Does Carbon Need To Stay Wet?

xoedusk

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A lot of medications recommend removing any carbon so it doesn't take out the meds from the water. Also, a lot of human water-filtration pitchers (I'm thinking of Brita and Pur) say don't let the carbon dry out.

Anyone know why or have more information?
 
Just throw the black carbon away, its no good after 6 weeks anyway.
 
I'm guessing that dried carbon, when re-wetted, is more likely to de-sorb any toxins etc. that it originally absorbed in the wet state - releasing them into your tank water. If it was new carbon when you took it out then it could be ok but I would use brand new stuff if you want to be sure of removing meds etc.

Like everyone else says - if it is old carbon there is no need to remove it anyway since it won't absorb/adsorb anything - but it is likely to be acting as a biological filter. :D
 
Why don't people actually try and answer the question instead of saying stupid things that don't even pertain to the question? :/

I'd like to know the answer to the question too since I have a 1 week old carbon that I removed to add medications. So can this dried out 1 week old carbon still be used to remove medication??? Yes or No will do.
 
Carbon is made to absorb things out of the water. being dried will not release the impurities filled inside the pores. But like Majjie stated above when you put it back in the impurites might be jared loose and reenter the water. But since the pores will be emptied then they would just be reabsorbed. So in other words, no drying carbon out will not diminish its filtering properties. I would keep it in a clean zip lock baggie so it doesnt absorb house hold odors and such, which then might make it poisionous to your fish if the pores were jared clean when it reenter the water.
 
I did some research on this recently, as I put a brand new Carbon sponge in and removed it the next day to treat for white spot. Found at least a couple of sites who said baking a sponge in an oven can effectively make a sponge new again (though I wouldn't try it). So I would assume it would be fine to dry out and put back in the filter.

Just make you sure change it fairly regularly, every 4-6 weeks, and probably sooner if you're using it to soak up medication.
 
Why don't people actually try and answer the question instead of saying stupid things that don't even pertain to the question? :/

I'd like to know the answer to the question too since I have a 1 week old carbon that I removed to add medications. So can this dried out 1 week old carbon still be used to remove medication??? Yes or No will do.

There isn't a yes or no answer PaPeRo - life is rarely like that! :D

There are hundreds of different ways to make activated carbon and each carbon will have different properties. Whether or not it can be re-used, once dried, will depend on:
i) how much material has already been absorbed - which will depend on exactly what was in your tank when you were using it, how much you fed the fish and loads of other variables, and
ii) whether drying out has affected the bonding of the chemicals to the carbon (which is more complicated than simple physical absorption).

The life of activated carbon in a fish tank has been estimated to be about six weeks - but I have also seen other figures quoted. The question with meds is - what capacity has your carbon for absorbing that particular med, what level is in the tank and how is that capacity likely to be affected by other chemicals already absorbed. It's very unlikely that anyone will ever have done any relevant tests for that. To be absolutely sure - when you need to remove a med - use fresh carbon.

If you don't need to remove a med - then there seems to be virtually no value in using carbon at all (at least for freshwater tanks).

And DON'T try re-activating carbon sponges in a domestic oven. Carbon itself will be fine in an oven - but the plastic sponges that are impregnated with carbon for aquarium use will definitely not be!!
Commercial carbon activating processes use temperatures up to 750 deg C and often also control the composition of the air. I don't think using a domestic oven would necessarily remove all the organic compounds absorbed.
 
Why don't people actually try and answer the question instead of saying stupid things that don't even pertain to the question? :/

I'd like to know the answer to the question too since I have a 1 week old carbon that I removed to add medications. So can this dried out 1 week old carbon still be used to remove medication??? Yes or No will do.
the reason you don't get a straight answer is the experienced members of the forum do not use carbon!!!!!!!!!with the exception of med removal. in which case it is used and thrown away.

the best advice you received is dump it, and replace it with some useful bio media!

i have found your answer, if you dry the carbon in the sun it seems it may be ok to use it again. however whilst it is drying it will aDsorb any pollutants, in the air. you will notice carbon aDsorbs not aBsorbs.

you could try drying the carbon in an oven, but the cost of the heat is enough to make it uneconomic.
 
Lol, I had the feeling the oven thing didn't sound like something I'd want to risk trying! :lol:
 
Lol, I had the feeling the oven thing didn't sound like something I'd want to risk trying! :lol:
lol lot of fuss over something we don't need!!!! its like aquarium salt and changing your filter sponges every few month, a ploy by vendors to get your money.
 
Lol, yeah. I hate walking into a fish store and getting tempted by all the 'useful' products. I still have some bacteria in a bottle somewhere... :rolleyes:

Did make the mistake of not changing the white sponge once though and the whole filter shut down.....oops.
 

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