Activated Carbon

baotchi

baotchi

Large Fish
#1
Jul 16, 2004
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Hi there

I got 2 questions to ask you 2day.

First, I went to the local pet shop yesterday and there was some articles on sale. There was some AquaClear 500 Activated Carbon media pouches. I bought 2 of them, as they were 2 for 1. I guess I can use them in my fluval canisters right? I guess carbon is carbon, and it should be the same, but cheaper. That's what the girl at the LPS said tho... What do you think?

Second question, I heard that carbon should not be left in the filter all the time? How come? I heard it would capture the plants nutriments or something.... but what if I gots fake plants? I tought carbon was an important part of the filtration process... Must I replace the carbon media sometimes? or simply remove it at a time? and if I change it, must I change half of it at a time? do bacteria grow in carbon, or only on bio-max?

thanks to make this clearer to me

Simon
 

Purple

Purple

Superstar Fish
#2
Oct 31, 2003
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Yes - you can use any carbon packs in your Fluvals.

Upsides to carbon - huge capacity to filter smaller particles - removes chemicals and meds - supposed to be good for removing "smells" too.

Downsides - clogs quickly which can reduce flow and lead to "by-pass", and even leaches muck back out again when it gets gummed up - rumours around that it can contribute to "hole-in-the-head" - expensive to keep swapping out as it clogs

So - it's good stuff to have around if you need it - but as a regular in your filter it's not worth the trouble. I can get about one month out of a carbon pack before it becomes more trouble than it's worth. After a month, the flow slows right down, and all the muck it holds starts to liquify and come back out resulting in cloudy water. Very occassionaly when I have had cloudy water, I've put a carbon pack in my pre-filter - clears it up quickly - but has to be removed again before the effect goes into reverse - in a pre-filter set-up this is only a matter of days.

If I was you, I'd keep it for special occassions such as med removal - but not use it as a 'matter of course'
 

baotchi

baotchi

Large Fish
#3
Jul 16, 2004
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#3
thank you very much for this information Purp!

what should I use in my filter than? I got 3 baskets, actually there is Activated Carbon in the bottom one, nothing in the middle and bio-max in the top basket.

what about fluval pre-filter? it looks like bio-max but it's less porous and looks like little octogons instead of cylinders.

what about bio-wool?

ever heard of argile?

thanks again!

Simon
 

T

TaffyFish

Superstar Fish
#4
Jan 30, 2003
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Always good to get a deal activated carbon but like Purple says, keep it for specific purposes rather than any long term use in your filters. Think of it like a sponge that soaks up the chemicals but when it's full, it lets them all go again - this can be disasterous.

They will absorb and adsorb chemicals like meds, fertilisers and tannin dyes which cause discolouration but, to stress the point, not over a long term. Insert them for a specific job and then remove them again.

You usually want 3 stage filtering in a can - mechanical filter to break up the big bits, biological to house the bacteria colonies that perform nitrification and finally a fine mechanical filter like wool to give the water a polish before returning it to the tank. Some cans do the 3 stages in a different sequence, some filters with proprietary comsumables use carbon at all times but recommend you change it frequently (expensively!!)

fluval pre-filter - sounds like the first stage mechanical filter

bio-wool - probably just fine filter wool, final stage fine filtering

ever heard of argile? - nope!
 

Last edited:
baotchi

baotchi

Large Fish
#5
Jul 16, 2004
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#5
thanks again

sorry for the word "argile"... in english it's clay. I don't know why I wrote it in french in an english sentence... I'm at work now and I speak french on the phont with customers all day long... speak french, write english... sometimes ends with weird results... :D

so, I heard that Clay, or White clay, used in filters, would be miraculous. I gots references and posts about it, but it's all in french. Maybe I could translate some interesting parts of it tonight if it is on interest for anyone here.

thanks

Simon
 

Purple

Purple

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Oct 31, 2003
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I pack my Fluval cans as follows (204's and a 404)

Bottom tray - filter floss. In layers, so that the bottom most (dirtiest) can be changed without having to chuck the lot out. This is primarily particulate filtering, but a lot of bacteria will grow in floss.

Middle tray - one layer of floss, then ceramic hoops. The hoops are bacterial surface area that will not clog. As they do not clog up, they don't need regular cleaning, so you don't disturb your bacteria colonies as you would when changing all floss trays etc. The packet says they "trap large particles" - which must mean fag ends and bottle tops (which can clog the impellor), cos I can't see anything smaller than that getting stopped by them. The single layer of floss in this tray is to prevent gunk getting through if the bottom tray gets by-passed for any reason.

Top tray - one layer of floss again (just for luck) then more hoops, followed by a final layer of floss before the impellor (protection).

One idea I've been toying with.......that top tray has another tray that sits in it. If you pack out both of them, the water gets pulled through the bit immediately under the impellor (logically). If you leave the very top-most (blue) tray empty, then the water gets pulled up through the media fairly evenly, and then through the impellor (which is off-set to one side), which has got to be an improvement.

Cleaning........two reasons to clean a Fluval - flow rate lessens, or front sponges get clogged.

If the flow rate goes 'off', then it's going to be the bottom floss that's clogging up. Remove and replace. The front sponge can be flushed off as often as you want, as most of the bacteria are in the media trays - enough to keep you going anyway. You'll find the front sponge area is bigger than the floss area in the bottom basket, so it's always the floss that clogs first

I'm currently working on a fine sponge replacement for all this floss i'm going through - it's proper filter sponge - just cut to shape, which means it can be rinsed and re-used.

(If you were using a carbon pack - it would be right at the top of the filter, so that most of the particulate matter wouldn't get to it to clog it up so quickly).

I've heard tales of gravel - sand - perlite - old socks etc being used as media, but I'm a creature of habit, so I'll stick to my own ways (getting old)
 

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