How to Remove Carbon & Zeolite From a Fish Tank With Swimbladder Aquarium Treatment

When treating your fish for any bacterial disease, it is critical to remove any kind of chemical filtration from the tank. Chemical filtration, like carbon or Zeolite are designed to chemically purify the water by absorbing toxic compounds like fish waste. Unfortunately, these same chemical filters will treat medicines as a toxin and suck them out of the water column. Therefore, it is critical that you remove any carbon- or Zeolite-containing compound before treating fish diseases.

Things You'll Need

  • A bucket
  • Gloves
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Instructions

    • 1

      Remove carbon or Zeolite from lift tubes. Some undergravel filters' lift tubes contain active inserts. You will know if they do because you will be able to see the black, white, or blue pellets of carbon or Zeolite. Most snap off easily.

    • 2

      Remove carbon inserts from powerbox filters. These filters hang on the back of the tank and usually contain a sleeve or insert containing carbon. Simply slide it out of your filter and set it aside in the bucket.

    • 3

      Remove carbon from canister or trickle (aka wet/dry or sump) filters. These types of filters vary considerably from brand to brand; consult the manufacturer's instructions on how to safely remove carbon.

    • 4

      Keep all media in a bucket for the duration of the treatment. Most carbon is disposable, so simply throw it out. If it is Zeolite (or a similar product), soak it in salt water at the end of the treatment. Saltwater recharges Zeolite and sterilizes it.

    • 5

      At the end of treatment, do a fifty percent water-change and replace the chemical media with either sterilized Zeolite or fresh (new) carbon. The chemical filtration will absorb any excess medication at this point.