Carbon Filters

[TenaciousG_]

I have a filter that uses mechanical filtration with a white sponge and a carbon sponge on the other side. It says on the box that the carbon sponge has a finite life of 8 weeks. is this true or just marketing? Should i change it as it says and is it even necessary?

 

[Staxx]

you dont really need carbon. i dont run it in my filter and IIRC a lot of people here dont either. unless its to take out medication/tannings or whatever from the water.

 

[TenaciousG_]

well seeing as I have one already in and 3 spares i will run them in unti they run out, maybe changing them every 3-4 months then and fill the empty space with another white sponge? Also have filter wool installed,

 

[ShinySideUp]

well seeing as I have one already in and 3 spares i will run them in unti they run out, maybe changing them every 3-4 months then and fill the empty space with another white sponge? Also have filter wool installed,

If you leave them in too long they will start to leech toxins back out again, when I used carbon I used to leave them for about four weeks before changing them. When I joined this forum I found that many people did not use them and since they were expensive I stopped too; I didn't notice any real difference, except for the price.

 

[Proxo]

Agree with ShinySideUp, i used a bag of carbon little while back as it came with a filter and it did clean the tannin pretty nice for a week or 2 anyway then back to brown

 

[tomtomtom1230]

I agree with ShinySideUp, too. I run carbon in my filter, no carbon sponges but Fluval activated carbon in a porous bag that they provide. Works like a dream but I do have a shed load of Mopani wood in my tank and tannins build up pretty quick, even though the pieces have been submerged in water for longer than I've owned them. I refresh the carbon in the bag maybe about every 4-5 weeks or so to prevent the leeching of tannins and/or toxins back into the water.

I'm looking into getting some Seachem Purigen rather than carbon actually, since it can be refreshed using a weak bleach solution and is therefore more cost effective. Apparently, it'll polish the water much, much better than carbon, too.