the deal with carbon

[IMPULSEBUYER]

so whats the deal with carbon, i know that fresh carbon does leave your tank odorless, but how long does carbon effectively treat your water? the filter companies claim it should be changed every month, it seems like a waste buying those filters every month, besides they skimp u with the carbon. ive had mine for several months i just rinse them out and put separate bags of carbon (that I buy in bulk) in them every month. It's cheaper than buying those emperor cartridges every month.
speak on it!

 

[beblondie]

" how long does carbon effectively treat your water" 2-4 weeks depending on who you listen too.Personaly I use carbon for 1 of 3 reasons 1) remove meds after treatments,2)remove discoloration and 3) remove odor until i fig out whats wrong.Other than that I never use carbon.-Anne

 

[Miles]

I never use Carbon, unless I am removing meds.

I always use Chemi-Pure when receiving sensative or wild-caught fish.

 

[The Mule]

I stopped using carbon as a full time filter medium years ago. As a matter of fact, I haven't used it for anything at all in about 3 years. Its effectiveness depends on many factors, but could be as little as a few days. It's kind of an "old school" thing really.

 

[orlok]

The reason why you change carbon once a month is because no one really knows how long it effectively removes toxins from the water. Eventually the carbon will become exhausted and it will start to leach the toxins back into the water that it was originally supposed to remove! So it's kind of like playing it safe. It also can really depend on the quality, size and shape of the carbon. Also the amount and frequency of water changes performed, size and type of fish kept, regular maintaince habits etc.

When I use it, I use either the Marineland Black Diamond or the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Activated Filter Carbon. But as of late, I've been using Seachem's Purgien. You can recharge it with bleach! So that can mean saving serious green.

 

[piranha45]

You can recharge it with bleach! So that can mean saving serious green.

where did you hear that from? ive heard alot of "carbon can be recharged by simply immersing it in _____" stories that are held to be untrue

 

[Miles]

where did you hear that from? ive heard alot of "carbon can be recharged by simply immersing it in _____" stories that are held to be untrue

He was talking about Purigen, and I believe the instructions say it is re-chargeable by bleach.

and Yeah.. Recharging Carbon is a crock.

 

[Waldo]

where did you hear that from? ive heard alot of "carbon can be recharged by simply immersing it in _____" stories that are held to be untrue

You can say that again. I zeolite (volcanic rock, or the white stuff that removes ammonia) can be recharged "supposedly" with boiling salt water; however you should know that this will start the breaking down of particles which will cause leaching back into the tank if your not carefull.
I'm with Miles on the zeolite. spend $6 at DRs Fn smith (oop's). it will last you about 3-6 months depending on how you treat your tank AND it will help with all of those chemicals in your tank that you don't know about (copper---- that one's for miles) and Chlorine and Chloromine and stuff like that....

 

[orlok]

where did you hear that from? ive heard alot of "carbon can be recharged by simply immersing it in _____" stories that are held to be untrue

Well you can recharge carbon. However it's very exspensive and you'd have to heat it up in a super hot oven or kiln. And even then it's not as effective as it once was when it was new.

 

[Dargath78]

I hate carbon. If you take care of your tank you should never really need it. Removing meds is the only good reason I've heard.