking 9 hours to clean your tank. If you're really concerned about it, you could drain off two separate buckets of tank water. One can be your wash bucket, and the other can be a rinse/storage bucket till the stuff is ready to go back in the tank.

 

[EastBay]

Well, if you've been doing that way for a while and have never had a problem, I'm guessing it's OK.

 

[Cliff519]

Personally, I would not clean both filters at the same time. I have two filters on all of my tanks. I alternate filter claenings just incase something goes wrong.

Sound like your routine is working for your tank

 

[epond83]

the bacteria use oxygen so a little air won't kill them, so long as they don't dry out as you mentioned.

I would say they same about the rocks, but they have far less surface area then the bio media. So if any die off did accure on the rocks it shouldn't be a problem.

As EastBay points out if it works for you then it works! I think people sometimes focus too much on BB (yes i know they are what keeps our tanks working) as long as you never show ammoina or nitrites then your tank is fine and the BB are fine.