Question on using carbon

[tangman99]

I've had some new fish die recently when I added them and all of water parameters are perfect. I was going to run some carbon for a few days just in case I have something in my water. I bought some carbon and rinsed the heck out of it. It ran black forever and I finally figured I had it rinsed well enough. I put it in my sump where my water will fall over the bag of carbon. My water in my tank is getting a dark haze now. Is everything ok? I rinsed it well, but the water would never run clear.
I've had my tank up for 7 years with no problems but this is the first time I've used carbon.
Thanks

 

[beth]

You should not get a dark haze in your tank. I would remove it. What brand is it?

 

[tangman99]

Originally Posted by Beth
You should not get a dark haze in your tank. I would remove it. What brand is it?
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals

 

[viper_930]

I buy the carbon refill packets from Aqua Clear, rinse it out, and stick it in my skimmer. It takes me about 20 seconds of rinsing until the water runs clear. Black Diamond, Kent, and Hagen are brands with good quality carbon.

 

[bergamer]

i use the same brand in my tank, the key after washing the carbon for about 5 minutes is not to disturb it. you have to be very careful, otherwise more black stuff will come out.
having water fall on it in your sump may not work with this brand as it will always disturb the carbon.
I have mine in a aqua clear where the water just runs through it and does not disturb it

 

[tangman99]

Originally Posted by bergamer
i use the same brand in my tank, the key after washing the carbon for about 5 minutes is not to disturb it. you have to be very careful, otherwise more black stuff will come out.
having water fall on it in your sump may not work with this brand as it will always disturb the carbon.
I have mine in a aqua clear where the water just runs through it and does not disturb it
So can I just sit it in the sump where water won't fall on it? All I have is a sump. The only filtration I use is sand and rock so there is nothing to put it in.

 

[bergamer]

I would suggest using another brand of carbon, as viper mentioned that his carbon only takes 20 secs of washing.... I am assuming that the carbon we are using is cheap

 

[scoobydoo]

The carbon (Bio-Zorb) that came with my new filter took forever to rinse out. I would say at least 10 minutes. I'll try one of the other brands next time.

 

[wax32]

I use Black Diamond. It takes maybe 10-15 seconds to run clear and does a great job of keeping my water clear. I keep a small bag of it in the Aquaclear filter that I have on the back of my 29.

 

[tangman99]

Yeah I went cheap as I never use carbon and was just going to use it this one time
It has cleared up now that I moved it over in the sump where water does not fall on it. How much carbon should I use for a 90 gallon tank? The instructions said to use 1/2 cup for every 10 gallons, but that is 4 1/2 cups which seem like a reduculous amount. If I want to just keep some in the tank all the time for preventative measures, how much do most of you use for a tank comparable to mine.