Archivarium 2004

[h4l]

Hi,

There are so many different opinions on using activated carbon, I am about to clean my filter and have a bag of carbon I might want to use.

I have a 150l tank, with 3 clown loaches, 1 kissing gourami, 1 dwarf gourami and 8 mollies - 2 canister filters that together turn over 2100 lph, water is clear all the time.

What are the pro's and con's of using carbon? - do I NEED it?

Thanks,

Aaron

[Darkblade48]

Well, carbon is NOT needed, contrary to popular belief, especially if you have plants. If you do have plants, then the carbon then becomes a disadvantage, because it tends to pull the chelated compounds straight from the water, so it becomes useless within a few days anyways.

Pros of using carbon:
- Removes colouration from the water (but if you're looking to remove the nasty brown colour from driftwood, think about, you'll probably end up using a lot of carbon)
- Good for removing traces of medication after the prescribed dosing time

Cons:
- Carbon can be exhausted quickly, especially in planted tanks
- Can get expensive if needed in large quantities

[h4l]

Hmmm okay, well I don't have any plants - well I have silk ones but they don't need tending to.

I've lived without carbon for a a couple of months now, and the idea of having to remove it from the canister filter and replenish doesn't sound fun.

I'll just leave it out unless I need to clear meds.

Thanks for your reponse!

[Josh Hansen]

Use geoliquid instead as carbon media. The geoliquid polishes the water of medication or organic material to make the water clearer and add essential minerals to the water. Geoliquid uses crushed natural rock materials in a liquid instead of artifical chemicals.

from Josh