choochiegirl

While treating my tank with Melafix, i read it's recommended to remove the carbon filter. I'm assuming it's the black spongy thing in my filter. If I remove them, won't any good bacteria in them die? I have them sitting in some treated water at the moment

When can i put the filters back in?

sick-lid boy

The black spongy thing is not the carbon. Carbon is the little black rocks that are probably inside of a filter bag. Let us know what kind of filter you have and we can probably help a little better.

choochiegirl

it's a whisper 30-60 that hangs on the back, it has 2 sets of black sponges and then 2 white thing that looks like a bag

COBettaCouple

the carbon -- if you have any should be in the white filter bag(s). the sponges are your sponge filtration and home to the good bacteria colonies. when you work on the stuff in the filter, it's best to turn it off during the maintenance to cut down on how much 'crud' gets released into the tank. To clean the sponges, put treated tap water in a bowl and swish the sponge in it (never use untreated tap water on the sponges).

if you use carbon, it's good to replace it once a week (unless you get the real good carbon that lasts 2 weeks). if you don't replace the carbon when it's "worn out", it will release what it's collected back into the water.

choochiegirl

I feel silly, I don't even know what's in the filter bags , I'm guessing I should have changed one by now then? could it be something else in there ?

COBettaCouple

the white bags should only have activated carbon in them, if anything.. we either change or clean our bags every 4 weeks.. we change our carbon every 2 weeks.

choochiegirl

okey dokey, thanks, guess i need to make another trip to the lfs tomorrow. I should have my own parking spot there by now lol
if I have 2 carbon filters in there, i should only change one tho right? so i don't lose the bacteria? i finally found the instructions and it says only when it gets clogged and backfeeds, and the sponges yearly or when they look worn

so are they taking the meds out then?

sick-lid boy

Yeah, the carbon is inside the filter bag. Your filter will still run fine without it for a week while you use the Melafix. You can even dump the carbon out of the bag, rinse it out, and put the empty bag back on the filter. At the end of the week, when you're done with the medication, do a 25 or 30% water change and just get a new filter bag. On my whisper filter, I don't even use those filter bags, I just wrap the plastic bag-holder thing with filter fiber... I don't use carbon at all.

EDIT: You probably want to remove both carbon bags as they will remove the medication.

choochiegirl

Will do, i'll just keep the bags in there, i see from the manual i can buy just the carbon to fill up the bags

I'm also have a nitrite spike, will removing the carbon make a difference?

sick-lid boy

Nah, I don't think removing the carbon should affect the water parameters much, if at all. Just do a fairly large (30-40%) water change to take care of the nitrite spike. Should do the trick. Just keep an eye on those levels. Water changes are a good thing

COBettaCouple

the carbon in the white filter bags can come out without a problem. a lot of people run their filters without the carbon ever being in. you can take out all of the carbon and not hurt the good bacteria. they mostly colonize on the sponge. i'm not sure about getting rid of a sponge full of good bacteria.. if i was planning to do that, i'd stick the replacement sponge in the filter for a month or 2 before changing sponges to help ensure a good colony of beneficial bacteria on the new sponge.

choochiegirl

easier said than done, it took a while to get that carbon out, until I realized to just turn the bag inside out to get rid of it

so if I do a water change, will I have to re-medicate? or medicate in the am and change water in the pm?

I'm surprised that it's just tea tree oil, i have a ton of that stuff at home for other uses. But since it's for fish it cost a whole lot more

I read on the label that it's a good idea to treat when getting new fish... any thoughts on that?

COBettaCouple

i'd do a water change, then start a course of treatment with the melafix.. i believe it's 7 days. i only use it if the platys show symptoms that need it.

choochiegirl

I just checked and his fin looks a lot worse now, all shredded, I'm guessing the melafix is NOT helping. Any med suggestions? I need to run to the lfs and get something else

and what to do about the melafix in the water? should i put in carbon for a bit before I do a new med?

COBettaCouple

yea, i'd clear the melafix with some AC in the filter for a day - outta clear most of it, then you can start a course of TriSulfa.. which tends to be pretty good against fin rot.

choochiegirl

what are his chances? can his tail grow back?

I will run to the lfs this afternoon and grab some AC for the filters & run them and then do the new meds tomorrow, i did not add any melafix this am in case I was going to do a diff med. I hope the lfs has the Trisulpha

COBettaCouple

i couldn't say for sure, not seeing how much damage he has, but fins do regrow and the trisulfa will be the most likely med to give him a good chance. if you can get some liquid vitamins like vitachem from the DFS website, that would help too.

choochiegirl

his pic is on this thread http://www.fishlore.com/Forum/53-gup...-photos.0.html near the bottom. His tail looks great there compared to today tho, the bottom is almost non-existant today tho and that pic was taken last night