Do I Need Activated Carbon?

[orange shark]

Hi,

I recieved an old used fluval 2 with my tank and it only has the filter in with it, do i need activated carbon or anything else wiht it???

Thanks, Jack

 

[helterskelter]

if you keep up with water changes then your be fine, but active cardon is great at removing toxins you not thinking about.

 

[dc3]

If your tank is functioning normally, you really don't need carbon - but it doesn't hurt - just remember to change it frequently so it is effective

 

[geo7x]

i dont use carbon and never would, it doesnt remove anything that cant be removed by simple water changes and you have to keep replacing carbon anyway.

 

[mark.w.jones]

Increase the area over which your bacteria can grow by replacing it with some more filter sponge.

 

[raptorrex]

if you keep up with water changes then your be fine, but active cardon is great at removing toxins you not thinking about.

and things your tank needs too!

i dont use carbon and never would, it doesnt remove anything that cant be removed by simple water changes and you have to keep replacing carbon anyway.

this says it all!

Increase the area over which your bacteria can grow by replacing it with some more filter sponge.

ahh well carbon has the largest surface aria of all, 1 gram can have the equivalent of 2 or more tennis courts! and it is colonised by our good bacteria! it works by both adsorbing and absorbing, things from the tank. the reason to remove it, imo is the fact that it needs changing often, but there is no clear way of telling when. yes there is the Yellow strip test, but if you are doing regular water changes that will not help! once the carbon is full/exhausted the items filtered by absorption, can be put back into the tank, they will of cause be much concentrated. putting in a sponge will in fact decrease the surface aria for your bacteria. however sponges have few of the disadvantages of carbon, so are a better option.

 

[mark.w.jones]

ahh well carbon has the largest surface aria of all, 1 gram can have the equivalent of 2 or more tennis courts! and it is colonised by our good bacteria! it works by both adsorbing and absorbing, things from the tank. the reason to remove it, imo is the fact that it needs changing often, but there is no clear way of telling when. yes there is the Yellow strip test, but if you are doing regular water changes that will not help! once the carbon is full/exhausted the items filtered by absorption, can be put back into the tank, they will of cause be much concentrated. putting in a sponge will in fact decrease the surface aria for your bacteria. however sponges have few of the disadvantages of carbon, so are a better option.

So after all that you do agree with me then boboboy

 

[nmonks]

You *do not* need carbon.

The main reason carbon is sold is to make a profit for carbon manufacturers. Here's a run through of what it's meant to do...

Remove organic materials. As others have said, water changes do this. In fact, they do it better. A 25-50% water change removes more than a bit of organic material (specifically "gelbstoff") but also nitrate and phosphate that carbon does nothing with. In addition, carbon removes medications, so each time you treat the tank, you need to remove the carbon.

Supports biological filtrations. Yes, it does this. But in doing so, it loses the ability to remove organic materials. Furthermore, it isn't as good as, say, quality ceramic media. Ceramic media can be cleaned easily and remain stable for years, decades even. Cleaning them is easy and effective. Carbon cannot really be cleaned properly because it disintegrates after a while. As it decays into small particules it impedes the flow of water. The surface area of the biological media is only one factor to consider when choosing media for your filter; water flow is another. Anything that decreases the flow of water limits the rate at which the water is cleaned. Ceramic media maintain very good water flow for weeks, months, even years.

Carbon, like "tonic salt", is something that should have been dumped years ago. It is to freshwater fishkeeping what gas lighting is to houses: archaic and inefficient. In the old days of the hobby people avoided water changes for months at a time, because they thought old water was best, and as a result the water turned yellow. Carbon removed the yellowness. In a modern tank, where we do water changes every week, there's nothing for carbon to remove, so it is entirely redundant.

Cheers, Neale

 

[raptorrex]

ahh well carbon has the largest surface aria of all, 1 gram can have the equivalent of 2 or more tennis courts! and it is colonised by our good bacteria! it works by both adsorbing and absorbing, things from the tank. the reason to remove it, imo is the fact that it needs changing often, but there is no clear way of telling when. yes there is the Yellow strip test, but if you are doing regular water changes that will not help! once the carbon is full/exhausted the items filtered by absorption, can be put back into the tank, they will of cause be much concentrated. putting in a sponge will in fact decrease the surface aria for your bacteria. however sponges have few of the disadvantages of carbon, so are a better option.

So after all that you do agree with me then boboboy

NO i do not. removing the carbon and replacing it with bio sponge does not increase bio area, which was the only statement you made. yes i would replace the carbon, but i would be inclined to use some form of ceramic replacement, even lave rock.

You *do not* need carbon.

The main reason carbon is sold is to make a profit for carbon manufacturers. Here's a run through of what it's meant to do...

