• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Active Carbon filter do u or not?

I use it ocasionally, when i have some.
 
Hi,

I don't use it purely because I don't need to. I do large weekly water changes on all my tanks and this takes care of things nicely on its own.

Regards, Chris.
 
Iliveinazoo said:
Unless you've got murky water from something like excessive tannins then IMHO there's no point in using it.

Large water changes (every few days or so) deal better and quicker with tannins anyway. The best use for activated carbon is probably to remove chemicals from the water like disease treatments when the course of treatment has finished. Can't think of any other use for it.

Regards, Chris.
 
Good qual activated carbon removes chlorine, chemicals, cloud from the water, tannins and other stuff which colors your water.

after using in my nano the water is crystal clear in 7/24, no algae at all.

frequent water changes is possible in small tanks (however i am not a believer of a few days WC), but on large tank this is not a good way to do this.

but if you go only for the clean water, purigen is a better choice as that is rechargeable.
 
Hi, Victor.

If you were using standard EI dosing and changing 50% of the water each week I doubt that you will suffer a lot from excess tannins in the water anyway.

I'm not of the same opinion when it comes to large water changes done in quick succesion, I have no qualms at all with changing 60% every other day for a fortnight. In fact its an excellent way to tackle algal blooms and it was Clive who put me onto this method of doing so. My fish weren't at all fazed by it and if anything it triggered my cory's to spawn.

I'm certainly not saying that its wrong to use activated carbon as a filter media, (my RO unit has a carbon filter stage on it. So in a way I am using it) but I just don't need to use it in my tanks filter thats all I'm getting at.

One thing I don't want happening is for the minerals/trace elements which I have carefully researched and calculated to be absorbed into the carbon upsetting the balance that I have tried to create. Exactly how much of these would be absorbed I don't know but my tank runs fine without the added complication of a carbon filter stage post water production.

Regards, Chris.
 
I recently got a brand new Juwel Trigon 350 and the filter comes with a carbon and a nitrate sponge. I use the EI method for dosing.

Should I remove these sponges? I read that especially carbon will absorb most of the ferts which kinda defeats the purpose of the exercise..... on the other hand, carbon will keep the water looking crystal clear.
 
hi chris thank you for your reply. I do weekly water changes of about 35%. So what u r saying that u prefer to do without the carbon sponge?
 
i believe that carbon has its benefits and I have even been told by one of our local lfs that he believes that carbon is important however, I still wonder whether it will absorb all the ferts i put into the tank....
 
It's something I've always be told to avoid for the ferts sapping reason but recently I've read differing things and I can't decide.
I've always used purigen which was developed to lock ammonia and not reduce ferts while increasing clarity so who knows.
 
it's minimal, what carbon takes out the water. heck, I'm running a nano, no ferts no co2, and carbon in the filter and it's flourishing.
 
yes same here. I read a lot of different views on the carbon and there seems to be no clear cut opinion on the use of it in planted tanks....
 
Back
Top