# Stagnant Water Left in Canister filter Help



## jpn8801 (Nov 4, 2008)

I have a Canister Filter Problem:

Eheim 2217 Canister filter that was turned off & left with tank water inside with all Media & Filter Pads, for over 6 months.

Water of course became stagnant. You could imagine the smell. I took everything out, trashed the filter pads and proceeded to wash the filter media.

After rinsing the media out I left the media outside to dry for several days. (Didn't Help) I rinsed the media repeatedly for 1 week, left outside to dry. The stagnant water smell is pretty faint.

The canister, hoses & quick disconnects:
I rinsed several times (Didn't help) I decided to run distilled vinegar & water through the canister and soak the parts for 24 hours & air dry. After all the components air dried it seemed as tho it helped, I decided to place all the components in zip lock bags until I was ready to use them.

After several weeks I opened the zip lock bags with the components and there was the smell, hoses, quick disconnects, canister, everything.

I've tried leaving crumpled news paper inside the canister and seal it, I tried baking soda & water, I believe the canister with all the parts as well as the media is ruined from the stagnant water. What do you guys think?

You wanna hear something really sad....

I in trusted 2 people to take care of my 55 gallon tank while I was gone out of state, I had 16 african cichlids and a Green Phantom Pleco with 3, YES.. 3 Eheim 2217 Canisters. I wrote out detailed instructions and I explained that if they had any problems, call me.

Long story short-
Tank water was getting hazy, They decided to clean the filters per my instructions. When trying to remove the filter they did not turn the disconnect so water got everywhere, couldn't remove the top so they busted every clamp around the top and left it, the other 2 they just left unplugged then proceeded to take all the fish out of the tank and took them to a fish store and sold them. Mind you, I did not receive 1 Call. Then when moving back I found all my fish gone & all 3 canisters filled with stagnant water.

At least they drained the fish tank right?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

The smell is from dead bacteria and stuff left in the water. It will smell BADDDD. No big problem but vinegar will not clean things like this. Vinegar is a weak acid and does have some uses but you may find it actually has bacteria left in vinegar which will make vinegar spoil as it gets old. You need to move up to a bleach water soak for actually cleaning the canister and parts to kill the bacteria causing the smell. There is no good bacteria left so no need to worry about killing that. Does the tank also smell? The easy way to restart the system is to fill the tank, add the filter and any media you feel is worth saving, and add a 1/2 cup of bleach. Get the cheap stuff that does not have any scent like lemon and such. Just cheap liquid bleach. Let it run in the tank and filter, then wipedown the inside near the top rim. Let it run at least overnight so that all the parts get a good soak. Don't get the bleach water on clothes or anything that it might make holes in. Once you are done cleaning, drain the water and rinse the tank and filter to dilute the bleach. If you can set it all out to dry, it will then be ready to use. It is a slow process to start the tank and get through the new tank cycle, so any bleach should be long gone before you get around to adding fish. If you are still concerned about left over bleach, use a double dose of Prime or whatever you use to remove chlorine just for the peace of mind.

Best of luck. You've been let down already but you can recover.


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## moneygetter1 (Jan 8, 2006)

Tough break. Not the end of the world though. Learning experiences are sometimes painful but you work thru it. Toss all that media & start from 'scratch'. Running the bleach as suggested above is the way to go. 24/48 hrs should be sufficient. Air dry but don't seal in bags. Cycle w/ new media & get back in the game. Best of luck, "T"


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Good point on storing the media. Even though it may seem totally dry to the touch, sealing is not the best way. Leave it exposed to air so that it will not mold or fungus. There is always some bacteria even from the air and if sealed just the moisture and dust from air can go bad. Better left open. For the soft media which is pretty cheap, replacing might be as good but to me the hard ceramics are pretty pricey to replace and they will bleach well. Depends on how gross they really look but they should clean up well enough. Lots of times it is a matter of how you want to pay. Through working or the back pocket!


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