Remove organic materials. As others have said, water changes do this. In fact, they do it better. A 25-50% water change removes more than a bit of organic material (specifically "gelbstoff") but also nitrate and phosphate that carbon does nothing with. In addition, carbon removes medications, so each time you treat the tank, you need to remove the carbon.

Supports biological filtrations. Yes, it does this. But in doing so, it loses the ability to remove organic materials. Furthermore, it isn't as good as, say, quality ceramic media. Ceramic media can be cleaned easily and remain stable for years, decades even. Cleaning them is easy and effective. Carbon cannot really be cleaned properly because it disintegrates after a while. As it decays into small particules it impedes the flow of water. The surface area of the biological media is only one factor to consider when choosing media for your filter; water flow is another. Anything that decreases the flow of water limits the rate at which the water is cleaned. Ceramic media maintain very good water flow for weeks, months, even years.

Carbon, like "tonic salt", is something that should have been dumped years ago. It is to freshwater fishkeeping what gas lighting is to houses: archaic and inefficient. In the old days of the hobby people avoided water changes for months at a time, because they thought old water was best, and as a result the water turned yellow. Carbon removed the yellowness. In a modern tank, where we do water changes every week, there's nothing for carbon to remove, so it is entirely redundant.

Cheers, Neale

but it does a fine job of clearing your tank water! if you visit the sites of the carbon only filter clan, its noticeable, among all the other things, that the only real claim of these keepers make is their water is so clear

 

[Meds081603]

As you can see, the general opinion is that you do not need it. I agree that you do not NEED it, but if used properly it does what it is intended to do and does it well. I use it in most of my tanks. Our water quality is terrible and straight from the tap it is yellowish/brown. Without carbon, and even with carbon after a large water change, it makes my tanks look awful. The only thing I don't like about Carbon is having to replace it so often. One more thing that will likely get me flamed...I have never seen any proof that carbon releases the toxins it has absorbed back in the water if not changed. I am not saying it can't or won't leach them back into your water, just saying I don't know anywhere where it's been proven that it can happen.

 

[dc3]

ahh well carbon has the largest surface aria of all, 1 gram can have the equivalent of 2 or more tennis courts! and it is colonised by our good bacteria! it works by both adsorbing and absorbing, things from the tank. the reason to remove it, imo is the fact that it needs changing often, but there is no clear way of telling when. yes there is the Yellow strip test, but if you are doing regular water changes that will not help! once the carbon is full/exhausted the items filtered by absorption, can be put back into the tank, they will of cause be much concentrated. putting in a sponge will in fact decrease the surface aria for your bacteria. however sponges have few of the disadvantages of carbon, so are a better option.

Actually I was told on another board (discus) that carbon leeching absorbed chemicals back into the water is a popular myth and that it would take some sort of catalyst (heat / chemical treatement) to "activate" carbon... The rationale is that once it's dead it becomes bio-media of sorts...

 

[raptorrex]

ahh well carbon has the largest surface aria of all, 1 gram can have the equivalent of 2 or more tennis courts! and it is colonised by our good bacteria! it works by both adsorbing and absorbing, things from the tank. the reason to remove it, imo is the fact that it needs changing often, but there is no clear way of telling when. yes there is the Yellow strip test, but if you are doing regular water changes that will not help! once the carbon is full/exhausted the items filtered by absorption, can be put back into the tank, they will of cause be much concentrated. putting in a sponge will in fact decrease the surface aria for your bacteria. however sponges have few of the disadvantages of carbon, so are a better option.

Actually I was told on another board (discus) that carbon leeching absorbed chemicals back into the water is a popular myth and that it would take some sort of catalyst (heat / chemical treatement) to "activate" carbon... The rationale is that once it's dead it becomes bio-media of sorts...

Actually, you were misinformed, or misread the post.
Carbon De-aDsorbing chemicals seems to be a myth, all you need to de-absorb any media is is to wash, it or pass air through it. perhaps the person posting is confused about the difference between, aDsorbtion and aBsorbtion but there is no reason that aBsorbed chemicals and things could not be returned to the tank. of hand i cant think of any way, aBsorbed chemicals could be retained, within a liquid enviroment.

true when the Carbon is full, from the aDsorbtion point of view, it is purely a mechanical filter media, and of course bio area. however it will still leach aBsorbed items into the tank. sadly this is not my opinion but scientific fact.

http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorption.
a little further searching by you will find the rest

put simply, aBsorbtion is where something, in this case liquid, fills up the voids in Carbon, just like in a sponge. aDsorbtion is where elements from, in this case liquid, chemically adhere to the surface of the carbon.

 

[dc3]

Thanks for the clarification