Sharkesse
- #1
Just a little advice and discussion one, if possible.
I have never ever used carbon in my filter before, my dad has recently started using it with his and it seems to keep his tank nice and balanced. We use water from the same source and both tanks are in the same house (just different rooms) and his nitrates are always less than mine, I suppose it could also be contributing to the fact that we have different substrate (I have thicker gravel, he has sand) and bottom-feeders (I have my pleco and my Algae Eater and he has a big 12/13 school of assorted corys) but I like to think the carbon has a hand in it too.
We had to move my tank today to make space for my new one which arrives next week and I had to remove water so we could make it lighter to move. During the top-up, I removed the filter into a bucket (a big flexi-tub bucket we picked up at a DIY shop, best money I ever spent!) emptied a good half of tank water into it and went to town emptying and cleaning in that bucket, all with the original tank water and bacteria. My dad suggested I try carbon this time around, so it was filled in a bag, swished in the old water and set in the basket on top of the media (Fluval 205 filter) and the entire thing was filled back to the brI'm with the original water it had been sitting in, in my mind, to keep that colony going.
Long story short, fresh tank and happy fish! I was just wondering what carbon is like as I've never used it before. I know I will have to remove it in the case of medicating my tank, but I'm trying to get into a routine of removing any sick fish into the QT to treat them. Other than that, I don't know much about it. Has anyone used it before? Do you swear by it, or is it just one of those additional things? Does it ever cause issues? I'll be testing my water tomorrow anyway just to be safe as I'm a little behind on my water testing schedule.
I have never ever used carbon in my filter before, my dad has recently started using it with his and it seems to keep his tank nice and balanced. We use water from the same source and both tanks are in the same house (just different rooms) and his nitrates are always less than mine, I suppose it could also be contributing to the fact that we have different substrate (I have thicker gravel, he has sand) and bottom-feeders (I have my pleco and my Algae Eater and he has a big 12/13 school of assorted corys) but I like to think the carbon has a hand in it too.
We had to move my tank today to make space for my new one which arrives next week and I had to remove water so we could make it lighter to move. During the top-up, I removed the filter into a bucket (a big flexi-tub bucket we picked up at a DIY shop, best money I ever spent!) emptied a good half of tank water into it and went to town emptying and cleaning in that bucket, all with the original tank water and bacteria. My dad suggested I try carbon this time around, so it was filled in a bag, swished in the old water and set in the basket on top of the media (Fluval 205 filter) and the entire thing was filled back to the brI'm with the original water it had been sitting in, in my mind, to keep that colony going.
Long story short, fresh tank and happy fish! I was just wondering what carbon is like as I've never used it before. I know I will have to remove it in the case of medicating my tank, but I'm trying to get into a routine of removing any sick fish into the QT to treat them. Other than that, I don't know much about it. Has anyone used it before? Do you swear by it, or is it just one of those additional things? Does it ever cause issues? I'll be testing my water tomorrow anyway just to be safe as I'm a little behind on my water testing schedule.