Carbon, with a planted tank?
- Thread starter Paintballer99
- Start date
You can get the store at petsmart. It's the blue and white stuff. It will collect large chunks of debre. but it won't get the smaller particals that cloud the water. You will need a micron filter to get that stuff. Like I said earlier. For a canister they might have it at petsmart. But the plain sheets I had to get from drs. foster and smith.
I do have a polishing pad on the last level....How about these in place of carbon........
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753126&lmdn=Product+Type
Would that work even thourhg it's for fluval filters?
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753126&lmdn=Product+Type
Would that work even thourhg it's for fluval filters?
It should work. It's just little peices to collect bacteria in for bio filtration to prevent ammonia and nitrite spikes. As long as you have a less dense foam earlier in the filter and a polishing pad afterwards you will be completely fine. As a matter of fact I don't know if you need to put anything in the carbons place. You could just leave it empty if you wanted and I don't think it would cause a problem. But you can never have to much bio filters.
Wait, I just found Marineland rings on a website...
https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+3580+16744&pcatid=16744
I'll get thoes in place of my carbon bags....
https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+3580+16744&pcatid=16744
I'll get thoes in place of my carbon bags....
First off activated carbon will NOT negatively effect a planted tank.
Activated carbon is used to remove larger molecules from the water column. Many of these molecules can give off a swampy smell and cloud the water.
Many people worry about the activated carbon removing the nutrients from the water column as well. This is not a problem because of how the activated carbon works.
Activated carbon has tons of microscopic pores throughout. The size of these pores determine what size molecules it can remove. Basically the molecules are too big to fit through the small hole and get jammed in the pore. How the carbon is manufactured determines what size of molecule is trapped. There are some commercial grade activated carbon that can remove very small ions. However, aquarium carbon is designed to remove only the larger molecules. The smaller ions flow freely through it.
It is a very effective mechanical filtering mechanism. It is much more effective in straight mechanical filtration that any other media. It also works effectively for biological filtration as it has a high surface area. In my 125 gallon tank the carbon generally last 4-6 weeks.
As to the cost of using it - don't buy the little pre-filled pouches. They are way overpriced. Just buy the loose carbon and either place it directly in the tray or make your own pouch (paint strainer bags work well).
Activated carbon is used to remove larger molecules from the water column. Many of these molecules can give off a swampy smell and cloud the water.
Many people worry about the activated carbon removing the nutrients from the water column as well. This is not a problem because of how the activated carbon works.
Activated carbon has tons of microscopic pores throughout. The size of these pores determine what size molecules it can remove. Basically the molecules are too big to fit through the small hole and get jammed in the pore. How the carbon is manufactured determines what size of molecule is trapped. There are some commercial grade activated carbon that can remove very small ions. However, aquarium carbon is designed to remove only the larger molecules. The smaller ions flow freely through it.
It is a very effective mechanical filtering mechanism. It is much more effective in straight mechanical filtration that any other media. It also works effectively for biological filtration as it has a high surface area. In my 125 gallon tank the carbon generally last 4-6 weeks.
As to the cost of using it - don't buy the little pre-filled pouches. They are way overpriced. Just buy the loose carbon and either place it directly in the tray or make your own pouch (paint strainer bags work well).
very well put.
people usually dont know the benefits of carbon and think that its a waste simply because they heard it from another person who heard it from another... etc
Not over stocking,not overfeeding,and routine water changes will keep the water clear.People who breed fish and keep the fry in bare bottom tanks,usually have sponge filters.The have no carbon,no anything except biological filtration,and clear water.
Here's one of mine.
If you like carbon, have at it! And I agree with JPappy, whatever effect it has on plant nutrients is certainly negligible (if it has any at all). I used it years ago and didn't find it had any effect on my tank. I'm just curious how you know it lasts 4-6 weeks.
