# carbon



## CoolD (Apr 16, 2003)

i was reading the box of the carbon i got and it said "this will not raise ph levels if used properly" 
does this mean there is a limit to the amount of carbon in the water. the reason i am askin is b/c i have a 90 gal tank and over filter it with 2 filters meant for 70 gal each. is it okay to put carbon media in both the filters?


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I dont use carbon in my filters but it will be fine.


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## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

Carbon is basically for helping clear water or reducing chemicals out of your tank.

BTW:Uhmm.. nice(?) signature. You should use it as your avitar.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Carbon does not dissolve into the water! It absorbs chemicals from the water (like metals, medicne traces, tanins), but gets saturated pretty quickly, and then it starts releasing the absorbed chemicals into the water again. That's why it needs to be replaced everey 3 or 4 weeks...

As for your filtration: I wouldn't use only carbon! Fill up at least one with biomedia (for biological filtration, to maintain the tank cycle). The other one could be filled with carbon, but that's not necessary: most people only use it when the water is colored too much, or when they have medicated their fish. I think it's all up to you what you want to use in your second filter!


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## CoolD (Apr 16, 2003)

thanks for the quick response guys.
i actually use alot more media other than carbon, it was just a concern that too much was bad.


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## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

Judazzz said:


> Carbon does not dissolve into the water! It absorbs chemicals from the water (like metals, medicne traces, tanins), but gets saturated pretty quickly, and then it starts releasing the absorbed chemicals into the water again. That's why it needs to be replaced everey 3 or 4 weeks...
> they have medicated their fish. I think it's all up to you what you want to use in your second filter!


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## jabster (Jan 18, 2003)

Yup. I only use carbon once a month, if that, and only in one pouch. The other pouches/sponges/etc are empty, plus one on each tank that has some of my leftover ehfisubstrat in it as a permanent resident. But, I would not run carbon for more than a week. Just my preference.

And, on a few occasions when I wanted some quick cleansing I PACKED in some black diamond and never had any adverse effects.


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## bgshortys (Apr 7, 2003)

jabster said:


> Yup. I only use carbon once a month, if that, and only in one pouch. The other pouches/sponges/etc are empty, plus one on each tank that has some of my leftover ehfisubstrat in it as a permanent resident. But, I would not run carbon for more than a week. Just my preference.
> 
> And, on a few occasions when I wanted some quick cleansing I PACKED in some black diamond and never had any adverse effects.


 do you use the same carbon every month or do you change it every time?


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## jabster (Jan 18, 2003)

No, I chuck the used carbon, but use the same brand









IMO, the carbon seems real efficient early on, but quickly fades. A full week of use in a pred tank, such as Ps, would just about wipe out its usefullness altogether.


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

I don't use carbon...i don't think you need to use it at all since it fade quickly and i only would recommend it to eliminate medicines traces or clear a milky tank!

It's true it release what has absorb when gets saturated so be carefull and rinse it weekly and replace at least once a month!


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## readingbabelfish (Jan 16, 2003)

Like the rest of these guys said, its not needed. I only use it to get meds out of the water. But then again, I've only had melafix in there anyway!!!


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## bgshortys (Apr 7, 2003)

can I remove my carbon all at once, or will that disrupt my tank since i have been using carbon for about 5 months now (but i change it)


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

bgshortys said:


> can I remove my carbon all at once, or will that disrupt my tank since i have been using carbon for about 5 months now (but i change it)


 No problem: carbon has nothing to do with your tank's biological filtration (ie. the tank cycle). All it does is chemical filtration (ie. absorbing certain chemicals).
You can start and stop using it abruptly, since the carbon itself doesn't affect the water perimeters to any significant degree. 
Carbon is a filtration bonus, so to speak (an non-essential extra): only biofiltration is 100% essential!

So just go ahead (I did it too, a few months ago, and I experienced no problems whatsoever)...


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