Furan-2

Performance & sizing

Core numbers for matching this unit to your tank and electrical plan.

Power

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Flow rate

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Noise

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Dimensions

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Price range

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Tank fit (L)

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Consumables & maintenance

Follow the manufacturer schedule for seals, impellers, media, and other consumables.

Description

Furan-2 is a nitrofuran product, and the nitrofurans are the one shelf in the fish medicine cabinet named directly in United States drug law. Title 21 CFR 530.41 lists the drugs prohibited for extralabel use, and two nitrofurans appear on it by name: furazolidone at paragraph (a)(7) and nitrofurazone at (a)(8), the compound this row's Chinese name points at. The scope of that rule is narrower than the hobby usually reports, so it is worth reading twice. Paragraph (a) covers food-producing animals. Paragraph (b), which would be the same list for non-food-producing animals, is marked Reserved, meaning nothing has been placed on it. The regulation therefore does not say what people often say it says. It prohibits extralabel nitrofuran use in animals destined for food, and it is silent on ornamentals. The other half of the picture is what is affirmatively approved. The FDA publishes its list of approved aquaculture drugs, and as of its current revision it runs to chloramine-T, eugenol, formalin, hydrogen peroxide, oxytetracycline, tricaine methanesulfonate, chorionic gonadotropin, florfenicol, sulfadimethoxine with ormetoprim, and sulfamerazine. No nitrofuran appears anywhere on it. Before reaching for any antibacterial powder, the Merck Veterinary Manual has two warnings that are about the habit rather than the molecule. Prophylactic medication without diagnostic testing is strongly discouraged and contributes to resistant infection. And antimicrobials given as a bath tend to kill the nitrifying bacteria in the biofilter, which is why Merck does not generally recommend that route at all. Dosing a display tank on a guess can end with a fish that is still sick and a tank that has lost its cycle.

Sources

• ecfr.gov — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-E/part-530/subpart-E/section-530.41
• fda.gov — https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/aquaculture/approved-aquaculture-drugs
• merckvetmanual.com — https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/aquarium-fish/management-of-aquarium-fish

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