View Full Version : New aquarium, new plants
leibniz
02-09-2003, 4:42 PM
I have a new 29 gallon aquarium that has been running for a couple weeks. The filter cartridges (by Marineland) contain carbon. Will the carbon eat up any fertalizers? If so, what can I do to ensure my plants will always get the nutrients they need?
bodine
02-09-2003, 5:50 PM
I would lose the carbon. It probably will have some impact on your ferts. How much is debatable. If you could just use filter floss in your filter it will most likely work out better for you. HTH!
slipknottin
02-09-2003, 7:06 PM
carbon absorbs phenols and lipids. Neither of which is plant fertilizer. Lipids and phenols can break down into ammonia, but the majority of your ammonia is coming direct from fish waste and leftover food.
If youve had the same carbon in your filter for more than a week its been exhausted and isnt doing anything anyways.
"Lipids and phenols can break down into ammonia" I don't think either lipds or phenols have any Nitrogen -- and when they decompose they don't go to ammonia. Carbon is usually only used for short run, special purposes in a planted tank (removing odors, medications, dyes). Plants do the job that carbon does in fish-only tanks. Carbon (when active) will adsorb some (not all) nutrients.
Jared
slipknottin
02-09-2003, 7:32 PM
phenols and lipids are organic compounds. They both will breakdown into nitrogen waste.
Plants dont absorb either one. And Carbon does not absorb ammonia or nitrates.
It will absorb some iron, but with iron rich substrates and old carbon it likely wont affect much of anything.
Faramir
02-10-2003, 2:11 AM
slipknottin' - short of radioactive decay transforming one element into another, a compound not containing Nitrogen cannot decompose into one that does.
Phenol does not contain nitrogen. Nor do lipids.
The only possibility is if they react with a nitrogenous compount. There's no real reason however why either of them should decompose spontaneously.
Uhhhh....I thought phenol was a manufactured compound and lipids are an oil (a natural part of our biochemistry)....so I don't really see why either would be in aquarium water anyway....unless your water is runoff from the local chemical manufacturing plant at which point you would have much bigger problems.
slipknottin
02-10-2003, 9:24 AM
phenols are organic.
Lipids arent.
Carbon also absorbs things like humic acid, and tannins.
Fishiebusiness
02-10-2003, 9:42 AM
I thought that since lipids contain a carbon backbone as well as are manufactured by biological processees, they would be considered organic.
Faramir
02-10-2003, 10:08 AM
They are both organics. Neither contains N.
Jared
02-10-2003, 10:45 AM
Carbon adsorbs -- it doesn't absorb.
Jared
Fishiebusiness
02-10-2003, 12:16 PM
Main sources of nitrogen would be amino acids in proteins and whats in nucleic acids if i remember correctly.
BluEyes
02-10-2003, 12:17 PM
Originally posted by Ozma
I thought phenol was a manufactured compound and lipids are an oil (a natural part of our biochemistry)....so I don't really see why either would be in aquarium water anyway....
Lipids ARE a natural part of our biochemistry. They are ALSO a natural part of fishes biochemistry, and are in fish food.
Derek
Fishiebusiness
02-10-2003, 12:22 PM
Phenols are also a part of our biochemistry. They are contained in many of organic molecules. A few amino acids have side chains containing benzene rings. Phenolalanine and tyrosine are the two, i think. It would safe to say every cell in our body contains chemicals with phenol (benzene) rings. Also true with fish cells, and fish wastes, so it would not be surprising that phenols are contained in the water column.
slipknottin
02-10-2003, 2:02 PM
well regardless of what it is... carbon isnt removing any plant fertilizers other than iron.