Are my fish gonna die?

[thecoolguy]

ok....so i went out and got some activated carbon...some chinese brand so i have no idea on the quality......

here is what i did:

1) took out of package
2) soaked for a bit (water turned black)
3) ran under warm water for a long time mixing back and forth until the water
flowing out from under it wasn't stained darker anymore
4) put it in the filter box

is that right? i didn't know activated carbon could make water so dark? isn't it supposed to make it clearer?

i plan on leaving it in the filter box for 2 weeks or so --- i got tannins i do believe from my driftwood and also from the water here in china.....

[kimmers318]

There is always a fair amount of dust on the carbon when you buy it which is why you need to rinse well first so the dust isn't put into your aquarium.
If you want to get rid of the tannins that are being released from the wood try removing the wood and boiling it or soaking it in hot water until the water is clear and the wood is done leeching the tannins. You will have to keep changing the water until you get clean water and then be sure to soak it in some dechlorinated water to clean it of any chlorine or chloramine that may have soaked into it from the tap water.

[Lady Hobbs]

Tannis will not hurt your water. It makes it dark and for some not pleasant to look at for a few weeks but will decrease with water changes. It is not a danger to them however.

When I use carbon, I just give it a quick rinse under the cold water for a second to get rid of any loose particles.

[cocoa_pleco]

tannin is harmless, and gives a natural look.

[Drumachine09]

Fish dont really mind cloudy water or water with tannins in it. Look at most lakes and parts of the oceans. They are pretty much brown. Fish dont mind it. They can survive. But, since you want to be able to SEE your fish, tannins are usually a nono for aquariums.

[wijnands]

Interesting.

I use the jewel filter system but when I put in a carbon filter spunge it takes a few seconds to rinse of any dust.

[thecoolguy]

update: activated carbon is now out....

was making my filter cloth quite dirty, and didn't think that would
be good for the fish....(after THOROUGHLY WASHING IT OUT)

and i think it made my RES sick......

waters clear enough without it.....

hopefully didn't really mess things up too much...