Han Solo does not recommend carbon... do you?

Well, speaking of stinky, every time I have ever used carbon it gets stinky. My theory is that the micro-porous structure of carbon is anaerobic and encourages anaerobic bacteria that produces hydrogen sulphide. On the other hand, if it's working for you in the bucket, well, you can't argue with success, I guess.

I still fight algae all the time too (hair and green dot), but at least I haven't had BGA for a very long time.

Let the debate begin!

Carbon and Carbonite (the substance in which Jaba the Hut imprisoned Han Solo) are very similar. Both trap impurities, chemical additives as well as bootleggers who cross galactic crime bosses. Both can get saturated and once full, release what they have captured.

One unit of carbonite can hold one prisoner just as one pad of carbon can hold only a certain amount of impurities. Once the carbon has finished absorbing it can cease to function and even release impurities back into the water. While carbon can temporarily clean the water it would take constant and ongoing replacement to maintain full function.

I am not enough of a chemist to know what the chemistry is in the long run but I'd guess that buckets of plants are not part of the long run plan.

As far as the simple short answer of will carbon make your bucket stink less? I'd guess so.

I have another thought, though. Would it be practical to raise your tubs/buckets so the water levels are the same? If it is, you could combine some or all of them with the sump on one of your actual tanks. The primary sump would have the larger pump in it to send the water back to the tank BUT all the other containers would also have siphons to and from one another with another pump that would cycle the water between those and back into the primary sump. The plants would do tons of good for your fish tank and the cycling water, with appropriate aeration would certainly smell less bad than the semi-stagnant water that existed a week ago. Is this practical in any way?

Contraptions like this always seem like they belong in a MacGyver episode but that is part of the fun for me. The other part of the mission is that you must do it for less than $12 and you only have 12 hours to do it.

Did you know a single bag of activated carbon has acres of surface area?

Now on to the debate. As stated before, you cant argue with success. In your case, running carbon works best. In my case, i dont need it( i do keep extra on hand just in case though). The reason people recommend removing carbon is because it absorbs the nutrients your plants could use. So any ferts you put in would be rendered useless. I havent seen any data or experiments proving this though. Hopefully someone that wants to pitch in can throw some data( proof) around.

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I have done planted tanks for a few years now and not run carbon at all, and normal odor for a tank is a bit like fresh turned garden soil. It is there, but not strong. If you have anything that you would call a stink coming from a body of water it is because of a significant amount of decay happening in the water, which could easily happen if there is no water movement. I wouldn't attribute the improvement in the bucket to the carbon until you try adding the filter without any carbon to see what happens. The sweetening of the water could have been caused by water movement.

On the smell, that is a problem with the tank/buckets that you should be able to correct. I have a fish room with 7 tanks running, and there is no smell of fish/plants/water at all unless I take the cover glass off and stick my nose on top of a floating plant. And then it is a nice outdoor/forest type smell. The fact that using carbon removes the smell you mention is proof that there is something not quite right (balanced) in the tank/pail.

On the carbon, Pinkey nicely laid out how it functions, and that is needs regular replacement (the time depends upon the individual tank biology). I believe some people advocate cleaning the carbon somehow, perhaps by drying it in an oven, to re-activate it? Not sure, but regular replacement/cleaning (whichever works) is necessary or it can pollute the tank seriously. And this is not just a release of adsorbed substances, it involves a release of toxic substances that are even worse due to the intervening chemical/biology. BTW, carbon adsorbs, not absorbs (though it may do both, can't remember). Some knowledgeable sources will even suggest carbon not be used in non-planted tanks, on the basis that regular water changes and a balanced system are the essentials to a healthy aquarium.

Carbon removes the "stuff" that plants will remove, all of it. Some of this stuff are nutrients. One in particular is DOC (dissolved organic carbon). DOC is a prime source of carbon for plants, and as most of us with natural or low-tech method planted tanks are anxious to preserve all the carbon (as CO2) we can, it seems foolish to be removing some of it at the possible expense of the plants. Now, back to that balance problem, it may be that things are sufficiently unbalanced and the carbon's removal of some of this is thus not detrimental to your plants. My aim would be to forget the carbon, get the balance back, and thus have no smell.

Byron.

IMO, carbon is unnecessary for a healthy aquarium. As stated, a healthy tank will have an earthy smell. I've run as many as 2 dozen tanks back when I was breeding and raising angels and my fish room never smelled bad. Regular maintenance and water changes will keep the tank(s) healthy and stank-free.

Mark