Does carbon expire?

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TygGer

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Aug 18, 2003
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478
Location
Northern Va
I found an old box of Whisper filters and in the box were packets of carbon and zeolite mix. They have to be atleast 2-3yrs old! Would you use it or trash it?
 
Does anyone here think small lfs ever rotate their dry filter media stock and throw things out just because they are a few years old?:wink:

Carbon and zeolite don't really 'go bad', but they can pick up toxic chemicals and mold spores if they were not stored properly.
If they were sealed in a closed box and kept in a cool, dry place, good.
If they were kept in an uninsulated attic or basement and subjected to moisture and temperature swings, bad
If they were kept somewhere they could pick up toxic chemicals (garage, near household cleaners, etc), bad.
 
most carbon I've seen is sealed in foil, and foil is not pregnable by air.

So as long as the foil bag is intact, it does not matter where its been stored, as long as the bag is thuroughly cleaned before opening.


Because you wouldn't want the contaimination on the bag, to get on the carbon..afterall.
 
The new packets I have are sealed in foil. The ones I found are sealed in paper...

They were stored in a nice dry and clean area...
Thanks
 
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