# accidentally put my filter cartridege pad under tap water help.



## chriryan85 (Jul 4, 2013)

help i put my filter cartridge under water from the tap what do i do the fish seem fine i didnt really scrape the gunk off because i realised my mystake stopped and put it back in the filter. my cichlids and redtail black seem fine. but theres a slight whitish fog. i put some water conditioner in and the fish seemed to like that. please dont scoled me im a beginner and feel bad enough and stressedhelp:


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

ok..right off i am going to scold you...write in proper sentences.i'm getting a headache.. lol..
ok..now for your booboo.....no biggie..i do it all of the time..and on purpose..and have not lost a single fish from doing it.quit playing with chemicals in the fish tank.about the only thing you need is a simple dechlorinating agent.the white fog can be a couple of things , but is normally just a small bacteria bloom that will clear up soon on it's own. 
you don't have to feel bad..we all screw up every now and then.


----------



## chriryan85 (Jul 4, 2013)

Thanks feel a lot better.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I do it too. Ideally, you rinse in dechlorinated water, but often the gunk is too thick to get it clean by bucket dumping. A tap water rinse is still better than replacing a cartridge. You don't kill all the bacteria. You may get a "mini-cycle" so go easy on the feeding for a few days.


----------



## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

I use the sink sprayer to clean out my filter carts all the time. Never had a problem. Sometimes I put them right back in the tank, other times, because I have alot of spare carts, I let them dry out. The little bit of chlorine you may get in the tank won't be enough to hurt anything. It won't kill off your cycle either because the good bacteria grow on the gravel, plants, glass, decorations and everything else in the tank.


----------



## chriryan85 (Jul 4, 2013)

Thanks very much guys turns out I really did nothing wrong


----------



## Jaysee (Apr 24, 2010)

I too wash my media in tap water. But you are right, there are a lot of people that will tell you how terrible it is. And in certain specific circumstances it is terrible. I mean, you wouldn't want to wash your newly cycled filter media in tap water, but once the bacteria is established, it is not nearly as fragile. In fact it's quite resilient. 


Sent from Petguide.com App


----------

