Regular Member eather.hey Posted August 31, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted August 31, 2004 I'm treating my tank with Paragon b/c I've lost 2 fish to ulcers/hole-in-the-head over the past few months and a 3rd is showing signs now. My hospital tank filter doesn't have carbon, but my main tank does, which I had to remove. I have the carbon soaking in a 5 gallon bucket with tank water and an air stone in it, to keep the water moving. Is this a good way to do this? I'm afraid that the carbon will get funky during the week I'm treating the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kingyo Posted August 31, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted August 31, 2004 Get rid of the carbon! It is recommended to remove activated carbon when adding medicines because it removes them from the water. If you add that carbon to your filter, there is a possibility of reintroducing the disease causing organism into the tank. Activated carbon is unexpensive... buy new carbon and you will avoid unnecessary trouble. I guess that you still have other media running in your filters, I'm I correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member eather.hey Posted August 31, 2004 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 31, 2004 To be honest I hadn't even thought of just throwing it away. duh. I just bought new carbon for both filters and I guess I was just being cheap. Oh well. I hadn't even thought about reintroducing the bacteria from the old carbon. What a dork I am. Well, like I guess "they" say...there's no dumb questions and you only learn from mistakes! The old sponges are in the filters. Should I replace those now or after treatment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member sandy Posted August 31, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted August 31, 2004 you dont need carbon in your filter until you have finished the last dose of medicine. Carbon is only active for a few days and then is completely useless. Carbon is used if you need to get rid of toxins and dye in the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kingyo Posted August 31, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted August 31, 2004 I would not replace the sponges because most of the biological filtration is taking place there... since your filters were running throughout the treatment, they should be free of the target disease causing organisms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kingyo Posted August 31, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted August 31, 2004 Sandy, Granulated activated carbon (GAC) may be active for many weeks, it all depends on the water quality and volume of water to surface area of carbon ratio. It is not recommended if you have live plants because it will remove some nutrients; however, it is an excellent addition to your filter if you don't have live plants. In addition to adsorbing chemicals, GAC provides surface area for bacteria. In other words, it is not useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member sandy Posted September 2, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2004 :crp sorry if i have given bad advice it wasnt my intention. My filter mustnt use activated carbon as it tells me not to use unless i have medicated the tank or need to get rid of toxins, and then to throw it away after a couple of days. Hey we all learn!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jacky_ckw Posted September 2, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2004 yup, active carbon should not go together with medication. there are some active carbons which can last for mths as stated on the packaging i bought. was wondering if its true to last for so long. i think its only effective for a couple of weeks only rit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jclif1995 Posted September 2, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2004 i'm a big fan of activated carbon. i use it on an ongoing basis changing this media once a month. i consider it part of a holistic package of filtration for the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member fi5hkiller Posted September 3, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2004 you may reuse them in your gardening.. and they are good source of nutrients required by plants too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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