# Is Activated Carbon bad for my fish?



## Subaru4wd

I added some activated carbon to my canister filter today to help with some cloudy water issues ive been battling. My tank is 88 gallons, the directions say 1 tablespoon for every 10 gallons so I added 9 table spoons to the filter.

After letting the filter run for a few minutes, i notice a ton of activated carbon pieces in my tank now. Its enough to blanket my substrate and there are pieces hanging on plants, rocks and all over. 

I am worried it may harm my fish if they decide to eat it. Should I start to vacuum my tank or just let it be?


----------



## Gizmo

Did you rinse the carbon before putting it in your filter? Raw carbon has a ton of carbon dust in it that will flood your tank and turn everything black. Also, did you contain the carbon in a media bag or a pouch? Otherwise the chunks will just flow out into the tank.

When I rinse mine, I just do it in the sink and keep washing it till the water runs clear.


----------



## Subaru4wd

Gizmo said:


> Did you rinse the carbon before putting it in your filter? Raw carbon has a ton of carbon dust in it that will flood your tank and turn everything black. Also, did you contain the carbon in a media bag or a pouch? Otherwise the chunks will just flow out into the tank.
> 
> When I rinse mine, I just do it in the sink and keep washing it till the water runs clear.


No I didnt do any of that. I just added it to my filter and called it good.

My only concern is, will it harm my fish if they eat it???


----------



## jrman83

Loose carbon in a filter can destroy it. Definitely need a filter bag. The stuff that shot into your tank isn't doing you any good. Carbon generally is not very effective in filtering water for cloudy conditions, although I am sure it works for some.


----------



## Gizmo

I don't think so. I know they use activated carbon as an emergency for alcohol poisoning in humans - they make you ingest it to absorb any alcohol in your stomach before it gets into your system. Also has a tendency to make you barf.

Not that I've ever had alcohol poisoning.....*tut tut


----------



## Subaru4wd

jrman83 said:


> Loose carbon in a filter can destroy it. Definitely need a filter bag. The stuff that shot into your tank isn't doing you any good. Carbon generally is not very effective in filtering water for cloudy conditions, although I am sure it works for some.


Dude how did you become a moderator? You NEVER have a straight answer to any questions i ask, however you are always butting your nose and giving me useless advice that I already know. 

And you obviously have no idea what you are talking about... activated carbon removes color pigments in the water, along with toxins. The only reason you would want to use it is to clear cloudy water, or remove toxins.

Thanks to Gizmo for trying to answer my question.


----------



## jrman83

Subaru4wd said:


> Dude how did you become a moderator? You NEVER have a straight answer to any questions i ask, however you are always butting your nose and giving me useless advice that I already know.
> 
> And you obviously have no idea what you are talking about... activated carbon removes color pigments in the water, along with toxins. The only reason you would want to use it is to clear cloudy water, or remove toxins.
> 
> Thanks to Gizmo for trying to answer my question.


Just because you always seem to have an answer to your own question after everyone provides their input, doesn't mean that I always give you an UN-straight answer. Don't get angry with me if you failed to look at the directions and treated it like fish food. Most containers of the stuff will tell you to use a filter bag and not shoot it in your tank, as will likely the directions for your filter. Gizmo already gave you the answer you need....I was only addressing the larger problem of what equates to loose micro-pebbles in your filter that if you want to leave, could damage your filter.

But, to answer your question directly, I would say no. Most fish will spit out the carbon even if they do suck it in.


----------



## Subaru4wd

Subaru4wd said:


> the directions say 1 tablespoon for every 10 gallons so I added 9 table spoons to the filter.


I did read the directions. I have also done this before in my 36gal tank but i guess the filter on that tank is better because i didnt see any carbon in the tank after I did it the last time.

My question was "will it harm my fish if they eat it"

not "will it harm my filter if I leave it just sit in there?"

or "will the carbon floating in my tank be as effective as the carbon in my filter"


----------



## Gizmo

Ben can be curt at times, but he means well. Just comes off a bit abrasive some days.


----------



## susankat

OK lets cool it down guys. No need for this.


----------



## DocPoppi

So I've thought about your post, and this entire thread for awhile now....
and I'm wondering if your really just willing to find out if carbon is bad for your fish.... 
Or if you'd like some additional knowledge about why your tank clouds so often, and what you can do. Or what carbon actually does in a tank, or how it is typically and properly used?


I know there are peeps here that harp in on things answered, but more often it seems the intent is to help... And to be honest when a post like yours is seen, more questions are raised. 
My .02


----------



## Subaru4wd

All I need to know is if my fish injest the carbon, will they die?

My water has a green tint to it. I have also been battling so me algae but I attribute that to my lighting and the fact that my tank is in direct sunlight durring the day. 

Another reason I am adding the activated carbon is to help remove what's left of some MelaFix I have been dosing my tank.

This post asked a simple question and all I need to know (from people who actually know and don't just "think") is if my fish are in any danger. If I wanted to know why activated carbon does what it does or if I wanted to know why my tank clouds so often I would have specified in my original post.


----------



## MissPisces

First of all, to answer your question: No, your fish will not die from ingesting carbon. You might want to vaccuum or pick it out anyway, but it won't kill them. It happened to my sister once; she accidentally spilled some into her tank, her oscars went for it, and she was freaked out about it. But they were fine. Actually, most of them spat it back out, so you probably won't have to worry about that anyway. To back that up, I just did a web search. I couldn't find a single hint of carbon poisoning in fish, or of a person's fish eating carbon and getting sick (there were, however, a couple of people whose fish had eaten it but were fine, so that's even more evidence). 

The only thing I'd be worried about is if they DO take a liking to it. They could eat too much and it could block their digestive tracts. I'd still take it out, but don't worry too much about it. 

Also, please don't be upset with anyone! They're just trying to help. This is a very open forum from what I've seen. Some topics span into other topics, and that's because the people on here (myself included!) like to talk about fish, so they're going to try to help even if they have no experience with the specific problem. If there's a problem in someone's tank, even if it's unrelated to the problem at hand, it's good to talk about it just to get some opinions and advice. You never know what you might learn. 

Something else to consider: Sometimes a thread falls by the wayside because nobody notices it, but when someone answers the post that thread is bumped up so that someone who may have an answer can see it. Another important thing to is that when you deal with an aquarium, one topic or problem is bound to be connected to other topics or problems. It's a closed little eco-system. Something that seems totally unrelated to anything else can often be connected to everything. 

Umm... Just wanted to put in my two cents. Sorry! But yeah, your fish should be fine as long as they don't eat too much of the carbon. It's quantity, not quality here.


----------



## Reefing Madness

Activated Carbon In Aquarium | Aquariums Life


----------



## Greg137

No it won't hurt the fish.. But what it could do is destroy your ability to treat your fish with medicine.. Most medicines are by design, to be countered with carbon... if you spill it into your tank you will he to move any infected fish out of the tank to treat them.. I had a carbon filter unit fail on my top tank and now my Melafix won't work like it was advertised... That also means that if you get ick an infestation in your tank you will find your medicine won't work anymore unless you remove the infected fish...


----------

