Confused About Carbon

[TwoTankAmin]

Once again there is a bit of incorrect information being offered in this thread. Carbon is not used up in a fixed number of days or weeks. It is used up when it has filled to capacity. How long that may take will depend on several factors:
 
1. How much stuff there is in a given tank which the carbon will have to remove.
2. How much carbon one uses. Put 1/2 cup in and it gets filled to capacity faster than 1 cup will and that is sooner than 2 cups would.
3. Where it is positioned in a filter and how fast the flow is. Slow is better than fast, middle of the filter is better than at the top.
 
With carbon in a tank for 4 months you would have to have a pretty pristine tanks with a fairly low fish load for it not to have filled up in that amount of time. In fact it is probably now bio-media rather than chemical media. Just to be safe I would remove it, but then I would check my ammonia level in about 12-15 hours to make sure there is no mini-spike. The odds of this are small unless you have a lot of carbon in there.

 

[xamy_valox]

Fluttermoth when you use Myxazin, how long does your tank water stay blue? I dosed with it today and after about 2 hours my tank was almost back to being crystal clear? I was expecting it to be like when I treat for white spot and the tank stats blue for ages?

 

[ian]

That looks hih (hole in the head) to me...quite common in rams.


And regarding the carbon, tis one of the best filter medias around. We still seem to be rehashing the 7day rumour. It can last up to 3 months, just depends on how hard or soft your water is. It exhausts quicker in hard water as there is more crap to be removed.

 

[Mikey1]

i dont really care how long carbon lasts.....my point is, it doesn't do anything to improve your water.....it removes meds and maybe helps with odour a bit but thats it....if your doing regular water changes, odour should never be a problem anyway....i have not used it in years....its just a waste of money to use it on a regular basis.....

 

[ian]

Not in my tanks mikey...

Carbon is an excellent media in a high tech planted tank as it will get rid of some of the organic build up in the water.

Regarding your comment about not caring how long it lasts...maybe you shouldn't have commented that it only lasts a week lol.

 

[fluttermoth]

Fluttermoth when you use Myxazin, how long does your tank water stay blue? I dosed with it today and after about 2 hours my tank was almost back to being crystal clear? I was expecting it to be like when I treat for white spot and the tank stats blue for ages?

I'm sorry, I can't remember for sure. I don't think the blue stays for long though.

 

[Mikey1]

Regarding your comment about not caring how long it lasts...maybe you shouldn't have commented that it only lasts a week lol.

 
in MOST TANKS it will only last a week,
 
the duration period was not my point though

 

[ian]

On what basis will it only last a week? Water is different all over the country with different tds levels, you cannot generalise that carbon will only last a week. There are different grades of carbon and many years ago charcoal was used, this had a short life, but nowadays with high grade carbons, I can get upto 2-3 months with high grade carbon. I also like purigen, which a little more adsorbent that carbon. As said, in a high energy planted tank carbon can be a god send.

 

[xamy_valox]

Been dosing with the myxazin for 3 days. Haven't seen any improvement as of yet. Researching Hole in the Head it seems the best treatment is clean water. I am doing water changes twice a week at the moment. Are there any medications I can get to treat Hole in the Head in the UK?

 

[xamy_valox]

Nevermind. I lost him today I have done water tests and everything is fine, although my PH has dropped from about 7.6 to 6.4. I don't know if this is due to the large water changes I have been doin to try and keep the water as clean as possible. The female is very pale now, and does not look happy. Should I be expecting her to pass aswell or will she get over it and go back to normal?