A somewhat spendy stuff worth having in your cabinet along with a fresh jar of carbon and a carbon sock---is PolyFilter. If you have any suspicion of metal contamination, PolyFilter is the go-to. Just cut a 1" strip and drop it into your water flow, and it turns colors (blue for copper, etc) to indicate the presence of a metal that shouldn't be there. Don't everybody run to use it: it's for the day your kid tosses the tv remote into your tank at 9AM and you don't find it until 7 that night. Or something's wrong and you don't know why or what---PF is a good test to run, if you suspect an accident of a metal nature. But having a packet in your basket of emergency items, and just using a little of it can give you good info on WHAT you've got. The carbon can help a biological situation, like a really ticked off leather coral insulting everybody.
The better news is---PF ABSORBS the badness and doesn't release it, so it can actually remediate the problem. That, plus carbon (which CAN release the badness if you leave it unchanged for weeks) and enough salt to make your qt up in an emergency are REAL good items to have on standby. Plus a filter sock if you don't regularly use one, against the day your niece feeds the fish Cheerios because they looked hungry. [A canopy will save you much grief, if you have kids.
We hear it all, here at RC.
The better news is---PF ABSORBS the badness and doesn't release it, so it can actually remediate the problem. That, plus carbon (which CAN release the badness if you leave it unchanged for weeks) and enough salt to make your qt up in an emergency are REAL good items to have on standby. Plus a filter sock if you don't regularly use one, against the day your niece feeds the fish Cheerios because they looked hungry. [A canopy will save you much grief, if you have kids.
We hear it all, here at RC.
