crap on blue sponge!!

[romsoccer12]

i have a sponge in the back of my tank for filtering and i whent to mess with the pump because it was a little loose and accidently bumped the sponge and all this crap poured out and filled my tank making it foggy i took out the sponge and cleaned it and put it back in is the stuff that came out of the sponge bad and if it is should i ever even touch the sponge to clean it or leave it be ? thx

[thegrun]

The sponge should be replaced with a clean sponge every three days. Then clean the dirty sponge and let it dry out to kill any bacteria that may be trying to colonize it. I rotate 4 sets of filter pads (sponges in your case), putting in a fresh one every three days. If you don't, the sponge will start to produce nitrates.

[romsoccer12]

so all that stuff that sprayed into my tank isnt dangerous to my animals in it?

[thegrun]

I wouldn't make a regular habit of doing it, but one time shouldn't be a problem.

[PRDubois]

+1 to thegrun
Your tank will be fine just start cleaning them more often.

[Whys]

This just in... Bob craps pants. :D

It's just detritus. If it's really bad, it might be time for a water change, but that's really it.

Grun, is it really necessary to dry it out and kill the bacteria? As long as it's clean of detritus wouldn't it be acting the same as the sandbed?

[RicksReefs]

yup, i see no point in killing beneficial bacteria and rinse all filter materials in old saltwater to remove the crud and keep the bacteria.