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Carbon filters out Betta Spa? IAL?

978 views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  TurtleBarb 
#1 ·
Hi there.
I added Atison's Betta Spa to my Spec III two days ago (no fish in the tank yet). Now the water is back to being clear and the pH has gone back up to 7.6 for reasons I can't fathom.
Methinks the carbon filtered out the Betta Spa. Can anyone confirm or deny this?
Would it do the same thing to IAL?
I'm tempted to remove the carbon from the filter, which would make the filter just mechanical and biological. Can anyone think of a reason not to remove the carbon? I already use Prime, Stress Zyme and Betta Spa on the spring water I use.

Thank you!
 
#2 ·
As far as I know, removing the carbon is fine, most ppl (here) use it to remove medications when they r done, but otherwise, I don't think most ppl use it in betta tanks (on this forum at least) And I think it does remove the IAL coloring, but I dunno, I use IAL, but ATM I don't use a filter, I will be in a week or so, though

I am by no means an expert, but I have been researching filtration (for betta tanks) b/c I am trying to completely alter an in-tank filter on a tank I just bought (I basically wanna turn my Aqueon Evolve (which has a "cartridge") into a Fluval - ie: Filtration-wise if that makes sense, Lol) so, I had to take a crash-course in filters Lol... So, yes mechanical & biological filtration are all u should need for the betta

Love ur avatar pic by the way... That baby is sooo cute! :)
 
#4 ·
It's funny...I kept fish for decades, built filters myself, and using carbon is so ingrained in my psyche that I have a hard time letting it go. But I'll be doing water changes, and using the water conditioners. It's just a matter of letting go of what feels like a crutch. Thanks for the postive reinforcement that it's okay. :)
The spec III filter is interesting in that it has a sponge frame that looks like a cinderblock with two holes in it. One hole is for a bag of carbon, the other hole is for a bag of ceramic media. I'll just put a second bag of ceramic media where the carbon is supposed to go. The gray sponge part of the Fluval filter is pretty coarse, so I cut a rectangle out of a biobag to lay on top of it, and put a thin layer of poly filter floss on top of that. So the water goes through that first, and gets more of the fine particles out. I do see that it has turned a little brown at the intake. It may be "polishing" out the solids in Betta Spa, but shouldn't affect the tannins (which cause the brown tea color).
 
#6 ·
yes, carbon filters can be removed and replaced with another sponge of bag of BioMax or bag of Seachem Matrix (not Matrix with Carbon). this way you will have one extra bag of BB seeded media for your next tank, this will take a while though if your tank is not yet cycled. if the tank is cycled, give it 2 weeks to populate the BB. When I removed the carbon filter from my SPEC V filter block, I noticed that the tank smelled stronger with the seafood/fishy smell. I am allergic to that smell as in throw up even if there is a tint in the air. But I tried not to breath too hard when I am around the tank. my tank cycle did spike a little for a day or two in nitrites and it went back to normal results afterwards : 0 Ammonia, Nitrite, and 20-40 Nitrate.
 
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