Errm What Are These?

[clareriley]

I have been keeping fish since god knowns where and I have always had a under gravel filter or one with stones in a box with a sponge.. well since I got back into it the in water filters have changed and I have a
Hydor Crystal RO5 Duo II. A family member set up a new tank and I wanted to helo them cycle as mine is mature now after going on 4 months.. so I got some slate and stones from the bottom and thought ahh iv heard of sponge squeezings from the filter so I opened it.. my sponge.. all happy but then I saw some dead plant in there and opened it more than I normally do and there are these black pellets..

well my question is what are these for and what do I do with them? do I clean them?

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. If the black pellets came from inside a filter cartridge then i'd guess that they are activated carbon. Carbon removes things like tannins from wood, or phenols (gives the fishy smell), or medications that may have been used to treat an illness etc. Carbon generally is good for a week or two (this is often debated) before it gets "clogged up." It is the type of thing that once it is used up it is used up even though you wouldn't be able to tell the difference by looking at it.

 

[clareriley]

Hi. If the black pellets came from inside a filter cartridge then i'd guess that they are activated carbon. Carbon removes things like tannins from wood, or phenols (gives the fishy smell), or medications that may have been used to treat an illness etc. Carbon generally is good for a week or two (this is often debated) before it gets "clogged up." It is the type of thing that once it is used up it is used up even though you wouldn't be able to tell the difference by looking at it.

Hi again... wow you wouldnt think I knew the ins and outs of the old filters would you haha.
Right thankyou. thats helped me a little.. so what do I do.. buy new stuff?

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. You can buy new carbon if you want to use it. Some people are of the opinion that it really isn't necessary unless there is something in the tank water that you want to remove like medications etc. I haven't been worrying about it much in my tank. I have some in case i decide i want it, but i don't intentionally replace it at any special interval. If you keep up with regular water changes i would suspect that the carbon becomes less important.