Christine1014
Fish Crazy
For a liquid test, I'd recommend API Master Test Kit for freshwater. It's about $30 but will last a long time and give much more accurate results than the strips.
Hmm.. I had forgotten that you were medicating the tank. Is it something you just dump in your tank once, and then are supposed to wait three days, or something? If so, I'm almost thinking a schedule something like, Day 1, a.m. - 50% water change. Medicate tank. Day 2, a.m. - 50% water change. Add half of a typical dosage of the meds to replace what you lost with the water change. Day three - repeat..
The purpose of carbon in a filter, I think, is to clean out/neutraliz/absorb impurities in the water. But you don't want it absorbing your meds. How long carbon stays "active" is somewhat debatable, and a lot of people don't use carbon at all. If your filter is something like a Whisper filter that uses those Bio bags that have the carbon "built in" to the filter cartridge, just slice the bottom or top open, dump the carbon out, and then put the cartridge back in the tank. (the cloth stuff on the cartridge contains all your beneficial bacteria, so don't let it out of the water too long! And whatever you do, don't run it under tap water, and don't replace it every two weeks like the directions probably tell you to.)
Hmm.. I had forgotten that you were medicating the tank. Is it something you just dump in your tank once, and then are supposed to wait three days, or something? If so, I'm almost thinking a schedule something like, Day 1, a.m. - 50% water change. Medicate tank. Day 2, a.m. - 50% water change. Add half of a typical dosage of the meds to replace what you lost with the water change. Day three - repeat..
The purpose of carbon in a filter, I think, is to clean out/neutraliz/absorb impurities in the water. But you don't want it absorbing your meds. How long carbon stays "active" is somewhat debatable, and a lot of people don't use carbon at all. If your filter is something like a Whisper filter that uses those Bio bags that have the carbon "built in" to the filter cartridge, just slice the bottom or top open, dump the carbon out, and then put the cartridge back in the tank. (the cloth stuff on the cartridge contains all your beneficial bacteria, so don't let it out of the water too long! And whatever you do, don't run it under tap water, and don't replace it every two weeks like the directions probably tell you to.)
