Activated Filter Carbon

[phoenixgsd]

what exactly is this, what does it do and is it benificial to new or old tanks

 

[fish4962]

Carbon keeps the water sparkling clean, same as in drinking water purifiers, and comes already in the store-bought filter cartridges and you can add it to your canister filters. You don't have to use it unless you've put medicine in your tank, your fish are now cured and you want to remove the medicine chemicals. If you do put it inside your canister filter, you need to know that it absorbs chemicals in the water and retains it in the charcoal. After 2 months, it is used up and can reintroduce the chemicals back into your tank, so change it every 2 months.

fish4962

 

[ShinySideUp]

what exactly is this, what does it do and is it benificial to new or old tanks

You will get 'polished' water i.e. it will be very clear, but that's about it.

You'll find many people here don't use activated carbon, me included, as it is expensive and serves no real purpose. I stopped using the stuff when I found out that it removes any liquid fertilizer I put in for my plants.

I believe the general consensus is that you should use it only when you need to remove medications after their job is done.

Save your money and use the space in your filter for extra foam or other bacteria-housing media.

 

[fluttermoth]

It can be useful if you have a lot of bogwood and don't like the tannins in the water.

carbon does not adsorb ammonia, nitrite or nitrate so isn't really that useful for most of us, most of the time. It's handy to have a bag around for emergencies though (ok, I don't know what kind of emergency, exactly, but you never know!).

 

[phoenixgsd]

ahh, ok, i saw some in wilkinsons and wondered if it was worth buying or not, it claims to remove chlorine and ammonia ect as well as meds, so you reckon dont bother

 

[fluttermoth]

It will remove chlorine, and meds, but not ammonia. I've never bothered with carbon (except once, when I had a really bad tannin-leaking bit of bogwood; it didn't help, so I chucked both the wood and the carbon, lol!)