is powdered carbon harmful?

[Dave57]

as my tankwater is brownish and give off a smell due to my driftwood, i decided to reduce this by using activated carbon.

assuming the activated carbon sachets are aquarium ready, i add them to my OHF straight without rinsing... to my horror, my tank was blackened by powdered carbon within seconds. after 30 mins, my water cleared up- crystal clear. :)

but will the powdered carbon in my water do any harm to my fishes? any possible mistakes had i done? steps i should do to minimise my damages?

[nim75sg]

Just remember to replace the carbon sachets within 3 weeks otherwise it will leach all the contaminants back into the water.

End result would be disastrous!

[Dave57]

oh! ok, thanks for the reminder. tot of removing after a few months...
can i regenerate those sachets?

[leafhorn]

Cannot Bro.

[Dave57]

steam them? as industrial A/C filters are regenerated by high pressure steam stripping.

[Garlic]

How about Chemipure?

If I'm not wrong, its able to store the contaminants and not release it back into the water for up to 6 months?

[Dave57]

i like A/C for their fast results.

[loupgarou]

Used Activated carbon must be heated to 1000 Celsius to be reactivated

[Dave57]

oh, ok. got to remember to get rid of them.