Pros and Cons of Activated Carbon?

[Harlock]

I've seen some folks around who swear by it and others who say they won't use it unless for a specific purpose. Why or why not? I am starting a tank soon and wish to have it planted fairly well. it will be a 29 gallon tank, sort of a high tank, with about 2.58 WPG and a well-stocked (meaning not over or under) supply of fish. What would carbon do for me?

 

[qtaquaman]

Cons? Leaving it in too long, backflow of toxic elements. Those who use it for a specific purpose realize its not necessary but rather useful. To remove a sudden toxic element from the tank's water, or medications etc... Besides by the time you realize thisand practice it you'll likely have more than 1 tank, which means $$$ so save on the carbon.

 

[TKOS]

There is nothing wrong with using Carbon in your filter system. I never use it myself unless I need to remove medication. The problem as I see it is that carbon only lasts for a very short period of time. If I wanted a substance that remove potentially harmful substances from my water I would probably need to replace that carbon each week and that would be too costly for me. After it stops adsorbing from the water it simply becomes a place for bacteria to grow. The sponges I use do just as good a job and are much cheaper.

As to whether or not it is good fro planted tanks? Well it is my guess that if you were adding fertilizers to your tank some would inevitably get caught in the carbon and that is just another waste of money.

Carbon doesn't go after ammonia, nitrate or nitrite. Plants will. Carbon will probably go after some trace metals but again plants do and need many of the trace metals and elements to survive.

So I don't personally see a use for activated carbon in my tanks except in cases of emergency.

 

[MikeO]

I have a tank with that has some AC in it. Should I remove it, i have added plants, should I take it out, or is it ok to leave it in.

 

[qtaquaman]

I doubt you'd even notice a difference.

 

[L046]

Cons are that you never know when you're going to replace them before they leech out all the poisons back into the tank. Why dont concentrate more on bio filtration rather than chemical filtration, they're at least more reliable i feel.

 

[qtaquaman]

Well to be fair, bio is essential, chem is not. But as far as never knowing, it should not take too long to get an understanding of your tank generally 4-6wks for carbon relacement.

 

[Blinky]

With planted tanks, I think it's best not to use carbon (unless it's temporary, for a specific purpose).
There are elements in tap water essential to plants that carbon filters out. As well, if you fertilize trace elements, carbon will filter them right back out of the water.
IMHO carbon is great for removing medication or colour from the water, but it isn't a good idea to use it routinely, at least not in a planted tank.

 

[MikeO]

Ok, I know I did not start this topic, but I have another question. I have to HOB filters that use "cartridge " that have floss and carbon, is it possible to make a floss only "cartridge"?

Sorry Harlock for taking over here.

 

[TKOS]

I assume you have a whisper type filter (an HOB). They are sold with different names from places like WalMart but they have a plastic framed filter catridge witha mesh bag filled with carbon.

I have one on a small tank. I went out and bought some large sized generic sponges from the fish store (I think they were meant for larger canister filters). I then cut a nice sized piece a little larger around than the cartridge and just stuffed it into the resevoir. 2 years later the same sponge is still doing great, the fish are fine and I just rinse the sponge out at water change times.