[Avalon]

Ah, you're using a cannister. Here's what I do: rinse one media basket at a time with tap water. The biomedia will still contain some bacteria when you're done, so with the other good media, there should be no significant loss in filtration effectiveness. Just alternate your media baskets each cleaning. Clean the coarse filter pad every time. Replace the fine filter pad in between media cleanings, usually about a week or two after you clean a basket. You should be cleaning the cannister no more than 4 times a year.