Does Anyone Use Activated Carbon?

[Prowse]

I use activared carbon in my fluval canister filter but was told against using by my LFS. What is everyone elses opinion? Also i have been told i should replace my ceramic noodles (where the bacteria grows) every 6 months??? I didnt think that they would ever need replacing? I thought the longer they were kept the more benificial they would become :rolleyes: .

Cheers,

Andrew

[joz]

I used to use activated carbon nearly continously but have stooped.Mainly due to the fact I add fertilizers to my tank for the plants.
I agree with you about the noodles,they should only need a light rinse if they get blocked up.

[GoGuppy]

Hi Andrew

The main use for activated carbon is to clear the water of unwanted chemical, such as medication at the end of a treatment. Even then it should only be used for about a week or so, then removed.

I have used the same ceramic noodles for some seven years now, probably longer and recenty, when I was setting up my new tank, I re-used the whole lot and just added more to fill the gaps, as I am now using a larger filter.

BTW, I use two types of ceramic noodles, namely the solid rings for mechanical filtration and sintered noodles for biological filtration. The solid rings live in the lowest part of the cannister filter and get washed out from time to time to get rid of the black gunk that builds up in the filter housing. I don't touch the sintered noodles which are the last elements before the pump.

Actually, I cleaned the filter yesterday as per above and just bought a new nitrate test kit today. I tested my water about an hour ago the result was zero nitrate, so I guess I must be doing something right. :biggrin:

Cheers