Hey guys i was wondering if anyone has advice on how to safely clean any bugs out of a second hand cannister filter as i got one with a tank a while back but when i opened it the stench would have put a pig off its dinner " i deffinatly feel sorry for the fish living in the previous owners tank i chucked out the media their and then gave it a wipe out but i am not game to put it near any of my tanks untill i know its bug and desease free. Any help would be appreciated.

i'd use chlorine the swimming pool shop stuff or a non scented bleach and fill it and even run it for a white with a good strong mix of either chemical and water

Agreed.

I ran my 2nd hand canister for a week (probably a bit of over kill) through a bucket of water and unscented bleach mix (5L bleach to 10L water).

I then ran the canister in a mix of Prime in a new 15L of water for a week (quadrouple dose for the first 15L), adding prime to suit 15L of water daily.

Yeah it was probably overkill, but I wanted to make sure it was clean. My fish are still alive and never had an issue

cheers for the replys guys i will do just that

What is Prime?
Ty.

Googles ur friend darls

Prime® is the complete and concentrated conditioner for both fresh and salt water. Prime® removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. Prime® converts ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily removed by the tank’s biofilter. Prime® may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity. Prime® detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concentration levels. Prime® also promotes the production and regeneration of the natural slime coat. Prime® is non-acidic and will not impact pH. Prime® will not overactivate skimmers. Use at start-up and whenever adding or replacing water.



http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Prime.html

You can leave it in the sun to dry out will kill every thing and can then be on a tank in no time

Prime is a water neutraliser that binds all the bad things until the filter is working 100% and can render these harmless by the full cycle being achieved

hope that helps X 2

Junkie

ty to scott & fish junkie.

do you think that it's really worth buying prime when you can just cycle the tank for a week or so before adding fish?

you will need to remove chlorine, chloramine and ammonia every time you do a water change so YES a very valuable investment