do all you guys have carbon in your tank?
- Thread starter ska_kid
- Start date
No. It's uneccesary. Keep up on your water changes and there is no need for having carbon in your filter.
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Having carbon as an emergency back up when you suspect poisons are in the water (e.g., pesticides, soap, detergent, insecticides) is what I keep it for. It might be my security blanket, but there it is. (Is there somthing better?)
Basically, it's something you hope you don't need to use. It doesn't work on a lot of things and for most things that you would normally need to deal with, you shouldn't need it.
Basically, it's something you hope you don't need to use. It doesn't work on a lot of things and for most things that you would normally need to deal with, you shouldn't need it.
I see this a lot around the forum.What about the various filter cartridges that contain carbon,should they be emptied?
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
I agree with drstrangelove. I see carbon only as an emergency backup in case I goof up somehow. It isn't something to rely solely upon. I wouldn't however go as far as to remove carbon in a filter cartridge. It definitely isn't going to harm anything.
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Nope. After a month or two carbon doesn't work anymore so I do cut open filter cartridges and dump them out. Filter floss will last for years though.
I have some LFS owners who kept insisting that activated carbon makes ur water clean and clear.. I tried dat but when I learned its only for filtering poisons u suspect to be in the water, I removed them and didnt use them since..
Sent from my GT-N7105 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Sent from my GT-N7105 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
It will remove the color in the water caused by dyes in foods and breakdown of drift wood and things like that. It is a good biological surface after exhaustion though so leave it in and let bacteria colonize it for more biological. Also there is some research out there concluding that ultrafine carbon granuals from carbon that has not been well rinsed causing HLLD ( head and lateral line disease or more commonly hole in the head)
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Activated carbon stays active between 1 and 2 weeks. Like everyone said it's useless if you keep up on water changes unless you need to remove medicine or something else. In my filters I just run a more coarse sponge in place of the carbon bag.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
There ya go. I don't have the patience to be changing it that fast, but after a month or so I just cut open the cartridge.