How Often To Change Carbon Filter In Fish Tank

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Filter media

Activated carbon (AC) also called activated charcoal is one of the well-nigh pop filtration media for home aquariums.

Just they only concluding for equally long as the carbon is still able to absorb impurities.

1 it loses its accuse, you'll demand to replace information technology.

So, how long does it final in aquarium filters?

Yous should change AC every 2 to 4 weeks. If the water is very dirty though, you may take to change information technology every week instead.

With new filtration methods becoming available, some people wonder whether AC is still needed.

If you're non sure whether you should add it to your aquarium'south filter, you've come up to the right place. Nosotros'll reply this and many other questions for yous.

Contents

ane. What is Activated Carbon?
2. Practise You Demand Activated Charcoal In Your Aquarium Filter?
3. How Long Does Ac Last?
4. How to Alter Your Ac
5. Recommended Products
- MarineLand Black Diamond Media Premium Carbon
- Small Aquarium Mesh Media Filter Bags
6. Related Questions
- Is It a Must-Have for Aquariums?
- Are There Any Negatives?
- Can I Recharge Information technology?

1. What is Activated Carbon?

Air-conditioning is bituminous charcoal, lignite, or wood that has been treated at very loftier temperatures to "charge" it. This creates lots of tiny pores to increase the surface area.

Because of this, the Air-conditioning is able to deed like a sponge. Bad odors and trace elements are easily absorbed for equally long every bit the carbon holds its charge.

You should exist aware that there are dissimilar types of AC that are made using different methods.

For aquariums, you need one that is fabricated from bituminous charcoal and comes in granular grade. This type is called a granular activated charcoal, or GAC for short.

2. Do You Need Activated Charcoal In Your Aquarium Filter?

To answer this question, let's notice out what Air-conditioning does?

Your aquarium water contains lots of dissolved contaminants that need to exist removed.

These can include tannins (which change the water's color), phenols (which cause odors), chloramines, and chlorine. AC is able to absorb these elements, leaving your aquarium clean.

But you lot should also know that there are some things Ac cannot absorb.

You can't utilize it for toxin removal, for example, because it cannot blot
ammonia , nitrite and nitrate .

Read more than:

six Effective Means to Control Your Tank'south Nitrate Levels

vii Effective Ways to Relieve Your Fish from Ammonia and Nitrite

AC also cannot absorb heavy metals like iron. If your water has any heavy metals, you should use a water treatment product starting time.

Sometimes you'll need to treat sick fish with medication.

AC will blot most medications, then y'all should accept it out before you starting time treatment. Once your fish are healthy once more, you tin can safely put the carbon back into your aquarium filter.

3. How Long Does AC Last?

Some people think that it will final for months at a fourth dimension. Others retrieve it only lasts a few days.

The truth is, how long your AC lasts depends on a lot of different things.

Different brands use unlike temperatures to accuse the carbon, which can brand information technology last longer or shorter than other brands. Normally, information technology will terminal betwixt two to four weeks.

The dirtier your aquarium h2o, the shorter your AC volition terminal.

This tin can also happen when you have corals or microalgae in your aquarium, because they constantly release biochemicals into the water. Ac volition help you get rid of those biochemicals by absorbing them.

Even though Ac is ane of the most absorbent filter media, the more it absorbs the quicker those tiny pores get blocked.

Eventually, so many of the pores are clogged that it cannot absorb annihilation anymore.

When this happens, your AC loses its accuse.

Yous should modify your AC every 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the bio load in your aquarium. If you have a turtle, for case, y'all'll demand to change it in one case a week instead.

4. How to Change Your AC

Your Air conditioning needs to exist placed into a mesh filter handbag to exist used.

You should put half a cup of carbon into the bag for every 10 gallons of water in your aquarium.

Sometimes you'll find it has some carbon dust when you accept it out of its container. Just to be safe, before putting the Air-conditioning into your aquarium, you should run it nether some running water from a tap.

Next, you should remove the old carbon from your filter system so y'all can put the new bag in. Your filter should accept 3 kinds of media: mechanical, biological, and chemical.

Run into likewise:

1/ What Are the Best Mechanical Filter Media?

2/ iv All-time Biological Filter Media

The mechanical media will help make certain that your AC doesn't have to absorb besides much debris besides quickly. And the biofilter volition absorb some of the organic compounds that can clog your AC media.

