Carbon In Filter

[schooly20]

Through my readings I have come to find that many people say that having carbon in your filter is bad and others say its good. Im sure things work fine with both but I am more wondering why people say its bad while others say its good? I mean most HOB filters that use cartridges all have them come with carbon in them. What are the pros and cons of using it and not??

 

[Snick]

carbon in a nutshell eliminates unwanted chemicals from the water, including some heavy metals. it does however have an "operational" life and after a month it will loose most of its effectiveness. i personally do not use carbon in my filter because it eliminates the iron fertilizer that i add for my plants. i have also heard that some fish do not tolerate the carbon in the filter, such as the discus species. i would use them probably in the setup of the tank, while it stabilizes; i would leave it in the filter after it has ceased working, because the fine gravel-like measurement of the carbon is pretty good for any beneficial bacterial colonies.

 

[schooly20]

Alright so I take it people with planted tanks dont use carbon either. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[shelaghfishface]

i never use carbon in my filter unless its to remove meds/colour,i have also heard that it can initiate illness or diesease in some fish.
maybe you could remove the carbon boxes/pads and replace with another type of media.ie.filter wool-to polish the water, then save the unused carbon,should you ever have to remive treatments or if you get any colouration in the tank

shelagh xxx

ps, im pretty sure too, that if you use it after the directed period of time it starts to have a reveerse affect- or maybe it just stops working, and i dont think its as long as a month either,tho someone will clear that up, IME i have only ever used it for days at a time