Seachem Matrix is a media that you can add to the filter or directly in your fish tank.
You can check out this guide to see how you can reuse this filter media.
Quick Summary
With proper care, Seachem Matrix can be reused over and over again.
If you plan on using the filter media on another tank, then make sure you transfer it in a container or bucket with tank water to keep the beneficial bacteria alive. If the transfer takes more than a day, then we suggest adding a pinch of fish food to keep the bacteria fed.
Even if the Matrix has completely dried out, you can still reuse the filter media after a thorough rinse. With that said, it is going to take some time for the beneficial bacteria to reestablish themselves on the stones again.
Can you reuse Seachem Matrix?
For the uninformed, Seachem Matrix doesn’t actually come with any beneficial bacteria. Instead, this product provides surface area for these bacteria colonies to live on.
Beneficial bacteria will naturally grow in your fish tank as long as there are organic wastes. The wastes will turn to ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
Matrix provides an abundance of surface area to grow the bacteria colonies that will consume ammonia and nitrites. The filter media also contain chambers with depleted oxygen, which will allow the bacteria that consume nitrates to grow.
Seachem Matrix can be used and re-used indefinitely with proper care.
How to reuse Seachem Matrix without killing the beneficial bacteria
In order to reuse Seachem Matrix for another tank without killing the beneficial bacteria living on it, we recommend that you take the following steps:
1. Remove Seachem Matrix from your fish tank filter.
2. Place the removed filter media into a bucket or container that can hold water.
3. Add tank water to the bucket or container. Make sure that you add enough that the Matrix stones are fully submerged.
4. We recommend that you stir the filter media around a little bit to rinse off any debris.
To find out more about how you can rinse Seachem Matrix without killing the beneficial bacteria living on it, you can take a look at this cleaning tutorial.
4. Transfer Seachem Matrix from the bucket or container to the other fish tank as soon as possible.
If the filter media get dried out, then it will kill off all the beneficial bacteria.
If you used tap water instead of the tank water, then the chlorine and chloramine of the tap water will also kill off the bacteria colonies.
If you have to wait for more than a day to transfer the filter media (i.e., you are shipping Seachem Matrix to somewhere else), then we recommend adding a pinch of fish food to the bucket or container. The fish food will decompose into ammonia, starting the nitrogen process that will feed the beneficial bacteria and keep them alive.
How to reuse Seachem Matrix that has already dried
In order to reuse Seachem Matrix that has already dried out, you can do the following:
1. Place the filter media in a water bucket or container.
2. Add boiled water to the bucket or container.
Hot water is better when it comes to removing buildup from the pebbles.
3. Stir the stones around in the bucket to make dust and other dust and particles waterborne.
4. Pour out the dirty water and then repeat the same process over and over again until the water becomes clear.
5. Afterwards, you can safely reuse Seachem Matrix.
If you used tap water to wash the filter media and the stones are still wet, then we recommend that you add a drop of dechlorinator in your tank first before adding Matrix to make sure that chlorine and chloramine won’t cause issues with your biological filtration.
Since the Seachem Matrix has been dried out before, it will take some time for the filter media to become effective again as the beneficial bacteria will need to colonize on the stones. This may take as long as several months.