That's why y'all should place your Air-conditioning (the chemical media) after these 2. Go on your water menses direction in heed: the Air conditioning should be the last media the water flows through. Otherwise, it will lose its charge very apace.

5. Recommended Products

Are yous ready to add an activated carbon filtration media to your aquarium? Accept a look at these recommended products.

MarineLand Black Diamond Media Premium Carbon

marineland-black-diamond-media-premium-activated-carbon

The MarineLand Black Diamond Media Premium Carbon is the best product available. It'south and then good that it works twice as fast as most other ACs. That's because MarineLand specifically sizes their carbon products to be more efficient in all aquarium filters.

MarineLand charges the carbon at 3,000 degrees to make it more porous. Y'all'll commencement seeing results very chop-chop once you add together it to your filtration organization.

Pocket-sized Aquarium Mesh Media Filter Numberless

These Small Aquarium Mesh Media Filter Bags are fabricated specifically for AC. They can also exist reused, but they come in a iv-pack so you tin quickly modify your carbon media while washing the electric current one.

The high menstruum 500-micron design and drawstring volition make sure that your Air-conditioning doesn't escape. Water and dissolved contaminants will easily flow through the mesh.

Yous can use these mesh media filter bags in both freshwater and saltwater aquariums.

Just retrieve to utilize granular activated charcoal like the MarineLand Black Diamond Media Premium Carbon. These pocket-sized aquarium mesh media filter numberless will not work with pulverization activated carbon (PAC), which you shouldn't utilize in your aquarium.

If you prefer to use a PAC that comes in pellet class, y'all tin can still use these.

six. Related Questions

Still not sure if you should use AC in your aquarium or have more questions? Here are a few more things you should know.

Is It a Must-Have for Aquariums?

Some people believe that AC should exist a standard filtration media in virtually filters. They say that you should but have information technology out if your aquarium has a high phosphate content or if you're using fish medication.

Other people say that if you have a biofilter and change your aquarium water regularly, then yous don't demand to employ AC all the time. I

nstead, they suggest keeping your carbon media for special use. 1 of the reasons they say and then is because it can become expensive to modify the AC every 2 to four weeks.

There's actually no right answer. You tin can make up one's mind for yourself whether you should utilise Air-conditioning equally a constant filter media.

If you feel that your aquarium is good for you and make clean, then you can keep it for special circumstances. For example, if you've just finished treatment for your fish, Air-conditioning tin be used to blot the excess medication.

As long as you have proper filter media and change your aquarium water, it's okay non to use AC all the time.

Are There Any Negatives?

Air conditioning doesn't discriminate what it absorbs.

This means it can likewise take away some of the trace minerals that your fish and aquarium plants need.

Some fish can hands become very ill very rapidly if this happens. 1 of the most common issues is head and lateral line erosion (HLLE), which tin cause your fish to die.

Although it hasn't been proven, some people believe that carbon grit tin can also cause HLLE.

This is why we suggest rinsing your Air conditioning with properly filtered water before adding information technology to your aquarium. When it comes to your fish'south health, it's better to be safe than lamentable.

Some other problem is that some Ac brands haven't been acid washed.

This means that it can be coated in phosphates that will launder off into your aquarium h2o. If this happens, you can have a problem with algae blooms.

At that place's as well a rumor that when AC loses its accuse, it starts to de-absorb. What this ways is that some people believe once the pores are all clogged, the contaminants get-go leaking back into the water again.

De-absorption is technically possible. However, in gild for it to happen, there need to be certain changes to your h2o'southward chemical science.These changes don't happen in aquariums, then you lot won't have to worry.

Can I Recharge It?

A lot of people think that you can recharge your AC once its pores go chock-full.

Some will even share footstep-by-step instructions that tell you lot that you can do and then in your oven.

While information technology is possible to recharge wearied AC, you can't do so yourself.

Only like turning the bituminous charcoal to turn it into AC in the first identify, recharging need very loftier temperatures and pressure. You won't be able to heat your oven enough or create that pressure level.

If you reuse exhausted carbon after trying to recharge information technology, yous'll just be adding another biofilter to your aquarium. Remember that Air-conditioning with nigh of its pores blocked volition first to grow bacteria.