mav8989
Fish Fanatic
I have a Marineland Emperor 400 filter in my 65 gallon freshwater aquarium. Inserted on each side are the proper size media cartriges which have a cotton element along with "built-in" carbon media sort of "stuffed in along with it". You can't really seperate the two...
Additionally, I utilize the two "empty" frames that you get with the filter that you can use to load with whatever you like in order to install additional carbon. I use Marineland's Diamond media which is a mix of regular carbon and ammonia (or maybe *um) control crystals. IMHO, you can't have enough carbon. Perhaps someone will tell me you can have too much?
Anyway...
Say I want to add tea-tree oil in order to treat a bacterial infection - so I want to pull the charcoal. I can't pull my primary cotton pads (which unfortunately have carbon "built-in")... I'm not going to kill my beneficial bacteria ---- so I justify leaving those in because the directions on the bottle of Melafix say that you "should remove charcoal filters, if possible". I ride on the "if possible".
My experience is that charcoal lowers any useful level of the medication quickly... but I'm not going to destroy the beneficial bacterial colonies in my filter by yanking the whole darn pads.... Perhaps by leaving them in I exhaust the "built-in" carbon in those pads by the repeated (as prescribed) dosing - I don't know... I guess I should check with my girlfriend, who is a chemist!!
But here's my question... I'm not about to destroy all that wonderful Diamond blend charcoal that always seems super-brand-new when it needs to come out... ... The way I see it, if I let it dry out completely, then any beneficial bacteria in those carbon holders is dead... so be it... My cotton filter media is still full of it....
Say I pull it... So for three or four days that carbon dries out... all the way out.
Is it still chemically effective when I plop it back in after the course of treatment... or does the act of it drying out completely damage it's water polishing and purification properties?
Any thoughts would be appreciated... Any misunderstanding I have which might be corrected, even better.
Thanks!
Additionally, I utilize the two "empty" frames that you get with the filter that you can use to load with whatever you like in order to install additional carbon. I use Marineland's Diamond media which is a mix of regular carbon and ammonia (or maybe *um) control crystals. IMHO, you can't have enough carbon. Perhaps someone will tell me you can have too much?
Anyway...
Say I want to add tea-tree oil in order to treat a bacterial infection - so I want to pull the charcoal. I can't pull my primary cotton pads (which unfortunately have carbon "built-in")... I'm not going to kill my beneficial bacteria ---- so I justify leaving those in because the directions on the bottle of Melafix say that you "should remove charcoal filters, if possible". I ride on the "if possible".
My experience is that charcoal lowers any useful level of the medication quickly... but I'm not going to destroy the beneficial bacterial colonies in my filter by yanking the whole darn pads.... Perhaps by leaving them in I exhaust the "built-in" carbon in those pads by the repeated (as prescribed) dosing - I don't know... I guess I should check with my girlfriend, who is a chemist!!But here's my question... I'm not about to destroy all that wonderful Diamond blend charcoal that always seems super-brand-new when it needs to come out... ... The way I see it, if I let it dry out completely, then any beneficial bacteria in those carbon holders is dead... so be it... My cotton filter media is still full of it....
Say I pull it... So for three or four days that carbon dries out... all the way out.
Is it still chemically effective when I plop it back in after the course of treatment... or does the act of it drying out completely damage it's water polishing and purification properties?
Any thoughts would be appreciated... Any misunderstanding I have which might be corrected, even better.
Thanks!
