# Carbon



## piranha77 (Jan 30, 2005)

hey guys any advice on how often to change the carbon in my filter?


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## doctorvtec (May 15, 2004)

LOL depends who you ask.

I personally only have carbon in my Emperor, my Fluval is all full of biomax. The only carbon in my Emperor, is in the replaceable blue cartridge filter, and I change that maybe once every few months.

If you got good biological filtration, the carbon really isn't a big deal. If it's a replaceable cartridge, replace it when it starts to look nasty.


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

well, i'm not sure. the carbon in my ac500 i havent changed in several months. some people do it every month. my fish havent been affected so i dont mind


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## mattd46612 (Mar 8, 2005)

I have a emporer 280 and a ac500. emporer has the cartridge and ac500 has chemipure. Ill rinse the emporer cartridge off but really only change them 2-3x a year. Water conditions can make it vary though.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Carbon loses its effectiveness in 3-4 weeks.


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

I don't change my carbon at all, just rinse it out.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

rchan11 said:


> I don't change my carbon at all, just rinse it out.
> [snapback]963763[/snapback]​


But it won't serve its purpose as chemical media anymore - in your case it's purely surface area for bacteria to colonize, and there are better alternatives if you use it for that purpose (sintered glass, lava rock).

As Jerry said, activated carbon looses its adsorbtive characteristics in 3-4 weeks: after that it won't bind anymore tanins, metals and other impurities.
So if you actually use carbon for chemical filtration, you'll have to replace it every 3-4 weeks.


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

I purchased 16 emperor4 carbon filters off Ebay last august because I thought that it was a neccessity in a tank. I have used most of them up and am now just using them as surface area for biological filtration. I read somewhere that after the carbon is all used up, 3-4 weeks, that the metals/tanins/whatever else starts to then just leak back into the water if you do not change the cartridge. Is this true?


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

BigChuckP said:


> I purchased 16 emperor4 carbon filters off Ebay last august because I thought that it was a neccessity in a tank. I have used most of them up and am now just using them as surface area for biological filtration. I read somewhere that after the carbon is all used up, 3-4 weeks, that the metals/tanins/whatever else starts to then just leak back into the water if you do not change the cartridge. Is this true?
> [snapback]964930[/snapback]​


I'm not sure if they release stuff back in the water, but the won't bind any more impurities.
I know that zeolite (a media also used as chemical media, to remove impurities/chemicals) release the stuff the adsorbed once you put salt in the tank, but I don't know if that applies to carbon as well...


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## piranha77 (Jan 30, 2005)

So is it worth using carbon at all? or just not bother with it.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

piranha77 said:


> So is it worth using carbon at all? or just not bother with it.
> [snapback]965651[/snapback]​


Unless you have problems with impurities, want to remove medicine traces after treatment, or want to remove tanins from the water, I see no reason why to use it...
I have some carbon around just in case, but haven't used it in years.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I never use carbon. I have some...Like Judazzz said....incase I need to remove meds, but my point of view, carbon can actually mask problems in your tank. There should be no reason to use carbon on a regular basis unless your water contains some chemical that normal water conditioner will not remove. Otherwise, using carbon may reduce your ability to tell if you have a healthy tank.....like the smell when there is a problems with the cycle or you do not have enough biological filtration.


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## smithgrind_who (Mar 26, 2004)

piranha77 said:


> So is it worth using carbon at all? or just not bother with it.
> [snapback]965651[/snapback]​


I think it's a choice left up the individual. As for me, I haven't used carbon for over a year now with no bad results. Carbon is great at removing dissolved organic compounds from the water, thus helping the effectiveness of the biological filter.



BigChuckP Today said:


> I purchased 16 emperor4 carbon filters off Ebay last august because I thought that it was a neccessity in a tank. I have used most of them up and am now just using them as surface area for biological filtration. I read somewhere that after the carbon is all used up, 3-4 weeks, that the metals/tanins/whatever else starts to then just leak back into the water if you do not change the cartridge. Is this true?


Carbon will not release or de-absorb the captured elements in an aquarium. This is a myth and it will only happen in pH values outside normal fish aquarium range.


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## Azeral (Dec 28, 2004)

I change the blue filter cartridge (has carbon in it
) in my emperor once every couple of months. Or if its really dirty I do it early.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

jerry_plakyda said:


> Carbon loses its effectiveness in 3-4 weeks.
> [snapback]963759[/snapback]​


That's why I try to change mine every month. The filter cartidge for my 29 gallon tank that is. For my Rena Filstar xP3 Cansiter Filter on my 130 gallon aquarium, I don't use carbon........
~Taylor~


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## piranha77 (Jan 30, 2005)

thanks guys. ill just leave it in since its already there but i wont bother changing it unless i medicate.


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