Help! How do I change the carbon in my carbon bottle?

[rama]

I bought this carbon bottle from someone on the Houstonfish box, and i want to change the carbon in the bottle. Does anyone know how to change the carbon in this bottle, any information would be appreciated.

[Grimace]

Why not ask the person you bought it from? Also, why would you want to change it out? It's got CO2 in it right? I would think that it would be stable over time and not need to be changed. For the record I'm new to fish but not chemistry, and the lab doesn't always directly translate to the real world :shrug:

[armthehomeless]

Why not ask the person you bought it from? Also, why would you want to change it out? It's got CO2 in it right? I would think that it would be stable over time and not need to be changed. For the record I'm new to fish but not chemistry, and the lab doesn't always directly translate to the real world :shrug:

It has activated carbon granules in it . . . not carbon dioxide.


Ram: does the gray cylinder on the top look like it twists off?

[Grimace]

It has activated carbon granules in it . . . not carbon dioxide.


Ram: does the gray cylinder on the top look like it twists off?

Thanks for the info, like I said I'm new to fish, and I thought it was a CO2 bottle. I've never even heard of this product before. Sorry for wasting your time OP.

[armthehomeless]

Thanks for the info, like I said I'm new to fish, and I thought it was a CO2 bottle. I've never even heard of this product before. Sorry for wasting your time OP.

You didn't whaste anyone's time. If you didn't know what it was, chances are many other people didn't know either. Some people use a carbon bottle to do water changes instead of using dechlorinator. It is more expensive in the short run . . . but well worth it in the long run.

[mgarrido]

Ram test the water, maybe you don't need to replace the carbon. Also I you have chloramines in your tap water w
Change the carbon with catalytic carbon.

[rama]

It has activated carbon granules in it . . . not carbon dioxide.


Ram: does the gray cylinder on the top look like it twists off?

I tried to twist the gray part off with no luck maybe I need to try harder but I don't want to break it.
How often do you need to change the carbon in this bottle.

[myjohnson]

Ram,

I had two bottle like your's before I upgraded to the big one I currently have.

There should be an opening on top. Twist the grey top and it should come off.

Also, there are models that you refile from the botton, so check that. If the bottom is rounded off with no plug then its' the top.

But 90% of the bottles will have the top that opens. Personall, I use a "BIG" piler. Wrap the grey top with a towel and just use the piler to turn it.

Using the towel will help you not do any damage to the parts.

Good luck!

[electricblue]

so how does this carbon bottle work and what does it do?

[Grimace]

so how does this carbon bottle work and what does it do?

Since I have no real background knowledge about carbon canisters, I probably shouldn't be posting this, but I just love a good chemistry puzzle and couldn't help myself. If I get any or all of this wrong, someone please feel free to flame away and correct me. I just like to see if I can take preexisting knowledge and extrapolate correctly to other situations.

From the chemistry that I have and a little research, activated carbon has a positive charge (carbocation), which means that it is unstable and likes to bind to a negative charge. Chemical reactions go from less stable to more stable, and a charged molecule is much less stable than an uncharged molecule. From this I speculate that the + charged carbon would bind with the negatively charged nitrite and nitrate, which would balance their charge to neutral, which would make them more stable and less reactive, which (again I speculate) would make the new molecules less harmful to fish. Also, since the the carbon is stationary in the canister or filter, the negatively charged molecules would be bound to the positively charged carbon and become part of a newly formed stationary molecule that was no longer part of the tank water. Here are the chemical conversions that happen in the tank.

Nitrosomonas calculation - conversion of ammonia to nitrite

55 NH4+ + 76 O2 + 5 CO2 ===> C5H7O2N + 52 H2O + 54 NO2- + H+

Nitrobacter calculation - conversion of nitrite to nitrate

400 NO2- + NH4+ + 5 CO2 + 195 O2 + 2 H2O ===> C5H7O2 + 400 NO3- + H+

http://water.me.vccs.edu/courses/ENV115/filtration.htm

It seems to me that once the ammonium was converted to nitrite, a great deal of it would be quickly bound to the positive charged carbon and thus a toxin is neutralized and removed from the tank.

This carbon is generally activated with a positive charge and is designed to attract negatively charged water contaminants. Carbon filtering is commonly used for water purification, but is also used in air purifiers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_filtering

Once all the + charged carbon is neutralize by the - charged toxins, you would have to change out the canister.

Someone tell me if I got all that right.

[rama]

I did manage to twist the gray part on top of the bottle off. It was very tight, and got the carbon changed.

Thanks for all the info guys!

[rama]

Why not ask the person you bought it from?

The lady i bought the bottle from, bought the bottle from a company that set up her aquarium and she had no idea on how to change the carbon.

[Grimace]

The lady i bought the bottle from, bought the bottle from a company that set up her aquarium and she had no idea on how to change the carbon.

Very good reason, lol.

[electricblue]

grimace since you know more about chemistry, what i'm getting is; when we get tap water, there is ammonium and the carbon helps break it down into nitrite and nitrates which the carbon will ultimately neutralize and make the water safe.

[danielp]

Ram,

Get a model #, manufacture name and possible part # off of this unit and do a online search.

This should lead you to a manual that will tell you how to access the carbon.

I've messed with tons of unique opening devices and there is always a simple trick to it.

You also need to insure that you put it back together wiht the same amount of torque it had before taking it part.