Is there carbon in my filter?

[usacutie81]

I'm about to treat my QT for ich and it says to remove the carbon from the filter. Does the filter pad have carbon? Or is there only carbon if I put carbon in?

 

[Lotus]

What kind of filter is it? Some have carbon in them, some don't. If the filter pad is more than a month old, you don't need to remove it anyway.

 

[usacutie81]

Um. I don't know what kind of filter it is. Guess I should know that huh? Let me see if I can find it online....

 

[MrBungle]

if its your eclipse 5gal hex then yeah, it has carbon in the filter pad.

 

[usacutie81]

Yay I found it! Here it is, the exact same one. What do you think?

PetSmart - Whisper In-Tank Power Aquarium Filters from Tetra

 

[usacutie81]

So do I take the filter pad out till the fishey is better? But then what will filter the water? Do I need to buy special pads for when the fish are sick?

 

[MrBungle]

yeah if it uses bio-bags they have carbon in them. empty out the carbon from your exitsing bag.

 

[usacutie81]

K. I just went and looked at the filter pad. I'm assuming the little black rocks are the carbon pieces. How do I get them out? Cuz I assume I'll need to put them back in once Mrs. guppy is healthy again, so I can't just toss them...

Why do I have to take the carbon out anyway? What's up with carbon?

 

[f8fan]

I hardly ever use carbon in my filter, cos I do the DIY filter media : PG: DIY Penguin Filter Cartridges - PlantGeek.net you can manipulate these instructions to your own filter.

 

[MrBungle]

I think the carbon removes the meds from the water.

 

[xtr1gunf00lx]

lol! i have the same one! but for a 10 gal

 

[Seleya]

How long have you been using the filter pad? If it's been more than a month as Lotus pointed out, the carbon is sufficiently deactivated that it won't be affecting the efficacy of the meds. In other words, don't worry about the carbon if the pad has been in use for a while.

When you have sick fish, you don't want to stress them any further than necessary. You're apt to have more problems removing filter media (and risking removing the biofilter) than choosing other alternatives. I never use carbon except in very specific cases.

Keep an eye on the other tanks. If I recall, you did some juggling of fish which exposed at least one other tank to the ich. As a general rule, unless a fish has a very specific illness, you're better off treating whichever tank is exposed since fish share the same water. Also be sure to keep all equipment seperate.

 

[usacutie81]

The guppies have been in the 30 gal for more than a month now, the ich just showed up a few days ago so I'm pretty sure no other tanks or fish are affected. I'm keeping my eye on the rest of the guppies. The reason I didn't treat the tank itself is cuz I didn't know if it would be dangerous to medicate the fry and they haven't shown signs of sickness. I caught it so early I might as well use the QT, since that's what it's for.

The QT has only been in use about 2-3 weeks, so not long enough for the carbon to be deactivated. Should I remove the carbon? And if so, how?

 

[JWright]

Just cut a slot in the bottom of the bag and shake the carbon out. Carbon really isn't that important in a tank, except in a couple specific situations.