3166markw

im adding a solution to the water to treat a fish that has pop eye and dropsy, ive been told to do this.

is it the mesh type thing that sits on the top that gets the brunt of the dirt? what about the carbon? are they the little peices that sit underneath??

i know im sounding thick here, but im not 100% sure and im worried ill take the wrong thing out.

somebody help soon please!


thanks

sgould

The why is fairly straight forward...carbon will neutralize the medication and your fish will not get better. Both carbon and zeolite will look like little chips/pieces. The carbon will be black, and I believe the zeolite is more white in color. It would not be unusual for them to be inside a mesh bag, though without seeing your setup I can't say for sure. Basically, I would take out everything EXCEPT any sponge or floss.

3166markw

the floss/mesh type stuff is attached to a holding section with the black bits inside (chips as you say). there is no white bits inside there. but there are loads of thick white short tubes that sit underneath. all that is in there at the moment is the black sponge, no mesh/floss. would cotton wool do as a makeshift replacement?? seeing as i cant detach the mesh/floss

sgould

So, you can remove the tubes and the carbon bits while leaving the sponge? If so, go for it...just do not remove the sponge as it will have the bacteria in it that keeps your tank cycled. What kind of filter (brand/model) is this? Maybe we can look it up online and get a better visual for what you are seeing.

3166markw

the white tubes are the only things i have taken out, ive put the mesh thats holding the chips inside back in. i hope those black chips that i cant get to are'nt absorbing the medicine because its been 4 days now and the fish isn't showing any signs of improvement.

unfortunatly i dont know what kind of filter it is as i chucked the packaging.

sgould

The black chips are carbon, and they will absorb the medicine. The carbon needs to come out while you are treating.

3166markw

nooooooooooo!!!

ive been treating for nearly a week now with the carbon chips still in there. ive had to rip open the meshing stuff to get them out, so that is ruined now. this cant be right. why would they make it so as you have to rip off the meshing to get hold of the carbon chips? because thats what ive had to do so that the medicine works properly. why isn't it held down with a clip or something?

ive put the mesh and what its attached to back into place, but ive added some new mesh to sit on top of where i have ripped the old stuff

sgould

Sorry you are having trouble! All of the filters I am familiar with have easily removable filter media. Containing chips, whether carbon or otherwise, in a mesh bag is very common. Then, when you want to either change or just plain remove the chips, you simply pull out the bag but leave everything else (sponge, floss, etc) in place. That's why I was hoping we could find out what kind of filter you have. Is there anything printing on the filter or the filter pump that gives you a name?

In the meantime, with the carbon gone, your medicine should be able to work now, though you will probably need to start dosing from scratch.

3166markw

i was sure the chips (carbon) had to come out from what you and others had said, but when i saw that i would have to rip open the mesh, i thought that cant be right. i noticed in LFS the other day that there were easily removable filter media as you say. i couldn't work out why mine had been made that way, hence why i was unwilling to rip it open.

there is a name on the filter pump, 'powerpump' and 'impeller' as well as a few numbers and letters. to me that just sounds like the name of the pump and its manufacturer.

yeah, i started a dose from scratch again now. hope all goes well.

thanks

tricky_tink

A picture would help! Most filters can be pegged from a few photos.

caravela

I have a question too. Do you leave the carbon filter out for the entire week (or whatever) that you're dosing, or do you just leave it out for a few hours after you've medicated for the medication to circulate. I took mine out last night to treat a fish with a small infection on its mouth, but this morning my plec was dead - it might be coincidence but I'm worried I killed it by taking out the filter.

miker

Plecos are sensitive to medications. What did you use? Also, you should just take the carbon (black bits) out, not the whole filter media. Leave the filter media in there all the time - to clean and to let nitrifying bacteria grow in it.

caravela

the carbon isn't detachable from the sponge - the filter just consists of several different types of sponges including a carbon sponge. The medication was melafix, which the shop said was natural and therefore not dangerous.

miker

Make a small incision on top of the filter layer containing carbon and take the carbon bits out.