250 magnum filter .. carbon problems

just bought the magnum 250 hot filter and tried to use the carbon part of it. i washed it out thuroughly i thought, but then i put it in the tank and the carbon spewed everywhere. what do i do?

 

Welcome brandy! Feel free to register as a member as there is no cost or obligation.

Did the filter come with some sort of sock or basket to hold the carbon. I'm assuming it is granular activated carbon, eh?

 

sorry.. i didn't sign in when i posted ...

the filter did come with a blue sock like thing, and it is granular. i let water run through the sock for awhile, and the water turned clear.. but i can't get the little grains of carbon to stop from coming out of the filter.

 

I have that filter (350, similar?) on my turtle tank.

You should rinse the carbon well over the sink before you put the blue sock on it.
Also, make sure you have the lid in place on the carbon container.

I use ESV carbon in it at the moment and it's pretty fine.
No leaks here.

Turn off the filter, close the valves, and take it to the sink to inspect.

Keep me posted.

** EDIT - Hmmm.. looking at pics not sure how similar it is to my 350 model. :-/ Oh well, I hope some of it helps.

matt

 

well.... i am just setting my filter up. .so maybe i didnt let it run through the water (sink) long enough to get all the loose grains out of the carbon. that is the only thing i can think of. what is the carbon used for anyway... can't i put it in my tank another way?

 

Carbon will take yellowing and impurities out of the water column. This is sometimes referred to as polishing the water. This is the same principle behind carbonated filters in cigarettes. If you have soft corals it will help mitigate the chemicals they emit when competing for territory with other corals.

Unfortunately carbon will also remove or strip minerals and trace elements from your water. For this reason I only run carbon in my tank if the water is yellow or if I have "pruned" or fragged my soft corals. I have baffles in my sump/refugium that I place a sock of carbon in for whatever time is needed.

 

I just ordered that same filer 250 Magnum Pro with the Bio wheel.
I guess there's really no point in running the filter at all then if the carbon takes out the good stuff... should I just leave it off and only run it when needed? or can I run the filter with out the carbon? I guess that defeats the porpuse of it.

 

Although I'm not familiar with the 250, I do have a magnum h.o.b. It can with a canister with a lid to hold carbon or other granular filter media.





phil