How to use Activated carbon in aquarium?

Question

I want to use Activated Carbon granules to help clean the water of my Aquarium. I have a submersible power filter which can take any media. The questions are
1. Is it safe to keep the carbon thing inside the aquarium inside some material in the first place.
2. What material should I use to enclose the activated carbon into and then put it in the power filter.
3. How often should I replace them?

.:Fishie:.

Answer 1

First of all the carbon is not going to clean your water, it just adds more oxygen to your water, wedge the carbon into your filter with filterwool, and you replace it when you replace the filterwool, and that is as soon as the filterwool is dirty, and you also don't have to use a lot of the carbon. Hope this is the answer you were looking for. You must remember to wash the carbon until the water runs clear otherwise it will make your water mucky

Answer 2

Do you have real driftwood in the tank? This is the common cause of yellow water as it leaches out brown tannins that stain the water, like weak tea. Activated carbon can help if that's the case, by absorbing those tannins. You need to replace the carbon regularly as it "fills up", every month or 2. More water changes also help, the 25% you are doing is fine, (water is testing good) but if you did those changes twice a week, you remove twice the staining, and it wont hurt the tank system in any other way. Anyway, adding some carbon wont cause any problems, so feel free to stick some in the filter and see what happens. Worst thing that can happen? Nothing. Ian

Answer 3

Fishie, AC is safe and used by many aquarist's.

I don't know what your filter looks like but you should have a plastic cartidge that you can fill with AC.

Replace it once every month.

Know that you don't really need to use AC if you do regular water changes and that any medication / fertilizer, etc. you put in will be absorbed almost immediately by the AC.

Answer 4

Carbon does nothing to oxidize your water. It is there to remove any odors or medications added to your tank. It really is NOT necessary if you keep up on your water changes.

That being said, if the water of your aquarium is dirty, you should try a 20% water change daily until it clears. If it looks "foggy", your water is not dirty - chances are, you're experiencing a bacterial bloom. Give it time to settle. It won't hurt your fish.