? about fluval filter

Are you suppost to pour the water out that is in the canister or keep it in there.I don't know if you are pouring out some good bacteria or what.If you do won't exposing the bacteria to the air kill them or not.Or is pouring the water out just getting the waste out.People always say always clean the canister filter to keep trates low ,but does that mean pour the water out and clean pads and eveything or keep the water inthere and clean the pads etc..Just was sitting here wondering what others do and what is the best way thanks

what you should do or from my understanding, is pour the water out and use a bucket or clean water from the aquarium. then clean the filter pads out in the bucket.

what i do is the quick way lol. i pour everything out and clean it with a hose lol. then set it back up lol. i have not had any problems but this does not mean it is the correct way lol.

I empty the water out of mine and rinse the filters in clean but old tank water..just don't rinse out the canister

i clean the canister out really good on an annual basis... but do clean the media with tank water every time....

I clean my canisters during a water change... I use a bucket of "old" tank water that I just drained from the tank for the water change... Rinse the filter media off with that... And i leave one of my chambers of media untouched, and rotate the untouched one every few months... Then i wash out the canister in the sink, with the spray hose... put all the media back in, fill the can up with tank water, add some prime and stability to the can... hook it all back up...

But does taking the media out of the water does the good bacteria die because it's exposed to the air while you rinse everthing or does the air not effect it?

As long as the media is kept moist and not allowed to "air dry" the air will not affect it.