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activated carbon

Mitchel

Mitchel

Member
Joined
17 May 2021
Messages
37
Location
Belgium
Hello,
When I buy a new filter, it always comes with filter material like activated carbon.
Now I get the advice from many people not to use this activated carbon?
It would filter out the nutrients and micros from the water. And it's only to be used to remove medication out of the water.

Other people tell me that you should leave the carbon in place because it's filtering out DOC
I've heard that even Ada uses activated carbon in the start-up phase. If activated carbon is so bad as they say; why is it standard in the filter?

any thoughts?
cheers
 
Mitchel said:
It would filter out the nutrients and micros from the water.
Click to expand...
No, it doesn't :) that is an urban myth... The nutrient elements are much too small and will pass through.

Next to this active carbon is only active for about 3 to 6 weeks, after that it's nothing more than a porous bio media that lost its active properties.

What it does when still active is filter out chemicals such as medication if used. And it filters out larger organic Humic substances that discolour the water. It makes water clearer if you prefer this. But as said then it needs to be fresh and still active so you need to replace it at least every 6 weeks.

If you don't mind coloured/stained water then Humic substances are very valuable and positive things to have. Are you a Clearwater tank fan you could consider wasting money on filtering over active carbon. These are personal choices to make.
 
From Diana Walstad's 'Ecology of the Planted Aquarium':

Activated carbon (e.g., aquarium ‘charcoal’) is used by municipal treatment plants to remove organic chemicals from water by the non-specific process of adsorption. Although virtually any organic chemical would be removed, specific compounds on a list of 56 organics reported to be absorbed are: aldrin, diquat, gasoline, lindane, malathion, paraquat, phenols, PCB, rotenone, and simazine [38]. In aquariums it would remove almost all allelochemicals, humic substances, artificial chelators, antibiotics, and dyes.

Walstad, Diana Louise. Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise (p. 358). Echinodorus Pub. Kindle Edition.

Also, activated carbon is modified through various processes for different purposes so I am guessing a lot depends on what kind of activated carbon is being used.
 
zozo said:
The nutrient elements are much too small and will pass through.

Next to this active carbon is only active for about 3 to 6 weeks, after that it's nothing more than a porous bio media that lost its active properties.

What it does when still active is filter out chemicals such as medication if used.
Click to expand...
🤔
But aren't dissolved medication not just as small as nutrients?
Why is medication residue absorbed by the activated carbon and nutrients are not?
 
Malarky said:
a lot depends on what kind of activated carbon is being used.
Click to expand...

Yes, it seems the Lignite active carbon is most effective for water treatment. The regular bulk packages with those cylindrical pellets are actually much denser in structure and more suiting for air filtering and are the least effective for water. :)

There are a few more I have forgotten. But the most common one in the trade is the least effective one.
 
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