How long to use activated carbon to remove medication?

[FINWIN]

My BP Patch is recovered from ich...I did a teardown of her tank and now need to know how long should I run carbon to remove the residual medicine? I have a sack of carbon in a bag too large to fit into the filter with the bio media.

Would sitting the sack in the filter stream do the trick and for how long?

 

[jwitty]

My BP Patch is recovered from ich...I did a teardown of her tank and now need to know how long should I run carbon to remove the residual medicine? I have a sack of carbon in a bag too large to fit into the filter with the bio media.

Would sitting the sack in the filter stream do the trick and for how long?

I’ve heard a month and I’ve heard 7-8 weeks. I guess it depends on how much it has to soak up. I did hear that leaving in too long can cause the carbon to release the toxins and anything else it traps back into the aquarium. Which would be really bad. I’ve always done a month on the safe side.

 

[duanes]

Your regular water change schedule with remove most of it.
But yes putting carbon near a filter stream should help, I doubt the time will matter much.

 

[Rocksor]

I’ve heard a month and I’ve heard 7-8 weeks. I guess it depends on how much it has to soak up. I did hear that leaving in too long can cause the carbon to release the toxins and anything else it traps back into the aquarium. Which would be really bad. I’ve always done a month on the safe side.

Carbon uses adsorption to remove things from the water, basically the "toxins" are stuck to it. It does not act like a sponge. The heating of carbon or dramatic shift in PH to cause the toxins to be released from it would kill your fish first.

The only thing that carbon can release is phosphates and that has to do with the quality of the carbon.

 

[jaws7777]

Id do a couple of large water changes and maybe run the carbon for a week or two. Not sure if thats the correct length of time but thats how ive always done it

 

[FINWIN]

I'll do a partial w/c tomorrow on her tank, she just got a whole new tank of fresh water sunday night. I set the sack of carbon near the filter and she's already moved it down in front of her 'house' like a door.