What is Carbon ?

[freshcichlid]

ok ive seen buckets of black carbon and hear people say they add it to their tanks, whats does it do to your tank, and how important is it to use ?

 

[Vivienne]

I believe the carbon helps remove polutants from the water - heavy metals and other contaminants etc. (It's often carbon filters that are placed in the extractors above cookers/stoves/hobs too.) From what I've read, if you are using carbon and need to medicate your fish, it needs to be removed temporarily because it may extract/interfere with the medication.

 

[Vivienne]

Re-reading your question, I think maybe I mis-read it ? Are you talking about carbon that's added directly into the tank ? That I know nothing about.

 

[andywg]

Cabon is very much optional.

It can help remove waste from the water but there are a number of people who believe it can reverse and start to leech these pollutants back into the water.

It is often used after a course of medication to remove the meds from the water.

The fact it has to be replaced so often (like every 4-6 weeks) means most aquarist don't bother and suffer little to no ill effects.

Using carbon in a planted tank will dmage the growth of the plants.

HIH

Andy

 

[@ombomb]

I use to it to clear any medication out of the tank once the course is complete.

 

[The-Wolf]

the carbon used in aquariums is to act as a chemical filtration, complimenting the mechanical and biological filtrations used.

like most I only use carbon to absorb meds, after compleating a course of treatment.

now off on a tangent
Carbon is the element that defines the chemical properties of all life. All molecules that contain carbon are known as organic molecules. Carbon is the third most common element in cells, after hydrogen and oxygen, which are the most common biological elements because they are found in water. Also water makes up to 70% of a cells weight, it is not an organic molecule, since it lacks carbon.
in the periodic table it has the symbol C and atomic number 6
the element carbon comes in 3 forms
diamond, graphite and charcoal

 

[Bloo]

now off on a tangent
Carbon is the element that defines the chemical properties of all life. All molecules that contain carbon are known as organic molecules. Carbon is the third most common element in cells, after hydrogen and oxygen, which are the most common biological elements because they are found in water. Also water makes up to 70% of a cells weight, it is not an organic molecule, since it lacks carbon.
in the periodic table it has the symbol C and atomic number 6
the element carbon comes in 3 forms
diamond, graphite and charcoal

Cool, but lol