Quote:
Originally Posted by Cliff Mayes  There have been reports that Carbon will release all of its load at one time (no I do not have the reference) thereby presenting a fish hazard so I would, for safetys sake, take it out. It can become a Bio medium after it gets coated and filled up and probably becomes inert (but who knows?.) |
Charcoal, which is totally inert, absorbs dissolved organic carbons for the first couple weeks. It then becomes a site for bacterial colonization [food plus attachment sites always attract bacteria].
After two weeks, charcoal acts exactly like any filter media you could find (I would guess that its a pretty good filter media, as it has lots of pores, and therefore, considerable surface area). Bacteria grow in it just as they would in filter media.
The only time it would release all its "load" is if the bacteria were suddenly killed. This can happen to any bio-filter. It happened to me when the power went off a few hours and suffocated the filter bacteria in my canister filter. Once bacteria start dying, they release their toxins. This kills more bacteria and you get a "filter meltdown" that can indeed endanger fish.
I don't use charcoal unless I have a specific purporse (remove tannins or antibiotics). However, charcoal is essentially harmless and once in the filter can probably be left there forever. Once I've put charcoal into the filter, I generally forget about it.
Re: Activated Charcoal? 
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