Activated Carbon?

ok, so since the carbon has probably been deactivated (it's been a few weeks) it'll just serve as a fine filter right? no harm done?
 
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Not to steal your post Fome, But what do you guys normaly run in you filters?
 
Kabong said:
Not to steal your post Fome, But what do you guys normaly run in you filters?
Click to expand...

I use poly fibre matting with some open pore ceramic material for the biofilter. I throw carbon in for special purposes, most recently to remove some colour left after using peat...
 
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No, there's no harm in having old charcoal in your filters, but in time the tiny holes will fill with old, dead bacteria, decreasing the surface area until the charcoal is basically as good as gravel. So there's no harm in it being there, but unlike other media, like foam, wool, floss it can't be rinsed off very well.

There is also a large variety of bio-media available in which the old, dead colonies are sloughed off and replaced by the new ones, but I don't really know anything about them other than the existence thereof. I'm a filter sponge guy miself.
 
I use sponges in my filters and just rinse them in old tank water every couple of weeks. Saves a lot of money.

Keep the charcoal for removing medications if you need to.
 
I use coarse and fine sponges, Bio-Max, and floss. I've got a Penguin on my 10g and I use an old insert (just keep rinsing it) with the bio-wheel.
Carbon is pretty useless unless it's performing a specific purpose, I'd use that space for sponges - you can never have enough sponges :D
 
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