(newbie). Coal! Can It Be Used?

[apac]

yes, but according to the post underneath his....................
arrhh, the debate goes on.
on a geology forum i was told that at first the coal would soak up impurites in the water, but eventually leach them back in again. so you would have to change the coal regularly

 

[penguin22]

I have read in several books coal is a good cheap way to decorate an aquarium if washed thouroghly but not sure id risk it myself, espessialy after previous replys. Good luck if you try it though

 

[andywg]

yes, but according to the post underneath his....................
arrhh, the debate goes on.
on a geology forum i was told that at first the coal would soak up impurites in the water, but eventually leach them back in again. so you would have to change the coal regularly

However, I am prone to believing nmonks due to him working in a museum and being a published author and editor of works and books on aquarium fish.

 

[apac]

yes, but according to the post underneath his....................
arrhh, the debate goes on.
on a geology forum i was told that at first the coal would soak up impurites in the water, but eventually leach them back in again. so you would have to change the coal regularly

However, I am prone to believing nmonks due to him working in a museum and being a published author and editor of works and books on aquarium fish.

fare enough! perhaps we can get him to try it first. lol.
i really want to do it, but it does seem very risky. if nothing else it may (through time) make the water unstable.

 

[Majjie]

I read somewhere (although can't remember where - so don't know how reliable) that there's no evidence for the widely held belief that carbon (and therefore coal) desorbs chemicals after adsorbing them to saturation levels. It's just a theoretical possibility.

Just to add to the general uncertainty

 

[apac]

what worries me is that i'm not talking abut putting one lump into a tank, but completely creating a background with it by siliconing loads onto a sheet of plastic which will be placed on the inside back glass and then using large piles of it to create rocks n caves. so the whole aquarium is purely dect'd out with it. this will be a 5 to 6ft tank. i wonder if that would be over doing it??

 

[Benauld]

Hi,

You could always try a lump in a bucket of treated water, and keep testing it every so often. Either that or try some Thompsons Water Seal! (That was a joke BTW not a serious suggestion! ).