Is it bad to leave carbon in?

[twoodrough]

I accidentally bought the filter cartridges with carbon in them. I don't usually change my cartridges often. I know carbon stops doing its job after about a week, but would it hurt to leave the cartridge in after that? I mean for like 6 months?

If leaving the carbon cartridge in is going to be bad then I need to return the cartridges I have and get something else that I can leave in.

Thanks!

 

[jondamon]

I accidentally bought the filter cartridges with carbon in them. I don't usually change my cartridges often. I know carbon stops doing its job after about a week, but would it hurt to leave the cartridge in after that? I mean for like 6 months?

If leaving the carbon cartridge in is going to be bad then I need to return the cartridges I have and get something else that I can leave in.

Thanks!

It's not bad to leave it in. Once it reaches the end if its useful life it's just another surface for beneficial bacteria to colonise.

If you have a planted tank I would NOT use carbon as it can remove nutrients from the water column that the plants can use.


Hope this helped.



Jon

 

[christine2012]

To my understanding Eventually when carbon has been used up it will start leaching those nasties back into the water. When its all used up you can make a cut in the bottom of the bag and take the actual carbon out then just put the empty bag back in. I think the Max time for carbon to be active is about 6 weeks.

 

[jlk]

The carbon will just become real estate for your good bacteria once its effectiveness is exhausted (@1-4wks depending on stocking). It will not leach anything back into your tank unless your ph undergoes a very drastic shift. If you havent used the cartridges yet and have no use for the carbon, either slit it & dump the carbon out & stuff it with filter floss or just return them. Or hold on to them in the event you need to remove meds from your tank in the future.

 

[Stefernini]

Most of those cartridges can be opened from the top and the carbon removed before you ever use them. That's what I do. I forgot to buy without last time i bought some too.

If it has a clip at the top, just remove that, open the plastic flaps, then slip the filter off, pour the carbon out, and then rinse it and put it all back together.

 

[BBradbury]

Leaving Chemical Medium in Tank

I accidentally bought the filter cartridges with carbon in them. I don't usually change my cartridges often. I know carbon stops doing its job after about a week, but would it hurt to leave the cartridge in after that? I mean for like 6 months?

If leaving the carbon cartridge in is going to be bad then I need to return the cartridges I have and get something else that I can leave in.

Thanks!

Hello two...

You can leave the carbon in the tank as long as you like. After it loses it's effectiveness, it will make a great home for good bacteria.

B