Do you rinse your carbon?

[RyanM]

Not before the first use but after its been in use. I rinse my carbon well before I add it to my tank. I have never rerinsed it after a few weeks. Just wondered if anyone here does. From what Ive read you can rinse it out after it gets dirty. Carbon isnt cheep. If it can be rinsed once or twice id surly give it a shot.

 

[fatrip]

there are to many theorys out there to say that it works to rinse your carbon or that your carbon is really useful after 48 hours, depending on tank size. i would say it couldnt hurt to rinse it because the bag the carbon is in is acting like mechanical filtration and picking up loose particals. so if you rinse it once a week it is kinda acting like filter flose in a way so it would be benifical to trap more sediment. I personal dont use carbon for more than a week and then it gets tosed.

 

[drbronx]

I do rinse the carbon. My own theory is that detritus and pollutants clog the porous structure of carbon and reduce direct water contact. Thus my belief is that a quickl rinse extends thje functional capacity of carbon. Perhaps its all superstition on my part.

 

[RyanM]

If you can believe what you read, It does help to prolong its life if you rinse it off. I think I will start.

 

[Lanceafer]

Huh, I guess I will have to start doing that as well. I rinse it to get rid of the powder but I never really would have thought to rinse it to extend the life of it.