kermadum Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 I've been converting my marine tank to freshwater and was emptying out the canister filter so I could replace all the filter material etc and reuse the filter, my instinct was to chuck out the ceramic noodles and buy new ones, but as I was doing it curiosity struck. Could they be washed thoroughly and reused in the filter? If anyone has any thoughts I'd be curious to hear them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Betta Supply Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hello If you wanted to recyle ceramic noodle i have found the best way for me is to wash and then soak in Benzalkonium Chloride for 24hours wash out again and again and leave in the sun to dry out completely and there now almost new again Cheers Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermadum Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Thanks Warren! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 (edited) don't use ceramic noodles for a marine tank... you're better off investing in live rock in your tank and using coral rubble in your filter / sump..... Regarding Benzalkonium Chloride - be very careful even suggesting the use of a chemical that is both corrosive and hazardous to health for hobby fish keeping use.... ceramic noodles are cheap enough to throw out and get new stock if you need them.... read the MSDS: comes in powdered and liquid forms.... Potential Acute Health Effects: Very hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Hazardous in case of skin contact (corrosive), of eye contact (corrosive). The amount of tissue damage depends on length of contact. Eye contact can result in corneal damage or blindness. Skin contact can produce inflammation and blistering. Inhalation of dust will produce irritation to gastro-intestinal or respiratory tract, characterized by burning, sneezing and coughing. Severe over-exposure can produce lung damage, choking, unconsciousness or death. Inflammation of the eye is characterized by redness, watering, and itching. Skin inflammation is characterized by itching, scaling, reddening, or, occasionally, blistering. Classified Reproductive system toxin female, Reproductive system toxin male [POSSIBLE]. The substance may be toxic to kidneys, liver, heart, gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, central nervous system (CNS). Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage. Repeated exposure of the eyes to a low level of dust can produce eye irritation. Repeated skin exposure can produce local skin destruction, or dermatitis. Repeated inhalation of dust can produce varying degree of respiratory irritation or lung damage. Edited March 10, 2011 by fishbites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neffy Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Wow i wouldnt go near the stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Wow.. same with me too Neffy. And you put this in your tank? :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermadum Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Where were you five years ago when I set up the marine tank fishbites,? I did have live rock and coral rubble as well as the noodles, I just didn't have to ask the question about recycling those. I decided to just use boiling water then dried them in the sun. If it does something unfortunate I guess we'll know soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 The trouble with ceramic noodles and canister filters is that they take out all the gunk but store it in the canister then pass tank water through it... never really effectively removing it from the system..... with marine tanks the live rock does the biological filtration for you and it tends not to store the gunk that canisters do - regular water changes and good tank maintenance will work well..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Betta Supply Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Hi All Well Benzalkonium Chloride has been a aquarium industry standard for sterilizing equipment for over 50 years and can be purchased from any aquarium shop, it is most commonly use in sterilizing nets and utensils that are transferred from one tank to another so to stop the spread of any disease, also vessels that have been exposed to disease. It is in most products of this nature and there are only 3 brands that list it as the active ingredient and that would be seachem, tetra and aristopet. I have used aristopet aquamaster brand as it is the same as the others but a lot cheaper for over 5 years and have never had any reaction to it nor have any of my fish become sterile, a product I would be much more inclined to use than bleach. Benzalkonium Chloride is also heavily used in the cosmetic industry as a cleansing replacement to alcohol (ever had pimples) as to any MSDS, kidneys, liver, heart, gastrointestinal tract diseases or cardiovascular system, central nervous system, respiratory irritation or lung damage is most likely even repeated skin exposure can produce local skin destruction, or dermatitis. Read any MSDS for a aquarium product ingredient. You have more chance of these problems by smoking a cigarette on a street corner smelling the cars as they pass by. It’s a bit like putting a label on a drill (not to be used on humans) use some common sense, Have a nice day Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted May 8, 2011 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 Didn't really want to start a new topic with this here already... I was given a couple tanks the other day, there are these noodles inside the filter, but are really moldly (still damp from however many years ago the previous owners had used it).. could I just clean them really well? As this is for tropical, not marine. Curious, thanks. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted May 8, 2011 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 Personally I wouldn't reuse media that came from someone else. Wouldn't cost that much to replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted May 8, 2011 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 OK, thanks 'Razzi, I'll replace then. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts