Carbon In Filter

[martyn413]

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if you need carbon in your filter?

Many thanks

Martyn

 

[jarmado]

not mandatory.
i don't have them on my filters.
i use them only to remove medications from the water.

 

[netcode]

it is said that you can remove the carbon and insert another foam medium if you want. Carbon only really works for like a few days to a week before it is useless anyways. but it is good for absorbing things when its first put in.

I am sure someone else can give a more in depth reason to its use

 

[k.o.d]

Activated carbon has a massive surface area due to the processes involved in its manufacture.
It adsorbs and absorbs contaminants from the water flow such as colour, odours and medication.
It is not discriminate so will also remove plant food and medication you do want to get to the tank.
It has a finite life and will leach back nasties into the tank once saturated.

It is not an essential part of the filter but it is a nice to use when removing meds and 'polishing' the water

Steve

 

[nmonks]

I was wondering if you need carbon in your filter?

You don't.

Activated carbon adsorbs dissolved organic material, making it possible to remove such stuff from aquarium water. It used to be popular for two reasons. One, people did fewer water changes, because it was assumed "old" water was better for the fish. Over time, old water became a bit yellowy, and the carbon reversed that. Secondly, marine fish and invertebrates are intolerant of high concentrations of dissolved organic materials.

Now we know old water isn't best, and do regular water changes. Protein skimmers remove organic material far more effectively, and so are widely used in marine aquarium. The result is that there are few situations where carbon is required.

Inexperienced fishkeepers imagine that because it is sold, it must be useful. Sadly, the list of useless things sold in the hobby is very long: breeding traps, tonic salt, aquarium plant pots, sucking loaches, freshwater mussels, etc., etc. You can add carbon to that list. Manufacturers would love you to buy new carbon every month because they sell it at vastly inflated prices.

While carbon makes a surprisingly good biological filter medium (it supports lots of bacterial growth, as KOD said) because it removed medications, it isn't worth using. Basically, chuck the carbon away, and simply use filter wool or whatever filter medium best suits your requirements and budget.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[martyn413]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Martyn

 

[jsmathieson]

Sorry to bust in on the topic but what exactly is a protein skimmer? If I use that then I don't need carbon or can I go without either one?

 

[Nickelback]

I'm sorry to burst in too Just wondering why is a sucking loach useless just out of curiosity

 

[andywg]

Sorry to bust in on the topic but what exactly is a protein skimmer? If I use that then I don't need carbon or can I go without either one?

Protein skimmers are very inefficient in freshwater (read that as they don't work) as bubbles are larger in FW. This is due to the make up of marine water (with the salts and other elements) which creates far finer bubbles.

The larger bubbles are far less effective at removing the hydrophilic dissolved organic compounds. Also, water changes in FW cost very little copmared to SW, so there is not the demand for products which can shorten the frequency or size of water changes like there is in marine setups.