Activated carbon?

P

persephony

AC Members
Apr 19, 2007
23
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0
England, Sheffield
Hi all,

Just bought a new filter, it has a chamber filled with activated carbon and was wondering whether I should use it or just take it out and fill it with the ceramic tubes that I use in my other filter.

Does anyone use activeted carbon? What are the pros and cons?

I currently pack my canister filter with ceramic tubes in a stocking and just use the white sponge around the edges to catch the debre.

I was thinking to use both the filters for a while, but perhaps the current would be too strong. I thought my old filter had broken, as when the electric went off it wouldn't start up again, but after i dismantled it and gave it a really good clean it seems to be working fine.

I have never used activated carbon and (touch wood) I have never I had any problems. I know there is some controversy surrounding activated carbon and I tend to think if it aint broke dont fix it, but I have read that the activated carbon makes the water sparkley clear so i'm also tempted to give it a try.

Any thoughts or comments welcome, thanks
 
Try it. If you like the results then use it. If you see no real difference then just keep some around in case you need to remove some medication from your water.

Q
 
Some people use it and others do not. I used to use it all of the time but now it is rare if I do. Activated carbon is really good for removing leftover meds or smells from the tank but in the end using on a daily basis is essentially not necessary.

Marinemom
 
Your sig says your tank is planted, are they live plants?

I'm not a plant expert by any stretch, but my understanding is activated carbon will remove essential micro nutrients from water that plants need. Maybe someone with more plant experience can confirm this?
 
Yes it is planted but only 2 species and they not doing very well, i'll get a new batch when I can. Would it filter the plant food out of the water? Does anyone know?
 
it is believed that Activated carbon will remove some of the nutrients..
if the tank is not heavily planted you should not have any real issues.

Activated Carbon is useful at removing unwanted chemicals and will help with water clarity..that said it is only useful for a few weeks.

after that it will act as biomedia. some believe it can release back some of the stuff it filtered out.

i say if you want more bio media..then add more bio balls or an extra sponmge..I use d carbon occasionally to help with water clarity and to remove meds.
 
activated carbon is extremely efficient at adsorbing organic compounds (not living compounds, but any chemical compound containing carbon).

These organic compounds are used by the plants, and to some extent, the fish.
 
Thanks for all your comments, the article was very helpful. I safe it for if i need to medicate my tank and use it to clean up the meds. Thanks all!
 
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