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carbon

933 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  Judazzz
i was reading the box of the carbon i got and it said "this will not raise ph levels if used properly"
does this mean there is a limit to the amount of carbon in the water. the reason i am askin is b/c i have a 90 gal tank and over filter it with 2 filters meant for 70 gal each. is it okay to put carbon media in both the filters?
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Carbon does not dissolve into the water! It absorbs chemicals from the water (like metals, medicne traces, tanins), but gets saturated pretty quickly, and then it starts releasing the absorbed chemicals into the water again. That's why it needs to be replaced everey 3 or 4 weeks...

As for your filtration: I wouldn't use only carbon! Fill up at least one with biomedia (for biological filtration, to maintain the tank cycle). The other one could be filled with carbon, but that's not necessary: most people only use it when the water is colored too much, or when they have medicated their fish. I think it's all up to you what you want to use in your second filter!
bgshortys said:
can I remove my carbon all at once, or will that disrupt my tank since i have been using carbon for about 5 months now (but i change it)
No problem: carbon has nothing to do with your tank's biological filtration (ie. the tank cycle). All it does is chemical filtration (ie. absorbing certain chemicals).
You can start and stop using it abruptly, since the carbon itself doesn't affect the water perimeters to any significant degree.
Carbon is a filtration bonus, so to speak (an non-essential extra): only biofiltration is 100% essential!

So just go ahead (I did it too, a few months ago, and I experienced no problems whatsoever)...
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