# Pot scrubbers



## Vman (Jan 20, 2011)

So I decided to fill one of my trays in my FX5 with pot scrubbers.The filter floss kept on jamming my filter as the Fx5 has so much water flow.Yesterday I found my feather fins dead and the rest of the fish breathing exremely heavy. After taking them out and doing a big water change things are back to normal. Once again Chinese plastic causes a problem.


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## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

in my opinion those are way overrated Id use just a reg sponge over those


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## Vman (Jan 20, 2011)

I only used them for the beneficial bacteria. I guess I'll be using gravel or rings now.


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## Korya (Jun 21, 2013)

I use both sponges and the pot scrubbers together and haven't had any difficulty. Maybe there was something on them. Did you rinse them well?

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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Potscrubbers are mainly used by some hobbyists in a wet dry filter. Fully submerged in a Fx5 the pot scrubbers are pretty ineffective. I'd go with proper biomedia in any case. 

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## Richmond Dave (Jul 21, 2013)

I have experienced dye coming out of brand-new scrubbers when using first using them. I'm sure there are less-visible contaminants as well.


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## mollyb (May 18, 2010)

pot scrubbers are made for the kitchen, and some brands contain an anti bacterial/fungal chemical to keep them 'fresh' after use, which will kill fish. I don't know of a safe brand, so I don't use them.


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## Vman (Jan 20, 2011)

Well I stuffed my FX5 with carbon and did another water change. Fish seem better. But we're breathing heavy yesterday. Also added matrix to the filter.


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## deepRED (May 22, 2010)

I used them in my trickle filters without any problems. As Tony mentioned, they work better in a wet dry filter and lose their effectiveness when completely submerged. 

My 300 gallon is filtered by a diy trickle filter that is packed with pot scrubbers, and I have a 2000 gallon pond at my mom's place that uses the same thing.

For me, they are cheap and highly effective if used in the proper application. 

Where did you buy yours, and was there a brand name?


Also, did you remove another type of media to put them in? Sometimes if the bacteria bed is disturbed it may cause a mini-cycle that can also wreak havoc. 


But I agree, you never know what's in the plastics coming from a country that has such poor QC and regulations. The problem is that a lot of the aquarium specific materials come from there as well.


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## Vman (Jan 20, 2011)

They were from the dollar store.Ive used them before without a problem. No I didn't remove anything,except for the coarse sponge. The 2 other trays are filled with ceramic rings. Also have an XP3 running.


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