Cleaning canister filter media

[serbusfish]

I set up my tank around the end of september and it finished cycling around christmas time, but its now near the end of january and I havent cleaned the filter media yet.

So ive decided im going to do it this week, but I was wondering if I needed to rinse all the media or just some of it? In the filter I have a layer of foam pads, a basket of white balls and 2 baskets of white rings.

Im really paranoid im going to rinse them too much and damage the BB

[Taurus]

Rinse the media in used tank water or dechlorinated tap water. Should be fine.

[Lady Hobbs]

Like Taurus says. Everything can just be rinsed out. I use filter floss in my canister, tho, for fine polishing. I replace that every month and just rinse out all the rest.

[jeffs99dime]

+1 Rinse in tank water. Make sure you keep the bioballs and ceramic rings submersed in used water while you are cleaning your pads. It's a good idea to have a few aquarium dedicated containers for this reason.

[serbusfish]

Ok cheers guys :)

[dbosman]

Also, don't be too surprised or worried if the media isn't filthy.
Depending on the filter intake screen size and volume, there may not be much gunk in the filter media. A canister on my 75g has been running since summer and only the filter floss needed heavy rinsing.