# How long should I go without carbon filter?



## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

My Neons have Ick. I have been giving half a treatment of Ick Clear Fizz Tabs by Jungle (only Ick treatment I could find!) and doing a 2 gal daily water change. My tank is 10 gal. My filter is a Tetra Whisper 10-30i. I want to know how long I can SAFELY leave out my carbon filter and how long to continue treatment. They have been on it 4 days and are starting to clear up. I want to do it for a week minimum. I am also willing to consider alternate treatments. My heater is not adjustable.

Edit: I also have a Betta, Mystery Snail, and Ghost Shrimp in the tank. The Ick is only on the Neons' fins, they are not scratching, and they are acting/eating normally.
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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

Bluewind said:


> My Neons have Ick. I have been giving half a treatment of Ick Clear Fizz Tabs by Jungle (only Ick treatment I could find!) and doing a 2 gal daily water change. My tank is 10 gal. My filter is a Tetra Whisper 10-30i. I want to know how long I can SAFELY leave out my carbon filter and how long to continue treatment. They have been on it 4 days and are starting to clear up. I want to do it for a week minimum. I am also willing to consider alternate treatments. My heater is not adjustable.
> 
> Edit: I also have a Betta, Mystery Snail, and Ghost Shrimp in the tank. The Ick is only on the Neons' fins, they are not scratching, and they are acting/eating normally.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 You can go without carbon for ever, I think. I never use it unless I have been medicating and want to remove the meds. I put media sponges in my filters and just rinse them in used tank water. You can stop buying carbon/ cartridges and save money. I would continue treatment as long as it says on package. Two weeks will be enough to kill all Ich. P.S. I have gone 10 months without carbon and no problems.


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## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

Agreed you do not need carbon at all. I've not used any in the last 3-4 years. As far as treating ich you should continue treatment for 1-2 FULL WEEKS, AFTER all visible signs have disappeared. Otherwise it is common to have a reinfection.


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## fish monger (Dec 29, 2011)

Be sure to follow the water changing instructions on the medication. You might have to make adjustments while treating.


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## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

What if I remove the fish that have Ick from my main tank and leave the uninfected ones? Would I continue to treat my main tank too?
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## Shewbert (Dec 16, 2012)

carbon adsorbs a number of chemicals, including some that are good as well as bad. The major reason for using it is to remove medications that are used in the tank. It will also remove small amounts of dyes, discoloration from tannins leached from wood, and some odors. It's used in some specialized tanks for removing toxins produced by corals (also some fish species) in saltwater tanks. It can also remove some harmful metals in you tapwater (if these exist).

It's not necessary to use carbon on a daily basis, unless there's a specific reason you have for doing so (lessen water discoloration from driftwood, removal of metals from tapwater, etc.). In most cases, regular water changes will do just as much if not more to benefit your water quality. It's still good to keep some onhand, however, for emergencies (someone sprays a chemical in the room and some accidently gets in the tank).
Hope this helps
Ray


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## fish monger (Dec 29, 2011)

Bluewind said:


> What if I remove the fish that have Ick from my main tank and leave the uninfected ones? Would I continue to treat my main tank too?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I would. From what I gather, Ich is always present and it only becomes a problem when fish are stressed by conditions, etc. That being said, if you have some fish that are especially sensitive to the treatment, it might be a good idea to remove the infected fish and treat them at the prescribed strength. Treat the home tank at a reduced rate, usually 50%. Your medication should mention such situations and recommend the dosage. In the interim, try to think about what might have caused the outbreak. New fish ? Sudden temperature drop ? Change in routine ? Best of luck.


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## Shewbert (Dec 16, 2012)

Ick is a paracite that burrows under the skin of fish, it lays eggs then falls off, the spots you see are the egg sacs under the skin.
So in effect we have to treat the tank, not the fish, so all effective treatments are designed to kill the trophite form of the disease while it is in the tank. The mature ich organisms that cause the problems on the fish do not die from treatment, but fall off in a couple of days during their normal life cycle and then their offspring die from the treatment in the water.
Hospitalise the fish to a fresh tank with the treatment formula in it, do not treat the main tank as any ich in there will die off in a few days as they do not have any hosts to attach themselves to.
When all of the spots fall off (then killed by the chemicals) keep the fish in a quarantine tank for at least 7 days, any reinfestation will show up between 7 and 10 days.
There are many treatments for ich, we found that copper based ones work fastest in making the ich sacs fall off, but remember to follow the instructions carefully as copper is poisonous to fish, use the medication in conjunction with some stress coat to ease the stress, the fish do not normally die from the ich unless it is a bad infestation, they normally die of stress.
Hope this helps, but get the fish out of the tank and hospitalised.
Need to know more just ask
Let me know how you get on
Ray


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