carbon filters

[Guest]

if you have carbon in your filter and decide to stop using it and you know it is no longer active, but leave it in your filter and just rinse it during routine pwc's, do you think it would cause any problems? would it eventualy release any toxins it might have picked up?

 

[Bhunsucker]

There is no reason to use carbon in your tank unless you are trying to remove meds. Carbon is usless after 7 days. You can use filter floss to polish your water and to remove small particles and its a lot cheaper.

 

[Guest]

thanx, but i was wondering what would happen if you left carbon in there for a long time.

 

[Pleco]

dependin on the carbon, with AC anything that it has adsorbed can potentially go back in to the tank. I think i may be the rare one here and i prefer carbon, it requires that you change out the media more often (3-4 weeks) but its more effective than floss alone imho. AC lasts between 3-5 weeks depending on your bio-load, my media is around $10 for a 3 pack, overall that isnt much money to spend on my pets.

here are a couple decent articles on AC

http://www.marineland.com/science/articles/16ActivatedCarb.asp

http://www.marineland.com/science/articles/17RevisActCarb.asp



-Pleco

 

[Guest]

thanx pleco, good articles. here is part of one of them that answered my question.

De-adsorption is another phenomenon that is over-stated in the rumor mills about activated carbon. Again, it is an incomplete statement that is commonly used to described the process. It goes, in one fashion or another, as: don't use carbon because once its adsorption sites are full it will release, or de-adsorb, all the stuff it has adsorbed releasing a large amount of pollutants back into the aquarium. The implication in this sentence that activated carbon works something like a capacitor such that once at its maximum adsorption capacity, it instantaneously discharges all the bad things it has adsorbed is wrong. Carbon does de-adsorb, in fact, that ability is exploited for recycling precious metals. However, in a controlled industrial process, the quick release of the target substance is accomplished by switching the pH of the water. The basic process is to capture the target substance at one pH extreme (very acidic or basic) and then reclaim the substance by switching to the other pH extreme. As stated earlier in this article, these pH values are outside the normal range of aquaria. De-adsorption is not a process to be worried about.

when i was at the pet store, i was looking at a coal based carton of ac made by aquarium pharm for $12/14 oz. according to the article, this is the stuff you want to use. and i do not want to keep carbon in my tank for long periods, i just wondered what would happen, if anything, if you did.

 

[coldmachineUK]

I've personally found carbon keeps my water much more pure and clearer for my loaches (which require it). I suppose it depends what fish you use, and what filters you've set up.

I use tetratec external filters, and have never had a problem with carbon. I've had to remove carbon now and then to treat with melafix for the scrapes my fish occasionally get from trying to squeeze into places too small for them (they love doing that, much to my vexation lol), but it's never been a hassle.
These filters also come with filter floss which, I disagree with bhunsucker about, doesn't do as good enough job on its own as when you have activated carbon running as well. Carbon removes impurities in the water, filter floss will only remove small particles. There is a difference.

IMO the cleaner your water the better (tho again, how much effort you want to go to will depend on the fish you are keeping).

 

[Guest]

im trying to figure out a way to put carbon in a hob filter so it doesnt just fall to the bottom in a big lump.

 

[joannde]

Put the carbon inside a piece of clean new pantihose. works like a charm.