Fluval Activated Carbon Filter Media - 3x100g & 800g - 3x100G (3.5OZ)

The Fluval Activated Carbon Filter Media is Fluval's activated carbon, sold as three 100 g bags or a 800 g tub, used to pull dissolved organics, odours and yellowing out of aquarium water.

Key Features

• Adsorbs dissolved organic compounds, trace metals, odours and the tannins that turn water yellow
• Phosphate-free, which matters — cheap carbon can leach phosphate and feed an algae bloom
• Two formats: three pre-filled 100 g nylon bags for hang-on filters and small canisters, or a 800 g tub for filling your own bags
• Works quickly. Most of what carbon is going to remove, it removes in the first day or two
• For use in both freshwater and saltwater aquariums
• Made by Fluval, the aquatics brand of Rolf C. Hagen, which has been building aquarium filters since 1975

Using It

• Rinse it under running water before the first use to wash off dust
• Put it in after the mechanical stage. Chemical and biological media work on water that has already had the solids taken out of it
• Never wash biological media in tap water and never replace it all at once. Chlorine kills the bacteria living on it, and changing everything together restarts the cycle
• A liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate tells you more about a tank than anything you can see

What Carbon Does And Does Not Do

• It removes dissolved organics, discolouration and smells. That is what it is for, and it does it well
• It does not remove ammonia, nitrite or nitrate. Those are the bacteria's job and yours
• It becomes exhausted rather than dirty. Change it monthly — old carbon is just an expensive sponge
• Take it out before dosing medication and put fresh carbon in afterwards to strip the residue. Carbon will remove most treatments from the water
• Rinse it before use. Carbon dust in the tank is harmless but it clouds the water for a day

Good To Know

• The commonest carbon mistake is leaving it in for months. If yours has been in since you can remember, it is doing nothing
• Some planted-tank keepers leave carbon out entirely, on the basis that it strips trace fertilisers. That is a reasonable position for a heavily planted tank
• Always remove carbon while medicating. This is the one that catches people out
• The 800 g tub is much better value per gram if you have a filter that takes loose media