Replacing the black carbon sponge

[CraigDalton]

Hi there I have the bioflow L juwel filter and I currently have the black carbon sponge out as I am medicating my fish but it made me wonder how ofter should I replace that sponge? Does the carbon become inactive in a certain period of time and what really does it do if someone could help me that would be great.

Thanks

 

[Colin_T]

Carbon adsorbs stuff over time and is not normally necessary in an aquarium. I usually suggest throwing the carbon away and just replacing it with a sponge. You can buy sponges for various filters and use a pair of scissors to cut it to size. Sponges last for years and you simply squeeze them out in a bucket of tank water every few weeks and re-use them.

 

[CraigDalton]

Thanks very much for your reply!

 

[Essjay]

And ignore what the instructions say about replacing the rest of the media. Sponges will last for years, just wash them in water taken out at a water change. The only thing that does need replacing is the white pad as it goes into holes after a couple of washes. It is cheaper to buy a length of filter wool from a roll (Ebay, Amazon) and use a white pad as a template to cut it up.

 

[CraigDalton]

Thanks very much for your help!

 

[Retired Viking]

I agree, I replaced all my filters with sponge.

 

[663]

Hi there I have the bioflow L juwel filter and I currently have the black carbon sponge out as I am medicating my fish but it made me wonder how ofter should I replace that sponge? Does the carbon become inactive in a certain period of time and what really does it do if someone could help me that would be great.

Thanks

As near as I can tell, carbon impregnated foam ages the same a tray full of carbon does. It adsorbs tiny particles, until it simply can't hold any more. It can't be cleaned by rinsing after a certain point. I replaced some 40PPI CI foam a week ago with 60PPI and it frankly works a lot better in terms of water clarity.