As stated below, just rinse the darn things, don't "scrub" them! One of my
biggest faux pas was the first year I cleaned my biofilter . . . eewWWW! it
was all SLIMEY! So I scrubbed it squeeky clean. It took WEEKS to redevelop
biobugs! That slimey stuff is where they live! Just rinse the crud off. If
you can't use pond water, fill a tub with regular water, dechlor it, and use
that so you can get "swish" room.

Lee

"Szpond" wrote in message
...
Thank you so much for your help. But, if I clean my bio-filter, don't I
loose
all my "bugs"? It took me HOURS to clean all those little scrubby pads
last
year. Store wanted $125 for new ones, so I spent the hours doing it.
Perhaps
I should put something in the bio-filter that is easier to clean? I will
do a
water change now.