I notice a lot of reviewers say they rinse the cartridges off in tank water. WHY? Why not tap water,and how long can you keep tank water sitting around just for rinsing?
1671320
Mostly because they are worried about rinsing the beneficial bacteria off of their used filter cartridges. I don't do that, I just rinse it off in tap water, but generally you clean the filters at the same time you do water changes, so it works out that you have the tank water hanging around. In my opinion, if the beneficial bacteria can be killed in your tank by rinsing the filter cartridge with tap water, then you have a very weak tank and maybe need some supplement.
1671321
I rinse my cartridges right in my kitchen sink. Plenty of power to flush out carbon powder and it does not retain hardly any chlorine or other harmful chemicals.
1671322
Tank water will not destroy the beneficial bacterial like tap water. But I use tap water because I need that strong stream from a hose to clean the cartridges. You seem to be asking about the media refillable cartridge so unless they are really clog, I would just use the tank water when you do a water change. No need to keep tank water around just for that. For the actual filter floss material cartridge, use a strong stream from a hose. Those cartridges are expensive so I reuse them whenever I can.
1671323
If you are using this for bio-media like Matrix then you want to rinse with tank water so you don't kill the beneficial bacteria; tap water contains chlorides that kill beneficial bacteria. You don't need to keep aquarium water sitting around. When you do a partial water change just syphon some of the aquarium water into a bucket and rinse it in that water.
1671324
They rinse in tank water because tap water will kill the beneficial bacteria. As for the tank water just take some water out of tank into a bucket, rinse the filter media the. Discard the water
1671325
I have always used tap water and it does no harm, even to my delicate discus fish
1671326
Tap water is chlorinated, and has other chemicals not wanted by your fish. Take some tank water out of the tank to rinse your filters each time or use purified water to rinse. If tank is used discard the water after rinsing. Never add tap water to your tank
1671327
Tap water will kill the beneficial bacteria that is living on the filter floss. If you are using the cartridge in a filter with bio wheels or other bio media then is not necessary to use tank water as the the other media will contain plenty of bacteria to maintain your system. If you use a filter with only a cartridge (not the best plan) then its a good idea to use fresh tank water that is close to the same temperature to rinse so don't kill the good bacteria living on the cartridge.
1413653
I have always just used tap water and have not had any problems. I don't think distilled, filtered, or pre-boiled water is necessary.
276950
I own two of these Units and they work great with the Upgraded $99 filter (Winix Size 21 Washable Ultimate Filter Cartridge (114190) ). I have tried washing the filters and I would say once max. I don't know who is rinsing them six times but I cant get anywhere near the same performance even after one wash with either sets of filters. That's the part they don't tell you. Every six months another $99 bucks for a filter. They work excellent though.RT
849519
It depends on the usage. I have the unit in my office reception area and it gets a lot of use. I've changed the cartridges twice in two years and the water tastes clean.
1054489
I have been using regular tap water in mine. I live in Tucson where the water is pretty clear and good tasting. Hope that helps. I also cleaned the wicks (not filters) with very hot water from the tap. It works fine. I also put an Antimicrobial Cleaning Cartridge in the resevor to kill any bacteria once a month. I buy it at Target. It's called... Protec Model PC-1
107618
I usually rinse with tap water and dry well. Have used a little WD-40 because sliding tabs stick and become difficult to slide open. Works fine as long as I do that though.
1675263
Yes I have used tap water in mine for years. Just make sure to use the PC 1 cartridge And back flushthe filter in the sink every time you refill the water tanks. To back flush filter just put filter in sink withstopper in and with filter standing with the open side up run water into center of filter until sink pretty full.Then drain sink with drain outside filter and any sediment that is flushed out will go down the drain.
1550509
I use tap water, but I only make enough to last me a few days. Then the container is cleaned and I start again. If you want to make it last longer, use distilled or purified water. Or boil water and let cool.
465735
I just talked to a representative at the manufacturer. She told me that the cartridges will filter 50 gallons of water per day for about 1 year. Less usage means the filters will last longer. If the water you are filtering is extremely dirty, then they will not last as long. If the flow through the filter slows down, it is time to change the cartridges. Here are the links for the replacement cartridges: http://www.filterwater.com/p-68-inline-gac-cartridge.aspx http://www.filterwater.com/p-133-inline-multistage-cartridge.aspx http://www.filterwater.com/p-69-reverse-osmosis-membrane.aspx
1469646
Just drop it anywhere in the tank; not in the filter. This thing works in addition to the filter. Using both is great.
1217134
You are suppose to keep it the entire life of the cartridge. If you change the water you have to replace the cartridge
1152486
yes...... as long as the the tap water in your area has a reasonably low amount residual minerals, if tap water has a lot of minerals you will just need to replace the cartridges more often as they will get clogged faster.
110988
We pre-filter our water even before putting it into the distiller, so we don't get much build up after a single distillation, but I have friends who have said they experience what you do when using tap water. I'd clean it after ever distillation, and I'd use the product they recommend. It works great. We still do other cleaning with white vinegar, but we think that the stuff in the jar works better.
1997096
was told by Dolce Gusto customer service that we should never leave water in the tank, in other words, just put enough water to brew coffee and then remove tank, empty it and replace. Mine's been taken away today and I won't be seeing it for nearly a month. Hope they can fix problem as I have a large stock of coffee that cost me a lot of money.
1753117
I've been using tap water. It comes with about 10 packets of "lime and scale remover," which makes me think it would be better to use distilled water...but if you don't, you can use these packets to clean the water tank. Hope that helps...
928827
I was wondering the same thing. In my area there is a lot of chlorine in the tap water, (you can smell it). Plus, don't you have to let the water settle to the same temperature as your tank? I've got a lot of money invested in my fish and I'm kind of hesitant about risking killing them all by mistake. I called PetSolutions.com to ask and they said it had to be filtered water. What I started doing is setting the refill buckets up on the platform of my 6 ft. aluminum ladder and letting it siphon back into the tank, that way it doesn't disturb anything.
1416056
You need to buy additional cartridges. The ones they give you are like... Samples? You should order the "Goldfish" ones if you have messy fish, like goldfish (Which need a bigger tank than 10gals) and the "Tropical" for other fish.You need to do weekly water changes of 25% and clean the gravel. That will help with the smell